Death Is A Part Of Life

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Death is a Part of Life In these three short stories, “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumour,” by Sherman Alexie, “Loss of the Sky,” by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn and “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, they show that death is a part of life. The main character in “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumour,” Jimmy Many Horses, uses humor to offset that he is sick and dying of cancer. With “Loss of The Sky,” Joseph Shields loses his son in World War I, he is affected by that and he loses the control of his own life. The main character in “The Things They Carried,” Jimmy Cross, believes it is his fault that he loses a soldier in the field by not following orders. In the short story “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumour,” Jimmy Many Horses, uses his humour to down play that he is sick and dying. He doesn’t want anybody to feel sorry for him. In the beginning of the story, Jimmy has terminal cancer and he uses humour to feel better about it. He and his wife always fight and Jimmy always uses his humour to dull the pain. They go to local tavern and have a Diet Pepsi. She wants him to quit act like a clown and take this more seriously. She leaves him because she cannot deal with him. He still cannot act seriously. Even on his deathbed, he writes “FROM THE DEATHBED OF JAMES MANY HORSES, III” And then he says “But in reality, I sat at my table to write, and DEATH TABLE just doesn’t the necessary music.” (Page 8) In the short story “Loss of the Sky,” Joseph Shields loses his son in the war. This affects his well being, he loses control of his own life and his horses. He quits going up the hill and singing to the sun in the morning. Joseph Shields has strong background in cultural beliefs. He has wife and six children. He has 200 horses in his farm. He was well respected in his community. Every morning he would go up hill and greet the sun by
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