In everyone’s life there are ups and downs, days were they are happy and others were they are sad or upset. Everyone has moments were they cherish it for the rest of their lives, and others that brings nightmares. However life treats you good and sometimes bad, everyone wants to live a happy life. In the “The Approximate Size Of My Favourite Tumor” fiction by Sherman Alexie, Jimmy a character in the story faces difficult situations in life. To cope and survive the tragedies and difficult situations in life, some people uses humor, and pretend to have the life that they never had.
Firstly, everyone faces hardship in life, some are greater than others. That hardship in life that one faces could be illness for example. Alexie uses humor
Humour was an antiseptic that cleaned the deepest of personal wounds.” Jimmy said (208). Throughout Alexie story many jokes were achieved as an effective humor since it brought laughter “Well, I told her the doctor showed me my X-rays and my favoruite tumour was just about the size of a baseball…” (204) Jimmy said joking about the tragedy of his illness and his imminent death. Dr. Gill Greengross an evolutionary psychologist and anthropologist from the University of New Mexico said “humor can help people deal with tragedies.” So humor is effective and a very good way to cope with
Alexie uses pretense as strategy to please one’s imagination and to hide the pain, for example “And look at the kids… And they have your eyes.” (203) Jimmy said pretending to have the perfect family. Also Jimmy pretends to have a healthy relationship with his wife, after he walks out from a fight between them he returns “Didn’t you miss me? I’ve been gone so long and it’s good to be back home. Where I belong.” (203). Also people pretend to be what they are not to feel comfortable around others, for example in Alexie’s fiction Jimmy and Norman pretended to share cigarette to feel comfortable around each other “and shared a cigarette. I should say we both pretended to share a cigarette since neither one of us smoked. But we both the other did and wanted to have all that much more in common.” (206). So people pretend to be something they are not to please one’s self, to hide the pain, and to feel comfortable around
This shows the aspect of humor because, he wants to show he can do the impossible and become a world renowned scientist for solving one of man- kinds many ailments. Such as skin ailment and /or paralysis among other aliments he thinks of. He also develops a life under the use and abuse of drugs, crystal meth. He identifies himself with drugs, falling to the drug addict status, which impacts his life on a different setting, further explaining that he felt down after his dealer in drugs fly’s out of the country.
As the story continues and McMurphy’s influence over the patients strengthens, the reader sees other occasions where the laughter is healing. With McMurphy’s big, boisterous laugh dominating the ward, the patients begin to laugh themselves. Their laughs sound awkward at first- forced, simulated- but nevertheless they are laughing and whether the patients, or Bromden realize it, this phony laugh does begin to heal them.
In the short stories “A Drug Called Tradition,” “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor,” and “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore” collected in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, author Sherman Alexie uses humor to reflect the life on the Spokane Reservation. In “A Drug Called Tradition,” the story starts with a joke by having Thomas sit down inside a refrigerator in response to Junior’s comment as to why the refrigerator is empty. The Indians are having a party hosted by Thomas, who gets a lot of money from a corporation for leasing some of his land. Alexie’s three second selves, Victor, Junior, and Thomas, later go to the Benjamin Lake and use the drug that Victor brings with him. In “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor,” Jimmy Many Horses, who suffers from terminal cancer, humorously describes his tumors to his wife, Norma, who cannot bear Jimmy’s humor and leaves him. At the end, Norma comes back to Jimmy because the person she lives with is too serious. In “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore,” Victor and Adrian talk about the basketball stars on the reservation, hoping that someone on the reservation can resist alcohol and develop his or her basketball skills to be a successful ballplayer. The function of Alexie’s humor shifts throughout his stories. In “A Drug Called Tradition,” Alexie’s humor effectively accomplishes one of his goals by obliging readers to reconsider their concepts, while his humor helps his characters improve their situations in “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor.” In “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore,” humor mitigates the characters’ pain and despair. One common function hum...
In a simplistic sense, the duty of an author is to bring the reader into an unfamiliar world. Though this task may seem easy enough, there are infinite considerations that the writer has to account for to make the environment of the story feel realistic. In his newest collection Fortune Smiles, Adam Johnson expertly allows us into his worlds, often in the most ambitious fashion possible. By choosing particularly emotionally harrowing subject matter, Johnson runs the risk of losing the more empathetic members of his readership. However, in addition to being a beautiful writer, Adam Johnson deftly incorporates humor at the perfect moments to add levity to otherwise terrible situations. Using jokes in unexpected places can make the reader both uncomfortable and relieved simultaneously. By the end of
In “Turkeys in the Kitchen,” an essay written by Dave Barry, humor is used as an aid to make a point about the usefulness of men after Women’s Liberation. “A Plague of Tics,” a personal narrative written by David Sedaris, uses a different kind of humor to explain the reasoning behind his behavior. Through these two essays and their author’s personal experiences, humor is presented as a device to captivate reader’s attention and declare the author’s intended meaning.
