Sherman Alexie Humor

Words: 742

Pages: 3

Open Document

umor can be found in a myriad of places. There are millions of books and other various writings where humor is used by an author to make the reader laugh. However, sometimes skilled authors use humor to emphasize a character's will to try to forget the pain they contain inside. Humor can be used as an escape for characters to keep their true feelings at bay. Author Sherman Alexie uses humor to show how characters escape their pain throughout the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part - Time Indian. Sherman Alexie does exactly this throughout his novel by using characterization, illustrations, and dialogue. To begin, in his characterization of the protagonist Junior, Sherman Alexie expresses Junior’s hidden pain by using humor. The author replaces his character’s tears with laughter. Within his novel, Alexie chose to have his characters suppress the pain they hold inside them. Sherman Alexie chose to have his characters’ woe and tears be bottled up like a shaken bottle of soda …show more content…
The dialogue within the novel was meant to have double meanings, the author lets the readers interpret what the two meanings are. The readers either find the dialogue as a humorous piece of text or they find it heart touching, truly expressing how the characters either reminisce about past good times in their lives, or mourn the several deaths that occur throughout the novel. In the text it indicates, “ ‘Jeez, ‘ she said. ‘ Who cares if a man wants to marry another man? All I want to know is who’s going to pick up all the dirty socks?‘ “ (155). This demonstrates how Junior reminds himself of a joke his grandmother told him to ease the pain of his grandma’s death. It also shows the way the author wisely chose to use dialogue with double meanings. Sherman Alexie chose to have Junior remember this specific piece of dialogue because it brings Junior joy, yet it also brings him pain in remembering what he

Who Is Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie comes has a really interesting background, coming from very sacred Native American land, the Spokane Indian Reservation located west of Washington but he now resides in Seattle Washington. He was born on October 7th, 1966, now fifty years old. His father Sherman Joseph Alexie belong to the Coeur d'Alene and his mother Lillian Agnes Cox was of Colville, a Spokane mother. Sherman Alexie was much influenced by his grandmother, a spiritual leader of the Spokane Indians. “The Absolutely…

Words 626 - Pages 3

Summary Of Sherman Alexie's Gentrification

certain minority groups from being allowed into the country we have a people that are torn about the issue of racism in America and it shows in treatment of African-Americans with many people isolating and avoiding them. In Sherman Alexie’s “Gentrification” the author uses humor and isolation as a means to share with his reader the fact that racial balances, or lack thereof, in inner-city neighborhoods are fickle. Alexie’s article is more of a tale, one in which we see a hero, our narrator and author…

Words 707 - Pages 3

Native American Stereotypes Essay

Stereotypes, these have become such a common part of our lives these days. We hear people giving others a specific stereotype, every day and everywhere around us. Sometimes we even find ourselves in a situation where we are one of the people making a specific stereotype for a specific group of people we see. Everybody in the world whether they are young or old, end up having a stereotype labeled to them on their backs. It can be one of many various stereotypes people give, anywhere from “preppy”…

Words 1847 - Pages 8

The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

The absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie analyzes the obscure world of Native Americans. Sherman Alexie uses humor, sadness, and real life situation to connect the reader to the lives of Native Americans. Truly, no one knows what it is like to live in a reservation except for those that have to. Reservation is mostly described as prison-like. Karen Diver shows that Native Americans are the ones who get to live in that environment and are likely surrounded and by poverty.…

Words 997 - Pages 4

Sherman Alexie's How To Write The Great American Indian Novel

Sherman Alexie’s poem, How to Write the Great American Indian Novel, is one of my favorite poems. This poem simply blows my mind. There are two reasons why I enjoy this poem so much. First, the readers can easily feel the dark humor embedded in the poem. Nevertheless, there is a bit of irony inserted in each line which builds the whole poem to send a chill to the reader, at least in my case I do feel that the poem somehow brings both nuisance and sympathy. Second, the poem, in a way, reminds me of…

Words 821 - Pages 4

The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian Essay

In an excerpt of Sherman Alexie’s novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie uses the voice of Junior to illustrate the poverty that plagues Indian reservations, and how a young teen like himself deals with the disappointments of such a stark life. As the title suggests, Junior writes with the informality of a keepsake journal. He is not directing his words to a particular parent or peer, but rather venting the troubles that pervade his life, implying a bitterness to a world that…

Words 689 - Pages 3

Part Time Indian Challenges

A vital part of life that everyone has to deal with is challenges. It is everyday dilemmas that help people mature and learn. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a diary about some of the predicaments the author faces in life. His diary opens displaying all the issues Junior was born with, and a main challenge he faced was destitution. Poverty is Junior’s greatest challenge due to the fact that it makes survival hard, takes away his self confidence, and makes him…

Words 1352 - Pages 6

What You Pawn I Will Redeem Analysis

Why We Root for Jackson in “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” In “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” Sherman Alexie writes about the quirky misadventures of the humorous Jackson Jackson. When Jackson stumbles across his grandmother’s long-lost powwow regalia in the window of a Seattle pawnshop, the self-defined financially irresponsible Spokane Indian finds himself desperate for money to purchase the regalia from the pawnbroker. Jackson's determination to “win” his grandmother's regalia sets him on a quest…

Words 1021 - Pages 5