Preview

Sherman Alexie's Superman And Me

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
288 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sherman Alexie's Superman And Me
From “Superman and Me” by Alexie 2. In what ways does the description of Sherman Alexie’s father play against the stereotype?
Alexie’s father plays a part against the stereotype of Indians because he was “one of the few Indians who went to Catholic school on purpose” (Alexie 110). The stereotype was that all Indians were dumb and incapable of learning, but Alexie’s dad stood out of the crowd. Alexei’s father loved reading and loved to learn which put him out of the loop of the stereotype.

From “School” by Kyoko Mori 9. How would you describe Mori’s attitude towards Japan in this essay? Is she judgmental? Harsh? Objective? Cite specific passages to support your response.
I would describe Mori’s attitude towards Japan as harsh. When Mori says

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the short story “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie, the narrator’s life parallels Alexie’s in many ways. The narrator of this story is a boy named Victor who lives on a reservation with his two parents. Like Victor, Alexie grew up on a reservation in the state of Washington. Both boys were teased and bullied by their fellow classmates and initially decided to go to school outside of their reservation for greater educational opportunities.…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although Alexie had the privilege of attending a school, unlike the slave up-bringing of Douglas, he was influenced by his father into the joys of books. He notes that his father was one of the few Indians who voluntarily went to the schools and became an avid reader his whole life who collected so much books that their house was literally stacked ceiling to floor with books. Alexie used comic books, notably superman, to learn how to read by matching the actions drawn to the dialogue which was written. He then later on likens Superman breaking down a door to him trying to break down the mental block of the Indian population towards education while he tours the Reservations of North America as a successful author.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In "Superman and Me", personal stories and repetition are two solid writing tools used by Sherman Alexie. While both of these writing tools differ in many ways; Alexie creates a similar response from his audience that creates a connection between the audience and Alexie. His essay was not just informative, but also emotional and through his use of personal stories and repetition, he allows the reader to understand the emotional journey he faced growing up on a reservation.…

    • 78 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sherman Alexie was a young Indian child that was driven to know how to read and right. He was determined to turn other opinions, that didn't matter to him, down and set out to do what he had the desire to do. Alexie didn't let the stereotype that ¨he was an Indian¨ slow him down either. Indians were expected to be at a lower education level, but Alexie wasn't willing to obtain that thought. Frustrated with the lack of change in his Indian community, Sherman Alexie sets out to defy stereotypes, and save the lives of those without equal chance through reading and writing.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Alexie was given many opportunities yet what he did with them was unexpected. "Most lived up to those expectations inside the classrooms but subverted them on the outside" As Indians; others saw little in them soon they began to feel the same way about their selves. Acting uneducated as if no knowledge was ever known in front of an non-Indian teacher. What people thought was soon becoming a reality. "We were expected to fail in the non-Indian world." Yet Alexie was raised reading books, every kind imaginable. He thought to fail never phased him, he aimed toward success. Really it was him verses the world; people wanted him to be stupid. Except every chance he got, he took to prove them wrong. "I was trying to save my life." Being separated by ethnicity made it hard to learn. Taking things into his own hands, he taught himself how to read, how to understand the meaning of words. If he didn't nobody else would. He showed that if one Indian could do it, why not others as well. As a Result it gave the opportunities to make a difference in the…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    How has Sherman Alexie managed to detach Jackson Jackson from his present predicament, and what is the effect of this on the reader?…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Superman broke down the door,” Sherman Alexie’s metaphor just as he broke through adversity. Internal and external expectations are a basis of identity and how we each perceive ourselves. In Alexie’s writing, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” he describes finding his identity through his struggles as he excelled academically obtaining his unique view on the world and facing many stereotypes. As a young boy expected to maintain limited intelligence and accept the standard of ignorance, he was able to surpass limitations while “viewing his world in paragraphs.” While sharing a love of reading with his father he overcame his expected limitations on his reservation. The struggles he endured allowed him to give back to the community he grew with after becoming an adult.…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Theme of Wing's Chips