This book is about so many things, it is hard to stay on one topic for any length of time. In order to focus on the laugh and laughing as a healing agent, I would like to look towards other influential writers and thinkers to tie together laughing and healing. First, let’s see what laughter is according to Meriam Webster: laughter- n. a cause of merriment. Using this simple definition, we can assume that laughter can come from any form of merriment or emotion like triumph, contempt, relief, and almost any other emotion there is. It is easy to picture in your head different underlying emotions in laughter; the sinister laughs of witches and ghosts, the insincere, fake laughs you hear after pointless, humorless attempts at jokes on the six o’clock news, to the silent laughs of mimes and clowns that fill the people around them with a happy feeling. These are all examples of what laughter is and how it is used. But why do we do it? What in nature created the laugh and made it so successful?
Laughter also proves a vital role in helping the patients deal with their problems. Not only does it help them deal with problems but it also gave them the push toward progress on getting out of the institution.
The world is full of people who portray themselves as someone or something else. People
Humor has shown to be powerful for increasing resilience in dealing with unhappiness and also negative outcome. Humor can help as a strong distancing mechanism in coping with distress. Humor has been shown to improve the aging process in three areas. They are improving physical health, improving social communications, and helping to achieve a sense of pride in life. Studies have shown that constant humor in the aging process gives health benefits to individuals.Humor has shown to be powerful for increasing resilience in dealing with unhappiness and also negative outcome. Humor can help as a strong distancing mechanism in coping with distress. Humor has been shown to improve the aging process in three areas. They are improving physical health,
Humor is more than just amusing entertainment to pass the time. Though jokes and witty banter can be shallow, humor can go deeper than surface level to convey messages to audiences who would otherwise be close-minded about certain ideas. Humor is a great tool to get audiences to change the way they think, feel, and act. In “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” Alexander Weinstein uses humor to criticize some of society’s faults such as the way it has become heavily reliant on technology, racially insensitive, and judgmental.
Humor has become one of the most popular tools for stress relief. Positive effects of laughter include reduced muscle tension, controlled anxiety, the ability to handle unexpected events, and simply the joy of humor. It is important for managers to allow employees to have fun. We spend the majority of our lives at work and we need to enjoy the experience.
Never forget to laugh. "If you can laugh at it, you can survive it" (Cosby). Life is difficult for everyone. It is how people deal with these strives and struggle is what matters. Sometimes, the best way to get a break from the hardships of life is to simply laugh with friends and family. It’s a Balance process. Some people can be caught up in life’s problems and forget to laugh. Laughter is the mental medicine for life. Laughter supports the health of the body. Laughter can break up the quietness in a room. Laughter can change the room from black and white to a rainbow of colors. Laughter is a result of looking at something in a positive light. Is the glass half empty or half full? Whatever the circumstance, never underestimate the power of a good giggle. Never forget to laugh.
Some people use humor to hide from their real emotions. Using humor to help get through the difficult times is a lot different than using humor to hide from them.
If there is one way to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is laughter. Funny jokes, comical stunts, sarcasm- Every person is different when it comes to what makes them laugh. Some find dry humor comical. Others think sarcasm or joke-filled ranting are the best. ‘Comedy’ is such a broad term, broad enough to allow everyone to find something they find comical. In fact, ‘comedy’ includes a specific type of drama, one where the protagonist is joyful and happy endings are expected. Comedy is like a drug; it allows you to escape reality. When we say the word ‘comedy’ in the present, we are generally referring to a type of performance which provides humor. However, in its broadest sense, comedy has only one purpose: comedy makes people smile and
Laughing is powerful and if someone laughs with people they love, I believe this can solve any hardship they are going through. A laugh can mean a number of different things and can be thought of as a universal language, it can mean joy, happiness, nervousness, or confusion. Everyone can do it, everyone can use it and everyone can understand it, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or religion. It's something that doesn't separate us from others, instead it brings us together. A laugh is something that can change someone’s entire day around. Whether someone is feeling down or upset about something, we all know that, regardless of what the circumstances are, if we see something that makes us laugh we start to feel better. Aside from making us feel good or better emotionally, laughter has been scientifically proven to help keep us healthy. Laughter has the capability to strengthen the immune system, lower blood sugar, enhance blood flow and circulation, as well as reduce stress, burdens and conflicts. This weird yet wonderful sound is an essential part of life. Laughter brings individuality and fun to an otherwise ordinary