Summary Of The Joy Of Reading Superman And Me

In the short story “Superman and Me” which was written by Sherman Alexie, details the autobiography of Alexie’s life when he grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. In the beginning, Alexie introduces his audience with a bundle of information and vigorous conflicts that he had learned to overcome. Alexie’s first confrontation came the very day he was born, when someone discovered “he was born with water in his brain and not expected to survive.” Once Alexie conquered this deadly situation, he discovered this unique passion towards reading. At the age of 3, he became very peculiar about a certain comic book called Superman, and that’s when he opened it up, analyzed it and became deeply affectionate about the power knowledge. Alexie also seemed to pick up this intelligence through his father, as he was one of the only Indians to attend a catholic school, and obtain an education. Alexie’s next additional challenge began the day he started school. He was teased by his classmates, degraded by his teachers and abandoned by his fellow community members all because he’s smart Indian. Also, the author begins to explain how the Indians on the reservation saw failure as this normal thing, they accepted the fact that they weren’t supposed to get a decent education. Alexie seemed to always find a way around diversity even when it looked like the whole world was against him because he didn’t follow the stereotypical “dumb” Indian boy. Peoples arrogance and crude remarks towards him is

In Sherman Alexie’s short story “Superman and Me,” Alexie writes about his life as an Indian child growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in the state of Washington. He depicts his life from when he was three years old, living on the reservation, up to his current self, as an adult writer who frequently visits that reservation. He primarily describes his interest in reading and how it has changed his life for the better.

Row, in “ Without Reservation” emphasizes that Alexie is a storyteller and not a prose fiction writer. A story teller, he defines, has work that, “... contains, openly or covertly, something useful …” (Row 1). Row goes on by giving evidence to why Alexie is a storyteller, and not your usual Indian writer. As he explains, Alexie reinstates the fragmented and ruptured Indian life instead of the political topics associated with them. With this idea in mind, Row believes that Alexie instills this behavior in his writing to give way for his sharp moral endings. These genuine moral endings, installment of stereotypes and Indian beliefs with consequences

"As Indian children, we were expected to fail in the non-Indian world." (Pg. 24) Sherman Alexie, a significant Indian writer who grew up on reservation, discusses his childhood experience in seeking hope and salvation in readings and writing to break the stereotypes of Indian kids. In Alexie's article "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me", he proves that one doesn't have to be affluent to enjoy readings and writing, whereas one has to be resistant and persistent to "save their lives" from poverty. He not only provides courage and hopes for Indian children from a lower class, but also shows the non-Indians that Indians are smart and talented as well.

Sherman Alexie recounted in his essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” how his first ever read as a child was an unspecified Superman comic, and how he learned to read from this comic. At first, this seems just a minor detail he put at the beginning of his essay, but with further analysis, I will explain why this is one of the most impactful and important details in his message.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Native Americans and their traditions were relegated throughout American society. Sherman Alexie’s highlights the struggles of educating himself on a Native American reservation, where most of his peers and condescending attitude toward learning and seemed destined for failure. To connect with readers that have struggled throughout school and to bring awareness of Indian culture to Americans, Alexie connects himself to Superman, uses striking comparisons, and incorporates simple anaphora throughout Superman and Me.

Reading was his outlet from the negative environment he grew up in, but also the way out. Sherman Alexie also uses selective diction to shape the struggles of young Native Americans in the broken school system. Words like sullen, defeated, resist, refuse and arrogant create the negative atmosphere of the Native American students are face with everyday. Discouraged and already defeated students are the kind Sherman Alexie tries to save because nobody bothers with them, a lost

Alexie uses first hand experiences all throughout his article to depict the reality of American Indian’s lives. By appealing to the pathos, he gives his readers the ability to empathize with him, experiencing both the trials and triumphs. His use of analogies provides his audience with visuals that portray his experiences more accurately. When Alexie writes about himself in

Alexie’s book also points out how violent things can be on a reservation. He points out that there are unwritten rules of fighting. Some of these included “if somebody insults you, then you have to fight him,” or “if somebody insults any of your family or friends, or if

This shows the false hope that everyone on the reservation suffers from. This causes everyone to stay the same because they feel that they could not achieve anything. Jr believes that ‘It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor .It an ugly circle and there’s nothing you can do about it”. Jr. believes that the poverty on the reservation is like a big old circle that will never go

When Alexie grows up, he writes about how he was not just trying to save his own life, but he was striving to save other Indian children’s lives as well. “I refused to fail… I am trying to save our lives” (Alexie paragraph 6 and 7). Alexie breaks down doors of arrogance and defeat to give children the academic opportunities he grew up

“Finishing a good book is like leaving a good friend” author William Feathers would acknowledge and I have realized that I've lost a valuable friend after perusing The Absolute True of a Part-Time Indian. Sherman Alexie’s novel is a journey through the mind of a writer as he attempts to chronicle his daily life. This autobiographical depiction of life on a reservation is bleak but hopeful yet also heartrending and uplifting. This novel discusses about Arnold Spirit or Junior, a member of the Spokane Indian Tribe, that decides to attend a school filled with white kids. As Junior struggles to create a scintillating future for himself he finds himself impacted by racism and depression but the hardships he faces aren't enough to make him lose hope.

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.

In the story "Superman and Me" by Alexie, an Indian boy is determined to learn because he was inspired by his father. He looks forward to more education and he wants to be successful when he grows up. The boy is going to a school where he isn't accepted because he is not white. In the story "Graduation" by Maya Angelou, she goes to school where the white are considered higher class, were as the blacks were considered the lower class. Education is an important factor to becoming successful.

Have you ever considered if a literary education is a necessity or a privilege? After reading Sherman Alexie’s article “The Joy of Reading and Writing : Superman and Me” I definitely began thinking on this question. Alexie argues that low socioeconomic groups specifically Spokane Indians need a better literary education to help counter the cultural expectation. I feel Alexie effectively persuades the reader through his personal experiences and by using pathos and ethos.