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Effectiveness is Key At what age did you learn to read? Were you younger or were you older? In “Superman and Me”, Sherman Alexie describes the importance of learning how to read at a young age and how reading saved his life. Sherman Alexie’s “Superman and Me” uses rhetorical analysis effectively to show that by reading he became an example for Indians at the reservations by beating and conquering all of the stereotypes that were against Native Americans. Throughout the story “Superman and Me”, by Sherman Alexie, The author describes the scene of the family and the young boy in an Indian reservation where the main priority of the young children is not to receive an education but to work to help their families financially. Although that was …show more content…
The author, Sherman Alexie, is extremely effective through his use of ethos and ethical appeals. By sharing his own story of a sad, poor, indian boy, simply turning into something great. He establishes his authority and character to the audiences someone the reader can trust. “A little indian boy teaches himself to read at an early age and advances quickly…If he’d been anything but an Indian boy living in the reservations, he might have been called a prodigy.” Alexie mentions these two different ideas to show that he did have struggles and also to give the audience a chance to connect with his struggles and hopefully follow the same journey in becoming something great. By displaying his complications and struggles in life with stereotypical facts, Alexie is effective as the speaker because he has lived the live of the intended primary audience he is trying to encourage which would be young Indian …show more content…
The purpose of this story was to help other Indian children that are in the same position he is at to save their lives with reading. Why with reading though? Because reading is a basic skill of knowledge that will lead your to more and more intelligence. He shares in the last paragraph of his short story that there are two different students. The ones that are already saving their lives by reading his stories and fleeing to him when he comes to the reservations and those that have already given up and are defeated in the last row in the back of the class room. Sherman Alexie effectively states clearly “I am trying to save our lives.” He uses pathos, logos, and ethos effectively to describe his difficult life in the Indian reservations and how he persevered and strikes the world as an intelligent boy. Alexie says. “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike. We were indian children who were expected to be stupid.” Even though Alexie became and incredibly smart, he never became an of those things. He was known as an idol, trying to save the lives of young Indian children in the
In the second last paragraph of this essay, Alexie uses the parallel structure of “I read…” to emphasize his passion in reading and his strong determination to pursue his purpose of saving his life as an Indian who is always challenged by stereotypes. The last paragraph repeats “write poetry, short stories, or novels” for four times in different scenarios, including Alexie himself has never been taught of how to “write poetry, short stories, or novels”, and he is now teaching the Indian kids “writing poetry, short stories, or novels”. Alexie employs this repetition to highlight the fact that reading and writing still play essential roles in the Indian life, and there are always Indian people who are interested in learning about reading and write just like him. The final sentences in the last two paragraphs are only slightly different. Alexie ends the second last paragraph of this essay with his ultimate goal after stating his experience as a passionate reader in the beginning. Then, in the final sentence of this whole passage, Alexie restates his goal in a broader perspective, saying that his purpose is not only to save his own life, but also to save the life of all Indians who aim to survive with intelligence and dignity in the non-Indian world. Overall, Alexie utilizes repetition to present a progressive feeling that grows stronger at each time he uses it, appealing to the audience’s emotion and emphasizing his main focus of this essay, which are his efforts and strong
Sherman Alexie’s powerful novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, investigates the concealed complexity of the Spokane Indians world. Sherman Alexie illustrates jovial humor, brutal reality, and sadness through the pragmatic main character, Arnold Spirit Junior, to allow the reader to understand what the Native Americans are experiencing. Indian reservations ― although home to some of the most culturally rich and spiritual people ― have had a long history of being more prison-like than a place of peace and comfort.
The personal challenge faced by Sherman Alexie in “Superman and Me” can be described as a hardship to change the view on the American Indian, or better yet educate his people towards the path of the pursuit of knowledge despite their circumstances. Against the odds of being born in an Indian reservation and the constant struggle of poverty Sherman Alexie surpassed the stereotype, he succeeded his dream and became a successful author. Overcoming the bondage of class and the place of your birth is a common theme in my life. Coming from Latvia to the USA, a country where I didn 't speak the language and didn 't have the know how of the education system has set me behind a lot in life but I persevered and have found success in my life step by step
The pressures of society and many factors against us can at times seem impossible to overcome, however, these limitations are only the ones we place on ourselves. Whether it’s during the adolescent years as Sherman Alexie explained in “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”, about the struggles of overcoming the stigma bound by his culture where “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike”, as well as having the courage to break free for his own benefit. In addition, this theme was also explored in the later years of adulthood as demonstrated in Malcolm X’s essay, “Learning to Read” where he’d become so frustrated while kept in prison, unable to quite express himself as he did
Sherman Alexie’s hobby guided his future, just like one of the hobbies I enjoy could guide mine. Sherman Alexie taught himself how to read after being inspired by his father. He said “ My father loved books, and since I love my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well.” Sherman did not follow the trend that indian children were supposed to be stupid. Sherman said “ I fought with my classmates on a daily basis. They wanted me to stay quiet when the non-indian teachers asked for answers, for volunteers, for help.” When Sherman alexie says “ Our house is filled with books.” He is describing to the reader his passion for his hobby. As Sherman Alexie turned his hobby into a career as a writer, I hope to turn my hobby of
Sherman Alexie, a Spokane Indian, grew up on a reservation in eastern Washington, surrounded by poverty, alcoholism, and diseases. Against the odds, he became a rising star. Alexie, born on October 7th, 1966, where he was “miserable” growing up due to his father’s alcoholism. Alexie proves that growing up in an unprivileged community and making something out of your life is possible. Sherman Alexie relates his story to his life. In the story Victor, the main character, loses his father and the poverty within the Indian reservation causes him to have a long lost friend, Thomas, reappear in Victor’s life after multiple years of not communicating and pay for the trip down to Phoenix. Throughout the story Victor and Thomas became close again.
