Superman And Me Summary

With Alexie knowing that learning and knowing how to read was a skill that everyone needed, he encouraged many other young Indians to learn how to. He would tell them, “I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky.” He was trying to save their lives. He wanted to teach them how to read because they are smart, they are arrogant, and they are lucky. In the story it says, “ They look at me with bright eyes and arrogant wonder.” They looked up to his, and believed him. Then, there were those few that were defeated from the start that would sit in the back of the classroom and would ignore

“What was it? Who were they? Where are they now? Do they exist?” wonders the writer Sherman Alexie if the Native American reservation school system ever exposed him to the concept of creative writing or writers. In his essay, “The Joy of Reading: Superman and Me,” he describes how notions such as creative writing and reading high-level texts were considered “beyond Indians.” To combat such unwarranted profiling, he reminds young Native Americans of the importance of resisting negative stereotypes. Alexie claims that no matter the situations they were born into, they can still accomplish their aspirations. He supports this contention through his own experiences, reflecting upon how empowerment from reading and writing– particularly that which he garnered from reading the iconic comic Superman at the age of three– “saved” him from the failure expected from his race. In his essay, Spokane Indian-American writer Sherman Alexie employs relatable and uplifting personal narrative to motivate Native American youth to view others’ success, real or fictional, as validation of their own potential.

He gains the trust of the audience by admitting, “These days, I write novels, short stories, and poems, I visit schools and teach creative writing to Indian kids….. In all my years in the reservation school system, I was never taught how to write...” (paragraph 8). This lets the audience know that even though Sherman Alexie grew up in the same environment as them he become successful in the future because of his desire and motivation to read and acquire knowledge. He demonstrates to his readers that reading had opened up many opportunities in his life and allowed him to accomplish many things.  Ethos helped Alexie achieve his purpose of inspiring his audience to follow his footsteps of reading more in order to save their life . Additionally, the use of ethos was effective in proving that hard work and reading pays off to the Native American kids who trusted Alexie because of his

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.

In the first branch of his essay, Sherman Alexie explains growing up as a native american boy in a impoverished house hold with his dad. Who had a addiction to books, and one of those books would change Alexies's life forever. He picked up the book and something inside him sparked, though he didn't know

By Alexie teaching himself how to read by just looking at the pictures in a comic book, it shows how determined he was to change society’s viewpoint of Native Americans. Doing this sets him apart from other Indian children with the drive to propel forward which defined his

Superman Yet he is so much like all of us in different ways so you might call us superheroes in disguise. You probably past hundreds every day you just do not realize. One superhero is an Indian boy that lived in a reservation in america that became an author his name is Sherman Alexie. Sherman Alexie is a author of popular book, “Superman and Me”. In this text he uses an extended metaphor throughout the whole text that compares how Superman and Alexie are alike.they are alike in so many ways ,but i only have three.Three ways they are alike are they both have “powers” that are misunderstood , they are both role models for saving lives, and finally they break down doors.

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

Novelist and Poet, Sherman Alexie recounts the story of him growing up learning to read in a society that frowned upon Indian people succeeding. Alexie writes this article with one main message: he is trying to save the lives of his people. Written in the LA Times, a predominantly left-leaning liberal newspaper, his article caters to educated liberals, and his message spreads to those that may not have had any idea about it before. His anxious tone portrayed in the use of repetitive words gives connotations to words the reader doesn’t normally associate with a feeling of emotion. In his narrative essay, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie accurately portrays his thesis by using emotional and ethical appeal, word choice, and tone.

Many children will be born in poor regions and low income areas around the world and may not ever be presented with the opportunity for a decent education. Sherman Alexie brings this fact to the reader’s attention on a personal level in his short story “Superman and Me”. This story follows a young Indian boy into his struggle of illiteracy and acceptance from his peers and friends. Alexie was able to focus the reader’s attention and convey much of his feelings into his written words because the story was about him and his own personal experiences. “Superman and Me” projects a message to the reader, that when faced with adversity, and when all odds are against you, willpower and determination can overcome even the toughest of obstacles.

Many people relationships influence childhood such as families and friends in the social world. The culture and society effects on childhood development. Sherman Alexie in “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” claim that the reading and having prior knowledge saved his life. He also learns that reading was his great talent while other kids could not read at their reading level. Bernard Cooper in “A Clack of Tiny Sparks: Remembrance of a Gay Boyhood” claim that he thought his parents were abnormal. In the early stage, Copper trying to figure out how to go out with boys or girls by liking them. Alexie and Cooper discuss their childhood differrntly, but society has a greater impact on their lives.

We have looked at different issues through different essays during the class. We have examined stereotypes, complaining, compassion, integrity, differences and similarities in people. We have seen that there are common traits that make a person good in both Western and Eastern culture. .Respect, empathy, compassion and integrity. In All I asking for is my body” we follow a first and second generation Japanese family living in Hawaii before WW2. Many old customs are in place as are new cultures are forming. Several questions have come up in regard to this transition of cultures. Are people who move from one culture to another still obligated in a new country to abide by old customs? Are there some customs and traditions that are needed to survive? Are there other customs that should be left to the discretion of the persons involved? In the book, “All I asking for is my body”, Toshio and Kiyoshi have inherited a debt. Are they obligated to fulfil it? It is my belief that Toshio and Kiyoshi are not obligated to pay off the family debt.

The phrase that Alexie repeats is, “I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky. I was trying to save my life.” Alexie first introduces this point when he is talking about how he was growing up on the reservation and wanted to succeed in life and was trying to escape the depressing life on the Native American reservation. The constant pressure of the society setting ridiculous standards and typical expectations, the author is impacted throughout his childhood whether he should follow every other Indian child. Sherman Alexie knows he has the power to fulfill his dream, but struggles whether to use the power and come out of the emblematic way his people are looked at. “Where they are expected to fail in the non-Indian world. Those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians.” The author was impacted to live either a pitied life just like every else, or to make a decision to stand up, and make a turnover the tradition of failure. Later in the story he goes to a Native American reservation and attempts to make a breakthrough with the students. At this point he repeats the same phrase, however, he changes it to, “I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I am trying to save our

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.

Growing up as a Native American boy on a reservation, Sherman Alexie was not expected to succeed outside of his reservation home. The expectations for Native American children were not very high, but Alexie burst out of the stereotype and expectations put by white men. Young Native Americans were not expected to overcome their stereotypes and were forced to succumb to low levels of reading and writing “he was expected to fail in a non-Indian world” (Alexie 3), but Alexie was born with a passion for reading and writing, so much so that he taught himself to read at age three by simply looking at images in Marvel comics and piecing the words and pictures together. No young Native American had made it out of his reservation to become a successful writer like he did. This fabricates a clear ethos for Alexie, he is a perfect underdog in an imperfect world.