The Humor of Sherman Alexie

The Humor of Sherman Alexie
The elements of humor in Sherman Alexie’s short stories and books reveal more intrinsic wit than humor. He writes about what he has lived and what he knows of being “Indian.” In “My Favorite Tumor,” he stated that the humor often came from feeling like crying. When things in his life became too hard and all he felt like doing was crying he found a way to turn it into something to laugh at. This is shown by the sentiment; “if I don’t laugh I will cry” which is shared by us all. In this way, Sherman Alexie has found a way in his writing to bring out the humorous side of very un-humorous situations. He uses real life circumstances and makes them seem tolerable because he jokes about them instead of getting upset and angry. Alexie’s writings bring you closer to the inside lives of the people he writes about whether they are imaginary or real, Alexie brings them into your world and you can understand them.
In “Reservation Bl...