Growing up on an Indian reservation, Alexie knows how it feels to be expected to be undereducated and arrogant. Therefore, when he has the opportunity to help change that for the children currently living on the reservation, it is important to him that he succeeds. This quote shows just how hard he is trying even though they don’t want to lear. Alexie tells us about the children who just don’t care about education, “Then there are the sullen and already defeated Indian kids who sit in the back rows
In Sherman Alexie’s “Superman and Me”, the author discusses that with passion and motivation, one can succeed without talent. He was born an Indian with “irregular paychecks, hope, fear and government surplus food.” (Alexie 1) What allowed him to become more than an just an Indian was determined by the fervor of his “love [for] books.” (Alexie 1) He learns to read and understand “the purpose of a paragraph” (Alexie 1) and discerns everything into paragraphs. His refusal to “fail” (Alexie 2) led him to become a writer that goes to schools, teaching them something “beyond Indians.” (Alexie 3) Furthermore, he was faced with discrimination and overcomes it. The “sullen and already defeated Indian kids” (Alexie 3) is the effect of people without
Reading Response # 3: “Superman and Me” Summary: “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, talks about a writer's childhood years and his education. A 3-years-old, Indian boy, who grew up in an indian reservation in east washington. He had three sisters and one brother. His parents never had stable jobs.
In the excerpt from Sherman Alexie’s novel, Alexie adopted the persona of an young boy named Junior. Junior’s blunt phrases such as, “What a bastard, huh?” demonstrate his comedic awkwardness but serve a greater purpose for the reader. Alexie’s use of Junior’s shocking remarks are meant to destigmatize Junior’s exposure of prejudice. Therefore, despite Junior’s blatant awkwardness, his sayings work to fulfill the writing’s ultimate purpose: to show the unfair treatment towards Native Americans.
In this novel the main character, Arnold but also goes by Junior, "betrays" his reservation by going to a "white" school but he is bullied because he had a big head and a little body. Since the novel is semi-autobiographical it shows what Alexie went through as a child. He was bullied by everyone, even the adults of the reservation. Alexie widely bases his writings on race and also makes an effort to include the stereotypes that play along with each race, such as in the poem Go, Ghost, Go. Within the poem Alexie calls a white professor rich and unjust while calling Indians red men and also stating brown people will attack other people. (Alexie, Pg 21) Alexie largely bases his writings on his past, especially the parts in which he spent on the reservation. (Poetry Society) Another reason for his style of writing may be the fact that he wants his readers to know about Native American
Adjusting to another culture is a difficult concept, especially for children in their school classrooms. In Sherman Alexie’s, “Indian Education,” he discusses the different stages of a Native Americans childhood compared to his white counterparts. He is describing the schooling of a child, Victor, in an American Indian reservation, grade by grade. He uses a few different examples of satire and irony, in which could be viewed in completely different ways, expressing different feelings to the reader. Racism and bullying are both present throughout this essay between Indians and Americans. The Indian Americans have the stereotype of being unsuccessful and always being those that are left behind. Through Alexie’s negativity and humor in his essay, it is evident that he faces many issues and is very frustrated growing up as an American Indian. Growing up, Alexie faces discrimination from white people, who he portrays as evil in every way, to show that his childhood was filled with anger, fear, and sorrow.
During the interview with Sherman Alexie, he states, “I had no idea that my small life could appeal to anybody.. And it was because of all the Native writers that came before me that made me realize that my story might be important”. As you can see, the Native American life can seem so insignificant and make so many feels as if they have no impact on the world. Born into an undersized Indian Reservation, Sherman Alexie felt as if he couldn't go after his dream of becoming a pediatrician, as he states in the KCTS9 interview. He knew that he had to leave the reservation and go to the white school so that he could go after his desires in life. Alexie was going to be making a big choice and understood he would be “playing against his own siblings
In conclusion, Sherman Alexie created a story to demonstrate the stereotypes people have created for Native Americans. The author is able to do this by creating characters that present both the negative and positive stereotypes that have been given to Native Americans. Alexie has a Native American background. By writing a short story that depicts the life of an Indian, the reader also gets a glimpse of the stereotypes encountered by Alexie. From this short story readers are able to learn the importance of having an identity while also seeing how stereotypes are used by many people. In the end of the story, both Victor and Thomas are able to have an understanding of each other as the can finally relate with each other through Victor's father.
One of Sherman Alexie’s biggest issues when he was young was that he struggled with his classmates because he was more intelligent than they were and it intimidated them. No one thought that an Indian boy could succeed, let alone be highly intelligent. Many of Sherman Alexie’s class mates put on a mask in front of their non-Indian teacher and act like they are not as smart as they truly are because they do not want to stand