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.…
As and Indian Sherman Alexie, from eastern Washington, expresses how he uses reading as a way to “save his life”. In his short story “Superman and Me”, Alexie tells us how he uses his reading to teach himself to write. He then goes on to inspire other young Indians. This young man from the Spokane Indian Reservation shows us that no matter where we come from we are able to go above and beyond.…
The article Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie tell us the meaning of the reading. Explain how an Indian child developed his reading skills at young age. The article says "My father loved books, and since I loved my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well" (1). We can infer that he wanted to be as his father. They were fan of reading.…
And for Alexie, life on the other side of the barrier is truly different. By working past his barrier, Alexie could read “books in the car”, “bits and pieces” of books in the bookstores, “the “newspaper”, “bulletins”, “magazines” and “junk mail”, He could read virtually anything that interested him because he “picked up that Superman comic book” and behooved himself to learn how to read. This choice was not because someone told him too, but because, as he said, “I refused to fail.” But what would failure encompass? Perhaps Alexie thought of the “already defeated Indian kids” who ignored him. After all, “They struggled with basic reading”, “They were monosyllabic”, and “They submissively ducked…
In The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me, Sherman Alexie shares with his audience his story of when he learned to read at a young age through a Superman comic book. Through stories and memories of his childhood, he explains how Indian children on reservations were expected not to try in school and fail in the non-Indian world. In order to successfully portray his ideas, Alexie uses many rhetorical techniques and ideas. By using these techniques the audience is forced to look more into the writing instead of just being given the direct meaning of what Alexie is trying to share.…
The short story "Class" by Sherman Alexie tells of the struggles of an American Indian man and tries to demonstrate how he reacts to his contrasted feelings and diverse world around him. The central theme of Alexie's short story is contrast, and this theme is evident throughout the story, even in the smallest of details. The actions, emotions and even the language of the characters contrast and these contrasts clearly illustrate the difference the characters have in class.…
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…
Throughout my reading of Stephen King’s On Writing and Sherman Alexie’s Superman and Me, I was able to distinguish between similarities and differences in each of stories. Stephen King is an eminent writer from Maine who is known for writing horror novels. In On Writing, King writes about how people are able to learn both in the classroom and out, but he emphasized the importance of learning outside of school. He writes, “I took my fair share of english lit classes… but, Josh Gould taught me more than any of them” (King 444). I believe that King is saying that we must learn from our experiences and it is okay to fail. King is saying that you can take as any advanced classes as you wish, but what it truly comes down to is if you are an active…
"Superman and Me" is a short biographical story about the authors love of reading and how this love made him somewhat of an outcast in his school. Alexie grew up on a Spokane Indian reservation in Washington State. He inherited his love of reading from his father, an avid reader of many different types of books. Alexie fondly remembers, "My father loved books, and since I loved my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well" (148). Superman comics were his first encounter with reading. Alexie writes, "Because he is breaking down the door, I assume he says, "I am breaking down the door." One again, I pretend to read the words and say aloud, "I am breaking down the door." In this way, I learned to read" (148). Though he was only three when he first picked up a comic, he was able to imagine what Superman and other characters were saying by looking at the illustrations. Reading is a tool one can use to succeed in life. Like it or not, the importance of a good education cannot be stressed enough. To Alexie, "reading" is more than just the reading of words. Reading is a way to open up the way one sees the world.…
Superman was knocking down a door and that very action inspired Alexie. Superman who was in a fictional book gave Alexie the mindset to knock down any obstacle that will block his way to survive. Many individuals perceives Indians to be uneducated and is unlikely to success in life. Alexie proved them wronged by self teaching himself to read by first comprehending superman’s action in the comic books to advancing to “Grape of Wrath” in the kindergarten. Alexie was trying to convey a message that knowledge is obtained by reading and that with knowledge we can overcome society’s view on cultural beliefs. Also with knowledge anything is possible, all we have to do is knock down the door that separates us from the opportunities that lies ahead…
In the article “Superman and Me”, Sherman Alexie gives a biography of his life as a poor Indian boy who successfully self-educated himself through literature. Through the medium of past experiences as a minority with a strong hunger for learning, Alexie reminds everyone of the potential for an individual to overcome adversity through perseverance and diligence. With an informal tone pervading throughout his article, Alexie aims considerably at non-Indian children, hoping to give initiative on the power and importance of education for minority students like him. Despite being characterized as a minority in the past, he was able to break away of stereotypes on society as a result of his race. Ultimately his ability to erase conventional beliefs on the ethics of Indian children allows Sherman Alexie to successfully portray such a notion.…
Society assumes it has control over everyone, and the second people prove them wrong it angers them. In order to discourage people from success others will label them as odd and out of place. It is once someone can push past these names that they can reach real success. To explain what ‘real success’ is Sherman Alexie says, “I am trying to save our lives.” Sherman Alexie knows that only educated people can make intelligent decisions. Ignorant people will make the easiest decisions that most benefit them personally. An educated person can make hard decisions for the good of everyone. Educated generations can make the world a happier place for all, while ignorant generations sit idly, taking what is given of them. Educating one person can change an entire generation. Educating an entire generation can save the whole world. Changing the world for the better is what real success looks like. Through all of these examples we can conclude that by writing Superman and Me, Sherman Alexie hoped to inspire a young generation to strive for intelligence, and ultimately success. He is saving our…
We all are born with the natural senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. All of these senses are to help us identify the world around us. It is our ability to think in complexity and differentiate right from wrong. Like Clark Kent, we all have the power to observe, analyze and react to our surroundings which then bring us to his alter ego; But unlike Kent we all do not have the ability to be superman. Becoming superman means one of two things with the first being that we make the choice to be part of the solution or two become part of the problem. The question then comes that with this power are we ready to accept its responsibility and with that responsibility are we willing to accept the consequences.…
Knowledge is power. For Sherman Alexie learning to read gave him the power to rise above the stereotype for native americans. In his essay, “Superman and Me”, Alexie reveals the story of how against all odds, he learned to read, and how it changed his life. He builds a persuasive argument by proving his credibility as an impoverished child and the use of strong emotional appeals to convince the reader on the importance of the difference an education can make in someone’s life.…
I thought I’d start out with heroes. We all have leaders. Leaders are those that we respect the most and want to be like. None of these leaders – the ones you know or the ones you don’t know yet – are perfect, and if they were, I doubt if I would want to emulate them. They are just leaders who followed the facts to where the facts led them, and when they found themselves in some odd place, coming to some even odder conclusions, these leaders didn’t back down.…