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The Approximate Size Of My Favorite Humor Summary

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Humor is a universal language whose breadth spans that of all ages and cultures. As a fundamental method of communication, it links humanity and fosters a deeper understanding of each other’s lives. In Sherman Alexie’s short story excerpt, The Approximate Size of my Favorite Tumor, Alexie highlights the identity of his people through the use of humor. Occurring throughout the work, humor defines Alexie’s style and view of the world around him. It acts as both a coping mechanism and a way of communicating with those around him, as humor is a language everyone can understand. In this sense, it weaves together Alexie’s view of Native American identity. Alexie uses this humor both to reveal long standing stereotypes about Native American people and communities and to maneuver through everyday life. At several points within “The Approximate Size of my Favorite Tumor,” Alexie plays with the use of nicknames to relay relationships between characters. A name is an integral part of one’s identity, being given at birth and held on to till death, representing who a person is. Sometimes people go by different names depending on how close the person is to another. Names are altered to tease lovingly or show sincerity. Such an instance takes place within the text. Surnames in the Native American community differ from that of western society. Descriptions took the place of a typical last name, creating more intimate and interesting names. For example, the main character of this excerpt is

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