Stephen Leacock is internationally popular Canadian humorist, educator,

lecturer, and author of more than 30 books of lighthearted sketches and essays. He
was politically active in the Conservative Party in both his home riding in Orillia,
Ontario, and nationally. In the 1911 general election, his writings and public
addresses on the issue of reciprocity helped defeat Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s Liberal
government. Though not as reknowned in modern times, during the early 1900s,
Leacock was the most famous humorist writing in the English language.
Mr. Todd, a friend, borrowed a dollar from the writer to pay for his taxi
when he was leaving for Bermuda. From Hamilton in Bermuda Mr. Todd sent a
letter about the weather to the writer not containing his dollar. Three weeks later
Mr. Todd came back and the writer met him at the railway station thinking that it
would be a nice gesture. Later in their conversation the writer dropped some hints
but it fell flat so the writer came to the conclusion that Mr. Todd had completely
forgotten about the dollar
The story belongs to the belles-lettres the main aim of which is to give the
readers aesthetic pleasure to make them think and to entertain them by appealing to
their emotions. It's rather a psychological short story because it deals with human
nature.
In this text we can find direct «for twelve month» «last year on the 8th of
April» «two nights ago» «the evening» temporal indicators. The setting of my lost
dollar also seems to be in Canada. The narrator's friend, Major Todd, is a member
of the university club of Montreal, which is situated in Montreal, Canada.
The entire story consists of the author’s speech intertwined with some
dialogues. The author uses the dialogue to bring the reader closer to the heroes to
make it look like we are observing the events to create the authentic atmosphere. It
animates the story.
Plot structure: The implication for knowledge comes in the moment when
the author gives information about narrator’s friend and the situation with a dollar.
The abstract comprises narration (He needed a dollar in change to pay his
taxi and i lent it to him...) and argumentation (because i really esteem him. I felt it
would be nice...) The author uses the following devices which help to render the
character his inner state his feelings and the main themes vividly and convincingly.
The author skillfully employs an ellipsis («Certainly» «No, let s walk» …), which
gives the expressiveness the dynamism to the text recreates the spoken version and
creates the illusion that we are on the scene next to these characters. Noticeable is
the repetition of one dollar that accentuates his obsession. The parallelism (“I
asked him one day what his trip cost him and he said that he kept no accounts. A
little later I asked him if he felt settled down after his trip and he said that he had
practically forgotten about it”) permits us to break into the nature of these two
men. To give more explanation and to offer readers an insight into true feelings
and opinions the author resorts to parenthesis (" I mention the date in case this
should ever meet Todd's eye", "indeed I am taking care not to think"). The print
(“the American dollar ”) puts emphasis on his indissoluble intention to appeal to
the conscience and bring back his dollar.
The title represents us the obsession and pettiness of the person that is
reinforced by the most recurrent combinations of words one dollar acquiring the
status of key words The main message of the author is to uncover the theme of
letting go. Letting go is often one of the most difficult things that we have to do in
our lives, yet sometimes it is the only way that we can get ourselves to move
forward. It means releasing something’s ability to affect you in a negative way so
that when you are remembering it you are not bombarded with bad feelings. Some
of us may have a hard time letting go because we feel insecure. We may think that
we will never find something that’s good enough or better than what we already
have. We have to understand that this simply is not true. As long as we remain
hopeful, there are far better things that will begin to come our way. If you’re brave
enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello. What is destined
will reach you, even if it be underneath two mountains. What is not destined, will
not reach you, even if it be between your two lips. The more you fight for
something that is not meant for you, the more it will fight you. You may get what
you want in the end, but it may not last and you may not feel at ease with it. It is
very important to keep in mind that even though we have let something that we
care for go, we always get to keep the memories that we have of it.