This episode provides examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: A old lady starts saying "What a pretty girl..." when Daria walks in. Just when a pleasantly surprised Daria smiles and is about to thank her, the old lady says "that Brittany is."
- Blah, Blah, Blah: Ms. Li reads the assembly a glowing commendation letter from the superintendent of schools. True to form, she skips over the parts that don't directly mention her.
- Call-Back: Quinn and the fashion club end up at Mrs. Johanson's house. As they walk away, she asks if they're selling candy. The same episode gets another reference at the end when Daria reads one of her "Melody Powers" stories to Mrs. Blaine.
- Dumb Blonde: Somehow, Brittany's stepmother is dumber than she is.
- Even Beggars Won't Choose It: The reason the Fashion Club won't take almost anyone's clothing donations for the homeless is that if they won't wear it, they won't donate it to the homeless. The trouble is they have very high standards for what constitutes great fashion and end up donating a chain belt and go-go boots.
- Genius Book Club: Daria brings Howl (1955) to read to the seniors. Unfortunately, they prefer Brittany's romance novels and Kevin's comic books. She can also be seen reading Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's The Leopard during dinner.
- I Was Quite a Looker: An old lady tells Brittany she used to look just like her in her youth. Brittany freaks out.
- Informed Attribute: The old folks at the retirement home kept praising Brittany for having a beautiful reading voice. Yes. squeaky, high-pitched Brittany.
- It's All About Me: Ms. Li, as always. She clearly is just pushing the students into volunteering so that she can be praised by her bosses for the school's 100% participation.
- Jerkass Realization: Daria was not going about her volunteering in the right way at all, first by scaring one woman by reading inappropriate material and then patronizing an old man until he unplugged his respirator to get her to stop. It's only when Mrs. Blaine, a deaf woman who couldn't hear Daria, reached out and asked her to read some more by saying "You have such a pretty voice," that Daria realizes how badly she was handling things. When the mandatory volunteering period ends, Daria keeps devoting time to reading with Mrs. Blaine who's simply happy for the company.
- The Millstone: Sandi completely derails the Fashion Club's plans to donate clothes to the homeless by being too picky and judgmental. As such, their donation is laughably small.
- Noodle Incident / Out of Focus: Jane's adventures teaching art classes at the children's hospital doesn't get its own subplot, but we hear a lot about it from Jane. Whatever she was doing involved car parts, cattle bones, and hazardous waste. She ends up getting banned for painting over the ward's murals with Mongol invaders and a Wild West scene with a real scalping.
- Oh, Crap!: Daria has this reaction when the deaf woman she's sitting with asks her to stay and read something else.Mrs. Blaine: Oh read me another story, dear. Please? You have such a pretty voice.
- Shout-Out: Kevin thinks Charles Darwin (the monkey guy) is the Man in the Yellow Hat from Curious George.
- Wham Line: Mrs. Blaine complimenting Daria's voice despite her clearly being deaf, indicating how starved she must be for company even if she can't hear what Daria's saying.
- What You Are in the Dark: Daria keeps with her volunteering even after the school's forced period is over and while she is not one to hide it, no one outside of her mother or Jane would suspect it either.
