Character Analysis
The Tozer Family
Exclusive of Leora, the Tozers, of Wheatsylvania, North Dakota, are a disagreeable lot. They are well-to-do for rural people, for Mr. Tozer can afford to send seventy dollars a month to Leora after her return to Zenith with her husband, equivalent to two or three times that sum in purchasing power today. Mr. Tozer, a little more reasonable than his wife and son, Bert, is the first of the family to recognize Martin as a member of the family and to realize that Leora had not made such a bad choice. Mrs. Tozer and her son are alike when it comes to pinching pennies. Miss Ada Quist, Bert's fiancée, whom he postponed marrying indefinitely, is a caricature with her meddling and her impecunious ways. All are critical of Martin and wish to control his activities and way of living. Without the help of Leora, he could not have held out against them. They are the narrow-minded, small-town type that Lewis often satirized.