Superman And Me By Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie, the author of “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and me,” begins by informing the audience of the trials and hardships that he faced as an Indian boy on the Spokane reservation. Then Alexie shares with the audience, a story, about the first time he read which impacts the audience because it is personal and concise, which emotionally connects the audience and builds a foundation of understanding. The foundation built by the story, allows for Alexie to elaborate on the passion he had for reading and later reminds the audience that he lived on a reservation where the children were not expected to succeed, and even though he did and we find out children now have an “arrogant wonder,” (Page, 14) there are still the few that may adhere to old expectations. Alexie uses Pathos, Ethos, and Logos to assist in conveying this message.

Ethos, or argument by character is prevalent in this essay because of Sherman Alexie’s extreme credibility. Considering this essay is pieced together by different anecdotes, the author becomes more and more trustworthy as the story progresses. Sherman speaks of growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern

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

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.

As the text progresses into the middle of the story, Alexie talks about how he finds knowledge as a step toward success rather than a burden by using a didactic tone. Alexie talks about how he was advanced in reading at a young age while his other classmates were struggling. You learn this when he said “...little Indian boy teaches himself how to read at an early age... when other children are struggling through...”(Alexie). This shows that he was steps closer to success than them. Later on, Alexie says, “We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid. Most lived up to those expectations...”(Alexie). Alexie starts to explain as to what path was provided for these Indian children. Although there was this certain path for these Indian children, Alexie refuses to set himself up for failure. This can be seen when he says, “...we were expected to fail...I refused to fail. I was smart...I was lucky...I loved...books...I also knew love had only one purpose. I was trying to save my life...”(Alexie). He knew he could exceed their expectations and create his own path. Alexie refused to follow the crowd and waste his gift of knowledge.

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.

The next idea that Sherman Alexie answers is what is like to be an Indian Man in the short story “An Indian Education” it seems as if to be an Indian man is to be caught between two worlds and sometimes picking one over the other. For example, the passage on page 176 states the following: “But on the day I leaned through the basement window of the HUD house and kissed the white girl, I felt the good-byes I was saying to my entire tribe” (176). For the narrator of that section he felt like had to give up the Indian part of him because of kissing the white. He felt he disappointed his people and they would never for give him for it. He felt as if his tribe would see him as ‘sell out’. There is also a question of did he view himself the same way. The narrator continues state “After that, no one spoke to me for another five hundred years” (177). Sherman Alexie allow the narrator to end that section with a Hyperbole for added meaning. While we know the narrator was not alive for five hundred years, but it could have felt that way for him. He could have thought that everyone hated him or saw him in a negative light. “Amusement” has great examples of how the main character thinks what is like to be an Indian Man.

In his short story, "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me",novelist Sherman Alexies reflects how education saved his life. He recounts how reading was a significant part of his life growing up in the Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern Washington state, influenced by his father's passion for reading books. The purpose of this story is to inspire its audience to defy stereotypes and exceed the seemingly low expectations of others by educating themselves. Through his use of pathos, ethos, and metaphor, Alexie appeals to similar feelings and experiences in his Native American readers and persuades them to empower themselves through education.

Sherman Alexie was a Indian boy with a passion to learn how to read. Despite the fact that Indians were known to not be educated, he was one of the few that learned. He started learning to read at a very young age. He would read his dad’s books and everything else he could get his hands on. The first book he read was a Superman comic book. That comic book left a big impact on the rest of Alexie’s life.

Sherman Alexie grew up on an Indian reservation. Alexie was lucky. His father loved to read. This encouraged Alexie as a young child to look at books. His first experience was with a Superman comic book. He would look at the pictures and say what the pictures represented. Thus, he eventually was able to actually read the words.

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

There has been a long pattern of mistreatment of people of color over the course of American History, including the forced relocation of the majority of the Native American population onto reserves. In Superman and Me, Native American author Sherman Alexie writes about his experiences growing up on an Indian Reservation in Washington, and how breaking away from the norms of his culture affected his life. The people around him celebrated their culture, but hid it in the presence of white people, actions presumably formed from years of discrimination to avoid drawing attention to themselves. However, instead of remaining quiet and reserved in the presence of white people, Alexie chose to be different. He states that they were “Indian children who were expected to be stupid”, and “expected to fail in the non-Indian world”, but Alexie refused to be constrained by these expectations (Alexie 17). He was an avid reader, with a purpose. Alexie says, “I was trying to save my life” (18). For him, a life on an Indian Reservation was one where he would never be able to reach his full potential. He had to get out to save

Author Sherman Alexie once stated that he writes to give teens “Weapons in the form of words”. He writes these words to empower the youth generation. He writes to encourage, and direct the “ever-struggling” young adult. Most of his novels, and written publications attest the idea of opportunity for teens that are battling negative environmental factors. Factors such as poverty, alcoholism, or prejudice. Alexie uses enthusiastic, and critical in-text examples to better direct targeted young adult readers in the path of an optimistic future. He indirectly gives the teen audience a sense of productivity for their own future. Through figurative hope and optimism, Alexie narrates American-Indian characters to provide an illustration of how undesirable factors of life can weigh down success for those residing on a reservation in Spokane, Washington. Whether or not a person can relate to his writings, I think Sherman Alexie shares his personal stories to target help toward strained young adults, like he once was.

One of the circumstances that lead Alexie that influenced all of his work was being born on Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington. The tribe name itself means “children of the sun” (Reservation). Contrary to the name, here, like most Native American reservations, there is a high poverty rate. In fact, the average poverty rate on the reservation was forty percent as of 2016 (Spokane

Alexie was different from his fellow peers because he learned to read books at a young age including the challenging novel, The Grapes of Wrath. Alexie values education and knowledge and does not let anyone get in the way of him and his books. Being an oddity since he is an Indian child and a minority, Alexie may have some hostilities built up against the people who doubted his intelligence such as the non-Indian teachers and other parties who patronized him.