Analysis Of Sherman Alexie 's Indian Education

In the book Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie the readers may have a difficult time identifying who the Indian killer was. The book creates a sense of desperation and peculiar self accomplishment by the killer, although falling short of their ambition. In everyone’s impermanence the killer did not last long after the chaos and sporadic murders in Seattle. In the Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie, John and Marie are both responsible for the killings because of their shared desire to kill a white man.

Sherman Alexie, in “Indian Education” tells his experiences in school on the reservation. Some of his teachers did not treat him very good and did not try to understand him. In his ninth grade year he collapsed. A teacher assumed that he had been drinking just because he was Native American. The teacher said, “What’s that boy been drinking? I know all about these Indian kids. They start drinking real young.” Sherman Alexie didn’t listen to the negatives in school. He persevered and became valedictorian of his school.

Adjusting to another culture is a difficult concept, especially for children in their school classrooms. In Sherman Alexie’s, “Indian Education,” he discusses the different stages of a Native Americans childhood compared to his white counterparts. He is describing the schooling of a child, Victor, in an American Indian reservation, grade by grade. He uses a few different examples of satire and irony, in which could be viewed in completely different ways, expressing different feelings to the reader. Racism and bullying are both present throughout this essay between Indians and Americans. The Indian Americans have the stereotype of being unsuccessful and always being those that are left behind. Through Alexie’s negativity and humor in his

Authors write for many reasons; most often because they want to tell a story. This is definitely the case with Sherman Alexie, “a poet, fiction writer, and filmmaker known for witty and frank explorations of the lives of contemporary Native Americans.” He grew up on the Spokane and Coeur D’Alene Indian Reservations, and has devoted much of his adult life to telling stories of his life there. Alexie expertly uses language and rhetorical devices to convey the intensity and value of his experiences.

Education —an institution for success, opportunity, and progress — is itself steeped in racism. In Sherman Alexie’s short story “Indian Education” from his book The Longer Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is set in two places, the Spokane Indian Reservation and a farm town nearby the reservation. The story is written in a list of formative events chronologize Victor’s youth by depicting the most potent moment from each year he is in school. Alexie addresses the issue of racism in education by examining examples of injustice and discrimination over twelve years in a boy’s life. Victor faces his initial injustice in first grade when he is bullied by bigger kids, but his understanding of injustice becomes much more complex in grades two through twelve as he experiences discrimination against his American Indian identity. Familial experiences of a Native woman, Alexie’s style and humor, and Victor’s awareness of discrimination from grade one to twelve all reveal the grim reality of growing up and being schooled on an American Indian reservation.

In the short story “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie the theme that is represented in each grade is racism. Throughout Alexie’s life he experiences more and more accounts of racism in school. Also, Alexie experiences levels of hardship as he gets older. Thus, the story’s theme statement could be summarized that racism enables hardship in one's life.

I was born and raised in a small distant Himalayan country in a refugee camp. Expectations were really high. My moderately educated parents, who had been living without hope for almost two decades, thought that education was our only hope. So, every day was a new challenge for me to do well and learn something new. I was always emphasized of the significance of education in every walk of my life. It was the part of the dinner table talk. I had learned nothing but how education was important. I was determined and did well in my studies. However, the discourses that I had learned at home and my community differed to a great extent when we moved to the United States. I had developed a different identity kit, that separated me from the rest of the students who thought the completely other way around. I was always taught that education was the only and most important thing but as I looked at my high school classmates, it was just a part; while it still remained as the only important thing as my parents had emphasized onto me. Also, I found it quite challenging to think and respond similar and acquire the same discourse. The most challenging part was to learn, interpret and speak in English. Accordingly, as Williams mentioned I could clearly see the conflict between the academic discourse that was being taught in the classroom and

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you were the odd one out? In Sherman Alexie’s novel Indian Killer there are many references to the cultures and traditions of Indians and how they are different to others. Alexie also brings up some of the major points of being a true native American and how some are just “wannabes” as he calls them in the novel. He also goes in depth with some struggles of being an Indian and how life is different between Indians and whites. The culture of the Indians in this novel play a major role in the novel as it is how the Indian killer starts killing because of all the racism. Alexie uses many references to

John Spayde’s article What Does it Mean to Be Educated (June 1998) offers insight into the world of philosophical questions and studies of our educational system. Spayde shares and responds to the opinions of different novelists, journalists, professors, and colleges that have taken a stance on what it means to be educated. His article briefly covers topics such as; educational decisions, financial division, entitlement, humanities, and technology. Spayde also discusses the importance of being connected and learning from a real-life experience. Spayde believes that having a connection to the world around you allows you to use any experience as a learning mechanism to further your education.

We all have the opportunity to be happy, what we do with that opportunity is on us. We all face challenges, some more difficult than others but there does come a point in our lives where we have to choose.. We have to make the decision to take the opportunity of happiness or to not. We all given them opportunity even if it might not seem so. If a person is in a healthy environment, has an appropriate attitude and has love in their life, they have the opportunity to be happy.

Education is something that has historically been a valuable asset to asserting one’s power and place in

PTI Essay By: Ben Reynolds On reservations around the USA poverty runs rampant, and affects many. In Part Time Indian, By Sherman Alexie, This poverty is seen through the eyes of Junior, A teenage Indian that has to deal with switching schools and alcoholism. As Junior goes through his freshman year he gets accepted by the white people of reardan, and has to deal with losing many family members, and hate from fellow indians. Junior and his surroundings are affected by socioeconomic class.

What is learned in school, be it public or private, determines, for the most part, what position an individual will find themselves in - in the future. In “White Privilege and Male Privilege,” Peggy McIntosh, an author known for doing something that is rarely done in the white community--speaking of her race--makes references to education, to her privileged education, to support her argument on white and male privilege. Sometimes I wonder what society would look like without education; would there be any norms, or rules? Education is so deeply instituted into most Americans' lives that those questions will probably never be answered. One thing is certain; some people are able to get

Which by redefining all this women are becoming worthy of what their ancestors fought for. In addition, Rich expresses the need for woman to find their self-identity through education and not just letting the issues in society deter them from being able to have professions and educations just as powerful and knowledgeable as men. More specifically ,Rich emphasized that women need to branch out and make sure that they as women are educating not just themselves, but all women on their history to help generations see power and self-knowledge through education can help them

In Adrienne Rich's essay, "Claiming an Education", the author speaks about the female experience against the male-dominated academic scene. Despite the fact that this essay was written in 1979, a number of Rich's points seem timeless. Rich encourages young women to insist on a life of meaningful work. As a seventeen-year-old student, I have often heard from my female companions that they anticipate a higher education as an opportunity to hunt down a spouse. The frequency and zeal of this conclusion, seeing education only as means of marriage, strikes me as particularly pitiful and archaic. Adrienne Rich’s thesis in “Claiming an Education” aptly expresses the array of roles women hold in societies, the benefits, and weaknesses of our education system, as well as the struggles that women are exposed to. She successfully develops her thesis statement by the effective use of a variety of methods of development and various literary devices to improve her writing quality and to help readers interpret her message. I agree with Rich’s thesis statement because education entails being responsible for oneself, not just for women, but for all students.