Superman And Me Analysis

In the passage, “Superman and Me” Sherman Alexie explains to the readers the life of an Indian and how he defeats and tries to help others defeat the stereotype of an Indian. As a kid, Sherman Alexie dealt with stereotypes about reading and writing based upon the values of his tribe; however, he taught himself how to read from Superman comic books. Throughout the text, he uses figurative language, and quotes that mean way more that what they look like when you read them. One quote that really stood out was, “ I throw my weight against their locked doors. The door holds.

King claims that reading extensively makes for a better writer as through good and bad literature allows a writer to reflect on his own writing and improve his style. Yet Alexie rather is empowered quite differently by the knowledge he gains in reading literature. Alexie went against the stereotype for Indians at the time which still affects not only Indians but non-Indians as well. He is trying to make a point as to why he did not fail in the non-Indian world and that he deserved to succeed given how desperate he felt at times yet he did not accept fate given that he was considered “dangerous” (17). In doing so he works to change and save the lives of Indian kids but is unable to do so for all of them. He says, “They stare out the window. They refuse and resist. ‘Books,’ I say to them. ‘Books,’ I say” (18). Though the idea of empowerment may not be the same, it came from one source – books. This is how “a novel like The Grapes of Wrath may fill a new writer with feelings to…work harder and aim higher” (222), according to King, while a young Alexie “read “Grapes of Wrath” in kindergarten when other children are struggling through “Dick and Jane”” (17). Furthermore, Alexie stood out in a society which rather put him down for his race, which is not an equal comparison to how King stands out for social norms where he would rather read a novel “at meals” which “is considered

After reading “Superman and Me,” the reader may realize that the story is an account of the affect reading had on Alexie’s whole life. In turn this leads to the discovery of the story’s theme. The theme of Sherman Alexie’s “Superman and Me” is that education is valuable, and culture or background do not correlate to

“Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie is a brief passage describing a personal experience of the author’s childhood – specifically, how he learned to read and the impact it has had on his life. He discloses that he is of Indian descent from his father. Sherman speaks of his father in admiring tones, of how he devoured books and was an educated Indian, of how his house was always full of literature and how he chose himself to attend catholic schools (he was one of the very few Indians who purposely did). According to Sherman, he learned to read through the use of a Superman graphic novel by imagining his own meaning to the different panels and deducing what the words meant by doing this throughout the story. Eventually, he ends up reading more and more, and he is signaled out in his

Sherman Alexie recalls his childhood memory of learning to read, and his teaching experience in “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”. He devotes his interest to reading. By this way, he breaks the stereotype that Indian boys are expected to be stupid and dumb, and later on he becomes a successful writer because of his endeavor to read. Alexie vividly narrates his younger life by using metaphor and repetition with a confident tone, in order to strengthen his description of his reading talent, his influence to the other Indian boys and how he struggles in poverty to change his life.

Alexie’s narrator describes a story of assumption and discrimination through not only the thoughts of the narrator and his life, but also how the narrator explains his thoughts and the diction he uses as he recalls certain moments. Throughout the passage, the narrator demonstrates how isolated he is, not only in the country where hia people are shunned, but also with others that are in a situation similar to his. Not only is there a feeling of loneliness and isolation, but also guilt of relation to how Indians are being treated today. Through stories of realistic fiction, Alexie addresses serious issues that others fail to.

“Superman and Me” involves the author, Sherman Alexie as an adolescent boy. Alexie lived in Washington on a Spokane Indian Reservation where he grew up with parents who were poor most of the time. Although, his parents “usually managed to find some minimum-wage job or another” (Alexie). The father of Alexie went to a Catholic school where he read whatever he came into sight with. Alexie looked up to his father; therefore, he wanted to be an avid reader just like his dad. Before he could even read, Alexie picked up many books. Although words look foreign to Alexie, he understood the purpose of a paragraph, and “realized that a paragraph was a fence that held words” (Alexie). Everything he looked at, he referred to it as a paragraph. Living a life inside of a paragraph, Alexie one day picked up a Superman comic book. This day became the day he learned how to read American literature. Looking at pictures in the comic book, Alexie assumes what he sees. This method eventually taught him the way of reading English. In the essay, Alexie states, “I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky. I read books late into the night, until I could barely keep my eyes open…” Not the typical student, Alexie would be told to be quiet in the classroom. Never did he expect being smarter would come with consequences. Is this the kind of American Dream Alexie wanted? Despite all the learning and being an outcast, the author became a writer, as well as

As he grew up to become a writer, we see pain in the story he tells. “I loved those books, but I also knew that love had only one purpose. I was trying to save my life” (pg.18). Alexie wanted to be someone greater than what others expected him to be. People would put him down constantly, but he fought back just as much. He tried to save himself from the stereotypes of being just another dumb Indian. He had more determination to prove others wrong when it came too exceeding in reading to further excel in his daily life.

“Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie first appeared in “The Most Wonderful Books: Writers on Discovering the pleasures of Reading.” Sherman Alexie is a well-known Native American writer that publishes short stories, novels, and poetry. Out of the three narratives, I found myself connect with this story more than the others. Alexie tells us about his childhood as an Indian boy that grew up on the Reservation. His father was a big reader so as a kid he’s always had an interest in books and eventually it became a passion. As he advanced in reading at an early age, peers would have difficulty with the content that he’s already achieved. Other kids would frown upon him because it was out of the ordinary for an Indian to be smart. Children on the Reservation were expected to be unsuccessful, but Alexie refused to let himself fail. Throughout his obstacles in life, he ended up becoming a writer and now, visits the Reservation to make sure children get as much education as possible. Reading saved his life and he believed it could save theirs as well. Sherman Alexie uses multiple techniques throughout his narrative to inform the audience about how he saved his life through literacy by tieing in his personal perspectives.

Sherman Alexie the author of the essay "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" was born and raised on a Spokane Indian Reservation. Growing up his family did not have a lot of money, yet today Alexie is known as one of the most prominent Native American writers. Alexie reminisces on his childhood when he first taught himself how to read. In the essay "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" Sherman Alexie suggests, that for Native Americans reading is the key to education and education is the key to prosperity in life.

“Superman and Me” includes the author, Sherman Alexie as an adolescent boy. Alexie lived in Washington on a Spokane Indian Reservation where he grew up with parents who lived in debt most of the time, although his parents, as he states, “usually managed to find some minimum-wage job or another.” The father of Alexie went to a Catholic school where he read whatever he came into sight with. Alexie looked up to his father, and therefore, wanted to become an avid reader just like his dad. Before he could even read, Alexie picked up many books. Although words originally looked foreign to Alexie, he understood the purpose of a paragraph. He says that he “realized that a paragraph was a fence that held words” (Alexie). Everything he came upon, he referred to it as a paragraph. Living a life inside of a paragraph, Alexie, one day picked up a Superman comic book. This day became the day he learned how to read American literature. Looking at the pictures in the comic book, Alexie assumes what he sees. This method ultimately taught him the way of reading English. In the essay, Alexie states, “I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky. I read books late into the night, until I could barely keep my eyes open…” Because Alexie outsmarted his class, he could not answer any questions in class.. Never did he expect that his brilliance would come with consequences. Is this the kind of American Dream Alexie wanted? Despite all the learning and

In "Superman and Me," Alexie's main claim declares that reading can make a major difference in a person's life. To Sherman Alexie, reading and books helped him get off the reservation and find his way out in the world. However, "Superman and Me” comes alive for readers due it implies that all a person needs is courage to fly pass their current situation, this story shows how the hostility of such bravery can even be emphasized in classrooms. In addition, he demonstrates to readers that all it takes is effort to make dreams come true, especially when living in a hostile world. Although, Alexie uses rhetorical strategies to appeal to the reader in more than one way and his ethical appeal comes from him illustrating what reading did for his situation

Throughout literature many pieces of work can be compared and contrasted to each other. In “Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie discusses the challenges he faced as a young Indian adult, who found his passion of reading at an early age, living on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He challenged the stereotype of the young Indian students who were thought to be uneducated while living on a reservation. Likewise, in the excerpt from The Hunger of Memory, Richard Rodriguez shares his similar experience of being a minority and trying to break stereotypes of appearing uneducated. He shares the details of his life growing up learning a different culture and the struggles he faced becoming assimilated into American culture. In these two specific pieces of literature discuss the importance of breaking stereotypes of social and educational American standards and have similar occupational goals; on the other hand the two authors share their different family relationships.

He was born as a Native American whose schools were pitifully small and neglected by the government. He described not even being taught poetry as a child as well as the general, expected disinterest that was expressed by the other school children, as “Indians were expected to be stupid.” Both essays show how prejudice in education affects children of minority status and

In “The Joy of Reading and Writing : Superman and Me” published in the Los Angeles Times, Sherman Alexie brings attention to the cultural divide between Indians and non - Indians, specifically in the area of education. Alexie uses himself as the example in the article, a “Spokane Indian boy” who lives on the reservation. Alexie chose to mimic his father's love for books, because of that he taught himself to read at a very young age. He learned to read by looking at the pictures in a Superman comic book. After teaching himself he “advances quickly”, unlike other kids he is able to read “Grapes of Wrath in kindergarten”. If he hadn’t been an Indian boy he may have been called a “prodigy” but he was so instead he was an “oddity”. At this point in the article Alexie brings us out of his past as a child and into his present as an educated Indian man. Much to his surprise he has become a writer. He says, “I visit schools and teach creative writing to Indian kids”. Alexie talks about how Indian children have lower