Where is there humor? to what end?

(For starters, sorry for my late posting)

There is humor present throughout the course of Sherman Alexie’s story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”, seen through dialog, character’s actions, and even the main character’s name, Jackson Jackson. I believe humor is used as a tool to lighten an otherwise grim situation. For instance in the very beginning the narrator, Jackson Jackson, describes himself as trustworthy after saying he has had two or three wives and two or three kids. Which is ironic, how can someone be considered trustworthy when they do not even know how many children they have fathered. Also he reached the conclusion that he was trustworthy because store owners allow him to use their restrooms. Jackson’s actions are humorous as well because he was given twenty four hours to come up with nine hundred and ninety nine dollars to buy back his grandmother’s regalia that was stolen years prior, from a pawn shop owner. He already had five dollars from begging on the street and the shop owner gave him a twenty dollar head start, Jackson’s first thought was to go to a seven eleven with his fellow homeless friends buy “three bottles of imagination”, and get drunk in an alley. I feel that the humor is essential in this story because a person’s life is full of very traumatic and difficult moments some more than others, this narrator is of Native American decent, a marginalized group of people who have had their heritage taken from them, and many live on reservations. And Jackson specifically is unemployed and homeless. Regardless of this he does not want the audience to feel sorry for him, Jackson jokes about everything in his life and will not give negative aspects of it a second thought like when Junior left. He looks at the positive side of his life and only wants to live life to the fullest. Not starting confrontation with the pawn shop owner for selling his stolen grandmother’s regalia. And sharing what little money he has with others, giving a twenty to the cashier, and buying shots for everyone in the bar.