The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor: Humor in Times of Despair
Solomon Dane Sanderson
ENGL100-S03
Lynn Wells
February 28, 2013
Humor: Is it the Correct Thing to use in Times of Despair? Wherever you are there will always be two things in this world, sickness and racism, but the way you deal with them makes you who become. For many people humor is a coping device to both, however others find laughter hard to deal with in times of despair. When Jimmy finds out he has an incurable disease he leans on his crutch of humor. Trying to use it to explain it to his wife, Norma, he comes off on the wrong side and it scares her. Scarred and confused Norma turns and runs away from the problem. Through flashbacks Jimmy reminisces on the important times in his life and explains how humor helped him get past the hardships he faced, not only the sickness, but also the racism in his life. On his deathbed Norma returns in time to spend the last few days with the love of her life. When Jimmy found out he had terminal cancer the first thing he turned to was humor. A witty remark or two was the only fall back Jimmy had in life. When his life was halted to a stop, he had two choices in life. He could have either accepted that he was going to die and turn into a cold-hearted soul or he could have made the rest of his days count in a joyous mood. Jimmy opted to choose the second. From the beginning of the story Jimmy could not help himself, and with every moment he got he made a joke. It is either at the expense of himself or his Aboriginal heritage. Humor if used properly can be used as a remedy, but if used wrong it could be taken in the wrong context and separate you from others. Not everyone is able to use it appropriately though. When Jimmy came to telling his wife about the cancer he referred to his tumor as a baseball, in both size and shape. Not only that, Jimmy used his humor negatively. “No really. I told her to call me Babe Ruth. Or Roger Maris. Or maybe even Hank Aaron…”(2) This referred to fact that when Hank Aaron was about to
ENGL100-S03
Lynn Wells
February 28, 2013
Humor: Is it the Correct Thing to use in Times of Despair? Wherever you are there will always be two things in this world, sickness and racism, but the way you deal with them makes you who become. For many people humor is a coping device to both, however others find laughter hard to deal with in times of despair. When Jimmy finds out he has an incurable disease he leans on his crutch of humor. Trying to use it to explain it to his wife, Norma, he comes off on the wrong side and it scares her. Scarred and confused Norma turns and runs away from the problem. Through flashbacks Jimmy reminisces on the important times in his life and explains how humor helped him get past the hardships he faced, not only the sickness, but also the racism in his life. On his deathbed Norma returns in time to spend the last few days with the love of her life. When Jimmy found out he had terminal cancer the first thing he turned to was humor. A witty remark or two was the only fall back Jimmy had in life. When his life was halted to a stop, he had two choices in life. He could have either accepted that he was going to die and turn into a cold-hearted soul or he could have made the rest of his days count in a joyous mood. Jimmy opted to choose the second. From the beginning of the story Jimmy could not help himself, and with every moment he got he made a joke. It is either at the expense of himself or his Aboriginal heritage. Humor if used properly can be used as a remedy, but if used wrong it could be taken in the wrong context and separate you from others. Not everyone is able to use it appropriately though. When Jimmy came to telling his wife about the cancer he referred to his tumor as a baseball, in both size and shape. Not only that, Jimmy used his humor negatively. “No really. I told her to call me Babe Ruth. Or Roger Maris. Or maybe even Hank Aaron…”(2) This referred to fact that when Hank Aaron was about to