Sherman Alexie Quotes

“I throw my weight against their locked doors. The doors hold. I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I am trying to save our lives.” What does this quote from Sherman Alexie's “Superman and Me” mean? First, the quote should be broken down into fragments. “I throw my weight against their locked doors. The doors hold.” In this part of the quote Alexie is talking about the “...sullen and already defeated Indian kids who sit in the back rows and ignore me with theatrical precision.” He is telling about how he tries over and over to teach them, but they don’t want to learn. They have shut him out and locked their metaphorical doors. The text states, “I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky.” In this part of the quote it uses a lot of repetition,
and when he does this, it is to get his point across. So he is like repeating it or exaggerating himself, which helps to prove his arrogance. When he says he is smart he is telling the readers about how he taught himself how to read. Lastly when he states, “I am lucky,” he is talking about how lucky he is to be able to teach himself on his own. He was lucky because he was intelligent whereas most Indians were not. Alexie states, “I am trying to save our lives.” Alexie is trying to show that Indian people are intelligent and that many are now willing to learn. He used the phrases “I read.” And “I learned.” He shows how he conquered the stereotypes and is now helping others to save their lives.