Sherman Alexie's Superman And Me

Influences come from anywhere- teachers, family, peers, school, the list goes on and on. In his narrative, “Indian Education”, Sherman Alexie depicts moments and people in his life that have impacted him. His stories range from bullies at school to life on the reservation. Each section varies in topic, however each connects to one common theme. For instance, avoid conforming to stereotypes is a theme of “Indian Education”.

He exhibits the use of a metaphor where he refers to the Superman comic and how he is breaking down a door. “Because he is breaking down the door, I assume he says, “I am breaking down the door.”… In this way, I learned to read.” This is another substantial example that demonstrates how Sherman Alexie learned to read. This use of metaphor can also mean something dissimilar. The “breaking down the doors” can simply mean breaking the barriers situated in the lives of these Indian children. The “doors” are “obstacles” such as the obstacle of stereotypes that these children live upon every single day of their lives. But Alexie believes that these children can do it just like Superman man did. Superman wasn’t from this world. He was a man who felt like he didn’t belong in this world which is why the metaphor of Superman and the doors is such an eminent part of Alexie’s main message. Also, Alexie uses the device of repetition. He repeated the word I in the beginning of each sentence in paragraph 7. “I refuse to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky…. I loved those books, but I also knew that love had only one purpose. I was trying to save my life.” By using this repetition all throughout the paragraph, he tries to imply that you don’t need fancy novels to learn to read. Simply by reading things in

Question 1: What does the Reservation respresent to the government and citizens of Brave New World?

One reading that stood out to me was the Superman & Me written by Sherman Alexie. After reading these few pages alone I learned a very important lesson, which is be yourself, better yourself, and stay true to yourself. Alexie doesn’t conform himself so he can fit in with the other classmates who don’t want to learn or even attempt to read in class. Even when it was known that “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike,” that didn’t stop him from voraciously reading every book he could get his hands on and answering questions when no one else would. It sort of reminds me of how my highschool works, similarly to how the kids in Alexie's class disliked how intelligent he became the kids

Sherman Alexie demonstrates the influence that negative expectations can have upon people, and the importance of growing beyond those expectations in his article, “Superman and Me”, published in the Los Angeles Times. Through personal experience, he is able to illustrate how the hopeless mentality among his people thrived and tried to deter those who thought and lived differently. He utilizes repetition to emphasize the importance of his actions when he “refused to fail”, deciding to be relentless in his pursuit of knowledge despite the criticism from others. (496) Alexie accurately portrays how there will always be a mentality that prevails in our “paragraph” or corner of society, that may hinder people from living differently and reaching

The text Sherman Alexie states,“I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky.” What do you think this quote means? To me it means that he didn’t care that nobody believed in him because he was Indian he was still going to be able to read and write. He was not going to give up. He was lucky because most Indian kids were not paid attention to in education because in his time

In the short story, “Superman and Me”, Sherman Alexie wanted to break the intelligence barrier between the Native-American Indians and the majority of Americans. In section 7 of “Superman and Me”, he is trying to break that barrier. One quote that stood out to me in his short story was, “I read with equal parts joy and desperation”. This quote implies that he enjoys reading, but he also feels obligated to read. This is because of the desperate situation between Native-American Indians and the majority of Americans. This quote has an important impact, develops Sherman Alexie’s claims, and contributes to development of his purpose and the central idea of the text.

Sheman Alexie values education and knowledge. Education helps him to change his ordinary life to extraordinary and achieve his goals. In the essay “Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie, reveal his journey learning how to read. He also says that he grew up in an Indian house in eastern Washington State, and his family was very poor in American society. Throughout the story, Alexie talks about how he strived to study and becoming successful. In the middle of the essay, he says that by doing so, “I was trying to save my life” (Alexie 50). He felt he was expected to fail, and being discriminated against by his peers and teachers. The other student wants Alexie to stay quiet when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers, for volunteers and for help.

Everyone knows Superman, the world-saving superhero, but he is just fiction. Another man named Sherman Alexie is a world-saver too. He had a tough childhood on an Indian reservation, but he pushed on and is now a world famous author. In one of his essays, “Superman and Me”, he talks about how he is like Superman in many ways. Alexie is very similar to Superman because they both try no matter if they are told to fail, both were “aliens”, and both are saving people’s lives.

Throughout Superman and Me Sherman Alexie says many impactful things that help state his overall reason for writing the article. One of the most important phrases though is this, “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky.” This statement is probably the most important one because it helps convey is main idea the best. Is main idea being wanting to learn himself and eventually help others learn too.

Alexie states in the text that his classmates wanted him to be quiet in the classroom when non-Indian authority asked the students for answers, volunteers, or help. Alexie knew he didn’t want to be a failure like his peers, which he viewed as the typical Indian. Alexie wrote “Those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians. I refused to fail. I was smart” (Capturing Memorable Moments 252).

Depending on who the audience consists of, each scene will be different. For example, a fairy tale may take place in an imaginary kingdom whereas a novel, like Charlotte’s Web, can occur in a more realistic setting. Either way, details are needed in order for the intended reader to imagine the scenery. Without the fine points, the audience will not be able to picture the narrative; leaving them dissatisfied and not willing to continue moving forward with the plotline. This can be something very intricate or something straight to the point. In Sherman Alexie’s piece called The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me, he quickly states the fact that he was, “3 years old, a Spokane INdian boy living with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern Washington state” (11). Only being one sentence, it is enough to get the reader to understand where and when his story took place. That statement had enough details to help the audience imagine Alexie’s point of view. If one cannot get through the entire piece without being confused, then they will miss out on the message that can explain the entire

Alexie comes across as intelligent when he discusses that he taught himself to read high-level books at a young age. He states, "A little Indian boy teaches himself to read at an early age and advances quickly. He reads "Grapes of Wrath" in kindergarten when other children are struggling through "Dick and Jane" (Alexie 17). People who are intelligent advance and learn quicker than most. Alexie illustrates how he learned quickly by referring to reading "Grapes of Wrath" while other students struggle with a way simpler book. Additionally, intelligent people can comprehend things quickly. Alexie builds off the idea that his intelligence to comprehend reading is what helped him advance in life at a young age. He was so bright that he read books that were above his grade levels like a reading prodigy, without any help from teachers or parents just with the intelligence and

Sherman Alexie is an award-winning author who wrote the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The book is a semi-autobiography of Alexie’s life and his experience growing up on an Indian Reservation, as well as a more economically well-off school, where he was the only Native American student. The book gives readers the opportunity to get an idea of what life is like living on an impoverished reservation. It depicts the struggles of young Arnold Spirit Jr., or Junior, as he is known on the reservation, as he grows up living a double-life, or as he says “as a part-time Indian”. His struggles include dealing with poverty, alcoholism, and racism, all while trying to make something of his life. The book, which has multiple themes discussed throughout our online course, is a great way for people who have no experience with reservations to understand what life on one is like.

The expectations that others place on us help us form our own expectation of ourselves, we can also choose to form our own goals. Granted that, Sherman Alexie had written a story about how he was inspired to become a writer. Beginning with learning to read on his own, then taking a stand against his society’s beliefs. For that reason, Sherman has encouraged other native American children to be more ambitious. In fact, on Superman and Me Sherman has proven, the ability to learn is not fixed, that it can be changed with someone’s efforts alone. Because he doesn’t believe failure is a permanent state.