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. Marriage‚ the central
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dragged into the picture when poverty comes up. In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian poverty has its grasp on most members of the reservation‚ and many of them have drinking problems in order to deal with their fiscal troubles. All Junior has ever known is poverty‚ but he is able to recognize that his situation is bad. Junior analyzes his situation saying “it sucks to be poor‚ and it sucks even more to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor (13)”. Junior is aware
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Triumph over Constraint “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
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People often say that that the past has passed‚ unable to be altered‚ but if one chooses to do better in the present‚ they can have a brighter future. The idea that people can rise above their past and prevail with the power of hope even in times of tragedy is often lost amongst people when they experience misfortune. Reservation Blues articulately highlights the contrast between the permanence of circumstance and the possibility of a fruitful future. While Alexie provides somber backstories for
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Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a day -to-day journal highlighting the freshman school year of one Spokane Indian growing up on a reservation in Wellpinit‚ WA. This is a year in which he bravely transfers from the reservation school to a school 22 miles away that is predominately white. While mundane in nature‚ especially when compared to fantasy works such as Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings‚ this “diary” uses honesty‚ humor and universal themes to appeal to
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Chi Hoang Mr. Varbel English 1B 15 January 2008 The issue of racial discrimination has become societal norm in America. Poets like Sherman Alexie show that the injustice still exists. Born in 1966 to the tribe of Spokane/Coeur d’Alene‚ he suffered a great deal of discrimination against him throughout his childhood because of his Native American culture and an illness of hydrocephalus. He has seen the ugly face of racism and often speaks about it through his works about the prejudice that is
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Officer or Angel A theme of Sherman Alexie’s Flight is constant change‚ instability‚ and violence. The protagonist‚ Zits‚ has been shuffled from foster home to foster home since his mother passed and father abandoned him. The homes and people that Zits has been forced into are all unfamiliar. The only place that gives Zits stability and comfort is‚ oddly‚ jail. With that‚ the only person constantly in his life is Officer Dave‚ a city police officer who has arrested Zits multiple times. Officer Dave’s
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In the “Traveling Between Worlds Apart”‚ podcast Sherman Alexie reflects on his own unique sporadic childhood experiences and its relations to other different experiences others may be going through. When I first heard this podcast‚ I was stunned to know that Sherman Alexie endured traumatic experiences like mine. He had to endure a rough childhood where he was constantly teased for having a globe sized head due to the hydrocephalus as an infant (To The Best Of Our Knowledge‚ 2017) He also had to
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for every person‚ some rely on parents or grandparents while others rely on themselves or teachers. After reading Sherman Alexie’s: The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me I saw how just how different people have it growing up in the education system. After reading his story I began to notice just how differently I had it growing up. Alexie‚ for the most part was self-taught‚ I myself had to rely on parents and grandparents. Learning something like reading and writing has a lot to do with
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7-2013 Judgments‚ Fair or Not Most of the time; we are judged by our looks‚ color of skin and nationality. It does not matter how hard you try to be a better person‚ to be a professional‚ to have a decent job‚ to be acknowledged for what you are and not how you look‚ people still first see what is in the outside. In the short story “Flight Patterns” by Sherman Alexie gives a very good example of how society stereotypes a person. Alexie used stereotypes to show readers that instead of judging of
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