    • 553 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The narrator tells her tale of the different cultures in the town and how they always didnt agree or respect each other. The different cultures in the small town were French, English and there was a small Chinese family who owned and ran a local store. The narrator and her Father were an English family living in a French community; this would prove to be a very difficult task because of the ongoing feud between the two cultures. The daughter tells the story in such a manner that leads the reader to think that the father was simply there, and that he was there because he wanted to be and it didnt matter that the other people might not have wanted him there. This goes to show of the fathers strong beliefs and independence of prejudice.…

    • 553 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alexie and Me

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages

    "I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky." These were the words Alexie used in his story. Indian children were stereotypically supposed to fail in the classroom, and most did. Alexie was smart though and the Indians who weren't, ridiculed him. Those who failed were accepted, those who excelled weren't. But Alexie loved to read. He read everything he possibly could, even if they weren't books.…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sherman Alexie Save Lives

    • 2253 Words
    • 10 Pages

    In kindergarten, he is reading Grapes of Wrath while the other kids struggle to read Dick and Jane. In the article “Song Of Myself”, Rick Margolis interviews Alexie and asks him this, “When you were five, you read The Grapes of Wrath, which remains one of your favorites. Back then, what appealed to you about the story?” Alexie’s response to this question is, “Fleeing poverty. Getting in the car and going and trying to find a way, and being stopped at nearly every turn-the struggle against poverty” (Margolis). As a child, instead of being called a prodigy, he is called an oddity, just because he is an Indian boy living on the reservation…

    • 2253 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He begins to use the third person while explaining how he could read at a very young age which was not praised as though a child would be in most other societies. Indian children who succeeded in school were “simply an oddity” and children in other societies “might have been called a prodigy” (13). This comparison of children from both cultures provides the audience with a clearer idea of what it was like growing up on a reservation with not many things expected of you. This message is also improved by the use of third person by Alexie. By using his own life as an example, “ [a] little Indian boy teaches himself to read at an early age and advances quickly” (13) allows the audience to better understand the struggle he went through. if Alexie would have used somebody else's story it would not have been as strong of a…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alexie explains that some of the Native American kids refused to follow in his footsteps to success and refused to “save their lives.” He inspires all the other kids and “saves their lives” by inspiring them to read books and write stories, but he could not help those who refuse the help. First, he “saved his life” and became a well-known, successful author by reading books to gain knowledge . Then,…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Booklist Alexie is able to portray Junior as a mentally tough, poor, underprivileged indian student in a white school, and in the school is able to “level his eye at stereotypes both warranted and inapt”(Chipman). Two of these social issues are alcoholism and stereotyping. Stereotyping is an unfortunate issue that occurs on a global scale. However, it occurs in smaller scales, for example when asked my ethnicity I answered asian, but they refused to believe me as the stereotypical asian to them was only a person of chinese descent, even though India as well as many other countries come together to form the continent of…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    read or write. Alexie refused to be labeled as such and states “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Superman And Me

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages

    His passion for language began with a Superman comic book; although he didn't understand words, he used his imagination to discern the meaning of the panels. Alexie was particularly fascinated with one particular panel, in which Superman was breaking down a door. Alexie personalized this remarkable feat, saying that "because he is breaking down the door, I assume he says, 'I am breaking down the door'" (13). Superman represented all the things that Alexie aspired to be — brave, heroic, and strong. American Indian youth are victims of prejudice and insularity, but above all, society's ignorance-driven fear: "A smart Indian is a dangerous person" (13). Alexie recognizes that Native Americans are set in a system that keenly works against them. Having this in mind, he hopes to inspire his fellow American Indians — as Superman had inspired him — to not be afraid of society's intolerance and break the door of cultural barriers. In this way, Superman was Alexie's ultimate role model, motivation to pursue knowledge in a world that works against him and his…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays