The Approximate Size Of My Favorite Humor Summary

Alyce’s nicknames shaped her identity in both a positive and negative way. As Alyce does the midwife’s bidding, the author explains, “For weeks after, the midwife called her not Beetle but Brainless Brat and Clodpole and Good-For-Nothing, and Beetle worked twice as hard and talked only half as much…” (24). This quote proves nicknames can shape one’s identity because when Jane the midwife called Alyce these hurtful names, Alyce worked harder to show Jane she was more than these names. Alyce was also afraid the midwife was angry enough to kick her out of her cottage. Alyce, while at the Saint Swithin’s Day Fair, said to herself, “‘This then is me, Alyce.’ It was right...with her head back and bare feet solid on the ground, she headed back to

In the sonnet “Face,” Sherman Alexie conveys the benefits, and need, of developing hybrid cultures. He develops the argument with similes, comparing the Native American culture, “my reservation,” to western style culture, discussing one of it’s known aspects of literature, “the sonnet,”and how both of them are guilty of harboring secrets behind their own boundaries that seem mundane; Second, he continues by juxtaposing the structure of a sonnet, to the flowing rivers in the reservation that eventually meet to, hopefully, form a concourse: “ (Fourteen lines that rhyme, two rivers that meet,/Poem and water joined at one confluence);” Then, his allegory about the effects of colonialism’s influence is used to relate to the metaphors mentioned,

This shines light upon her Native American roots and how it can be an inspiration for her Century Quilt, each square representing her family’s racial diversity and mixed roots. It is quite difficult to learn of all the harsh animosity they were enduring, such as Meema and her yellow sisters whose “grandfather’s white family nodding at them when they met” (24-27). The hostility is clear as the white relatives only register their presence; no “hello” or warm embrace as if they didn’t acknowledge them as true family. However, with descriptive imagery, the speaker’s sense of pride for having the best of both worlds is still present as she understands Meema’s past experiences and embraces her family’s complexity wholeheartedly; animosity and all.

Satire also reinforces the theme of cultural divide in the scenes set in Latisha’s diner, The Dead Dog Café. Even the restaurant’s namesake underscores the humor in the conflict between White and Native American cultures. Part of the selling point of Latisha’s café is the illusion that the patrons are eating dog meat as a way of experiencing authentic Native American culture. In reality, the meat served is beef because consuming dogs as food is in no way part of Blackfoot dietary practices. The white tourists who filter through the cafe (both American and Canadian) are drawn in broad strokes and quickly display their ignorance of Native American culture by their enthrallment with its perceived exoticness.

“Laugh Kookaburra”. Even the name sounds intriguing. An essay of only about 3300 words, and yet more powerful and thoughtful then some work 100 times as long. David Sedaris, the author and a professional writer to boot, submitted this story as an essay to the popular magazine and blog, The New Yorker, in August of 2009. He has written a number or essays, plays, and the like, and has a recognizable style in similar pieces of his work. “Laugh Kookaburra” is a complex tale that is written in this unique style; which is that of a simple tale that draws the reader in. It starts off in the current day, at a family gathering, which the events of remind the author of the events that took place.

A name can tell a lot about a person. Certain names have stereotypical characteristics associated with them. Everyone has heard the phrase, “they look like such an *insert name here*”. For example, the name ‘Joe’ is such a common name, one would imagine somebody called by it as ‘just your average Joe’. The characters in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest highly value names and their meanings. Names are significant in this play because they accentuate the characters’ personalities and motives.

Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel, Ceremony, reveals how the crossing of cultures was feared, ridiculed, and shunned in various Native American tribes. The fear of change is a common and overwhelming fear everyone faces at some point in their life. The fear of the unknown, the fear of letting go, and the fear of forgetting all play a part in why people struggle with change. In Ceremony the crossing of cultures creates “half-breeds,” usually bringing disgrace to their family’s name. In Jodi Lundgren’s discourse, “Being a Half-breed”, is about how a girl who struggles with understanding what cultural group she fits into since she is a “half-breed.” Elizabeth Evasdaughter’s essay, “Leslie Marmon Silko’s “Ceremony”: Healing Ethnic Hatred by

• Boyle shows how two people used fake names, and that they should be honest with their names because it gives a stronger connection with them

There comes a point in time in an individual’s life in which their name truly becomes a part of their identity. A name is more than just a title to differentiate people; it is a part of the person. In Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood by Richard E. Kim, names play a major role on the character’s identities. The absence and importance of the names in the story make the story rich with detail and identity through something as simple as the name of a character. Names are a significant factor affecting the story and the characters throughout the novel Lost Names.

Sherman Alexie demonstrates laughter as one of the ways a person can deal with emotional and physical pain shown in the short story “The Approximate Size of my Favourite Tumour.” Jimmy Many Horses is an Indigenous character that faces an inevitable disease: terminal cancer. Despite having cancer, Jimmy has a positive outlook towards his situation. He is an optimistic person, always looking for the good in bad conditions. Alexie depicts Jimmy’s relationship with others and his surroundings through their interactions. She has many hidden meanings that also ties in with the History of Indigenous people and their experiences during colonialism where they faced identity loss and racial stereotypes. Through symbolism, Alexie shows healing as a major theme shown throughout her use of the setting, cancer, and Jimmy Many Horses himself.

After moving out of her parents' house, she suddenly found herself free of all the restrictions and lectures. She quickly settled into kickboxing lessons and cut her hair short, but she still had one more thing to deal with. Her name. Oh, how she loathed her name. It was a reminder of the past, of how her mother would force her into dresses and how the only toys she had were Barbies.

Some other research about Brown tumors is that, Brown Tumors appear around 10% of the cases that have to do with a kidney disease. The tumor can be found anywhere in the skeleton. The most common parts that can be found are in the ribs, clavicle and the pelvis. 4.5% have been found in the mandibular, which is your

Over time humans have developed different methods for coping with hardships. Humor was developed as a way to cope with stressful situations or sadness. Art provided a way for people to escape the harsh reality they lived in to one of their own creation. The Escapism Movement in America following the Great Depression shows how people will take to various forms of art to distract themselves from the harsh reality of their situation. In Anthony Marra’s A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, the characters find outlets from their war-torn country through the use of comedy and several artistic mediums. From Deshi and Maali’s use of humor to cope with the duress of the hospital to Khassan’s lifelong work on his novel, the character’s in this novel

The authors of the majority praised works possess an element of madness within them. However, this element of madness is not meant to have a negative connotation; is simply means that praised authors, as a whole, have the ability to create piece of work beyond the capabilities of an average individual. Moreover, this element changes from writer to writer, due to the external forces and internal forces around them. Therefore, leading an author to have a particular writing style. Sherman Alexie a well acclaimed poet, prose and script writer has a very distinct style. His accurate portrayal of Native American culture, written to a young adult audience, has exemplifies why he has been so influential in today’s society. In fact, this style is displayed in “Evolution,” which was one of his earlier poems. This poem depicts the bitter reality of the destruction of Native American culture, while adding bits of irony to make it more light hearted. In order to better understand the consistent theme in his writing, one must uncover the Alexie background and the literary element he incorporates.

He relates this concept of a name being composed of smaller things making up a whole to the art of painting when he says, “It’s just the same as it is with painters.” This is a parallel that is easy to