The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor - Essay Example

‘This man can never be serious in and always reacts in humor’, says a female participant in desperation during the discussion on a topic on policy issues related to business. The retort to this remark is instant. ‘If I am serious, I should have been admitted to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in a hospital but here I am hale and hearty.’ Some people maintain their sense of humor even in desperate situations and will not hesitate to target their own selves. In “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor,” Sherman Alexie portrays a character immersed in humor so to say, from the cradle to the grave and from the womb to the tomb! Jimmy Many Horses is an individual who owns problems galore to make his life miserable and humorous. His never-ending concerns are relationships, alcoholism, modern society versus traditional values and above all doomed lives. He regales the readers with his version of the history of his relationship with his wife, Norma. In the trials and tribulations of life, even when one is afflicted with the life-threatening disease like cancer, humor is the potential energy giver that lightens the burden of the painful and stressful hours and days of the patient, and those around him. My chosen aspect in this story is humor, humor and more humor! That runs through each and every turn of the story. Detailed analysis and evidence has been provided in the ensuing paragraphs and at this stage, I need to make a special mention of the encounter of the couple with a policeman patrolling the highway and Sherman Alexie describes, “We watched him walk back to his cruiser, climb in, and drive off, breaking four or five laws as he flipped a U turn, left 166 rubber, crossed the center line, broke the speed limit, and ran through a stop sign without lights and siren.” (5) Amazing observation! Jimmy struggles to come to terms with his alcohol addiction and the terminal cancer that will carry him to the grave undoubtedly. Yet he is jovial and is unconcerned about his health concerns. He asserts with confidence, “Listen . . . if I stole 1,000 horses, I’d give you 501 of them.”(2) This man Jimmy is not an ordinary human being. He is willing to laugh in a near death situation and he goes on with his tantrums in all seriousness. Norma finds it difficult to put up with his willful laughter dispositions and leaves him temporarily to join the powwow circuit. Notwithstanding the abrupt separation, internally she intensely remembers the psychological bond with Jimmy and returns to him in his last days and by that time, she has ingrained something from his original asset of humor as she explains the significance of her return journey, in this meaningful composition, "Because someone needs to help you die the right way," she said. "And we both know that dying ain't something you ever done before.” I had to agree with that." And maybe," she said, "because making fry bread and helping people die are the last two things Indians are good at." "Well," I said. "At least you're good at one of them." And we laughed. (6) Humor is contagious and Jimmy must have enjoyed the sparks of wit now seen in his wife. During the X ray examination the tumor is identified and on Jimmy’s getting that information, he puts his stamp of humor and he offers its description by stating that "Well, I told her the doctor showed me my X-rays and my favorite tumor was just about the size of a baseball, shaped like one, too. Even had stitch marks."(1) But at the end of the story, Norma has come to terms with his sense of humor and their domestic dialogues attain a new dimension. In the middle of the story Jimmy’s metaphorical remark, steals the thunder and he candidly says, “Still, you have to realize that laughter saved Norma and me from pain, too. Humor was an antiseptic that cleaned the deepest of personal wounds (4). In the grim health-situation in which Jimmy is placed, any human being will be cynical but he challenges the calamity as if it is nothing. Is Jimmy really fearless to face the impending death due to cancer? Apparently it seems so, but it is my sincere view that he is using humor to shield himself from the demon of death that is hovering around him. His stance of denial of truth seems strange and his vain attempt to stall the gravity of his terminal disease indicates that he is taking humor too far. Perhaps internally he feels frustrated unable to challenge the advancing death. Norma is tension-ridden and is in a no-win situation. Being fed up with the intensity of his jokes, Norma in the end tells him, that she is going to leave him forever. Jimmy takes it as another joke and answers with a joke. She sticks to her stand and leaves him and Jimmy is left alone to cope up with the disease. Jimmy’s humor may have positive effects on his personality and he may be able to regale with his jokes those who come into his contact, but certainly it has no effect on the dreaded disease of cancer. The author takes the dig at the society and informs how serious this social problem afflicts the Native American people. A peculiar situation develops in the family. Humor is an asset with Jimmy and what else can he do except to cut jokes and keep himself engaged from other thoughts, the ones which will sap his sagging mental strength? His reaction on hearing the news of death of mother-in-law angers Norma, and the author describes the situation thus: "Oh, Jimmy," she said, talking through tears. "I can't believe I just said thank you to that guy," I said. "What does that mean? Thank you that you told me that my mother-in-law is dead? "(4)He knows that his days are numbered and therefore he wishes to laugh as much as possible as his ending is going to be abrupt. The game of baseball seems to enthrall him as he tells his friends, “No, really. I told her to call me Babe Ruth. Or Roger Maris. Maybe even Hank Aaron 'cause there must have been about 755 tumors inside me. Then, I told her I was going to Cooperstown and sit right down in the lobby of the Hall of Fame. Make myself a new exhibit, you know? Pin my X-rays to my chest and point out the tumors. What a dedicated baseball fan! What a sacrifice for the national pastime!"(2) Jimmy must be feeling pain both at the physical and psychic levels. His jokes are but the pain-relieving capsules. His stand is that death which is inevitable is not such a bad thing. It is better to stall death to the extent possible by jokes and laughter. If life is to be lived in its trials and tribulations, ask Jimmy how. At the spur of the moment, in tune with an argumentative stand, Norma left Jimmy, but she too missed his sense of humor and she returns to him to witness the final of Jimmy’s endurance test with the disease. "Honey," she said. "I've been gone so long and I missed you so much. But now I'm back. Where I belong."(6) Though the reader gets the hint that Jimmy’s disease has taken a grave turn, he also heaves a sigh of relief that Norma has rejoined him. Conclusion Humor runs through the entire story and in all situations. The author has described the reality of the husband-wife and family relationships and how a dreaded disease plays havoc, in the otherwise smooth and lively day to day encounters. The author’s strategy is successful and the type of detachment achieved by him in the development of the story is admirable. Works Cited Alexie, Sherman. 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