In Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, Alexie’s father’s love for books grew to make his self-love books ending up in Alexie teaching himself how to read. Alexie describes the stereotypes and what is expected of Indian children and how Indian children were expected to basically have no knowledge Many lived up to those expectations inside the classroom but invalidated them on the outside. While other children were doing this, Alexie’s father was one of the few Indians on the reservation who went to Catholic School on purpose and was also an devoted reader.
Alexie grew up around books. His father had a strong love for books as he bought them by the pound from pawn shops, goodwill and the salvation army. He often said, “They were stacked in crazy
Indian Residential Schools is a horrible event that happened from the 1840s until the 1990s. From these past mistakes in judgement, the education system has added curriculum to bring more knowledge to the event. By doing this we read “Indian Horse” by Richard Wagamese which is a fictional novel based on true events. It is about an Ojibway boy who experienced the hardships before, during, and after the Indian Residential School. The importance of learning the past is to ensure that this can be prevented in the future, to recognize what happened, and to help those affected by Indian Residential Schools.
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 giving the direct meaning of what Alexie is trying to share.
Outsiders are a common sources of topic throughout literature and are defined as people who differ from what society deems as normal or having normal qualities. Throughout the semester, we have read several works that use outsiders to help convey a certain theme or message and there was one particular work that stood out from the rest. While reading “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, the use of outsiders was incredibly effective due to Sherman using his own experiences of being an outsider throughout his life. This essay is the perfect example of the use of outsiders because of Alexie discussing how his parents raised him, his childhood experiences in school, and his adulthood ambitions. First of all, Alexie
The documentary relates to the United States in the way of that the public school system is broken. Government and political officials have repeatedly promised to correct the public school system and have failed to deliver. Programs such as the no child left behind act and standardized tests have been created to correct this system. But these programs and tests actually hurt this system since they are based on a narrow curriculum not measuring an individual student 's skills and talents. Other issues which are mentioned in the documentary and affect our country are teachers unions and tenure.
Despite the negative stereotype of American Indians, the objections and disapproval of fellow Natives, and the criticism of others, Sherman Alexie went on to become a successful writer that has inspired many. Alexie overcame many obstacles that would have deterred him from his goal, but he was able to remain steadfast and continue on in his pursuit of writing. As a result, he has published many literary works that include several short stories, poems, and a variety of novels. He allows his culture to seep into his writing, and continues to inspire young American Indians who also desire the path of knowledge.
The Indian kids crowd the classroom. Many are writing their own poems, short stories, and novels. They have read my books. They have read many other books. They look at me with bright eyes and arrogant wonder.
In the story the joy of reading Superman and me Sherman Alexie tells an emotional story of both hardship and success. He shares his struggles of being a poor Indian kid destined to fail, but he had a desire to be persevere he wanted to be more than the stereotypical uneducated Indian on a reservation and was determined to do so. He was inspired by his father to love books, and with the love for books came the ability to escape from the boundaries of the reservation and the dream to be more. Alexie shares how he taught his self to read with a superman comic book and with his witty metaphors how it shaped his life. I found Alexis story to be emotional, but yet very interesting.
In the essay “Superman and Me”, the author, Sherman Alexie recalls the time he first learned to read. He talks about his Indian culture and the perception of people like himself. He also discusses his childhood and the outcome of learning to read. The reoccurring theme of the essay is the love of reading. The author used various literacy devices to express the feelings of empowerment, happiness and the necessity that came with learning to read.
Home is Where the Learning Starts Children start to love reading at a young age, but when reading textbooks the love for reading slowly starts to deteriorate. Most kids hate to read in school because it’s nothing they are truly interested in when in all reality children need to understand how important reading is. In the essay “My Literacy History” by Dedrick Skinner and “The Lonely Good Company of Books” by Richard Rodriguez he explains how he did not know why reading was so important, but as he grew older he understood its values. I also developed a love for books at young age when my mom began to read to me, but as I grew up I felt reading was a struggle because I didn’t understand its values like Rodriguez.
The first time one is able to comprehend the meaning of a word is a momentous childhood moment that is forever engraved in one’s memory. Books and reading are significantly impactful to people’s lives; Mark Twain said that, “books are for people who wish they were somewhere else.” This statement is apropo for Sherman Alexie, who was a Native American living on a reservation during the time he learned to read. Sherman Alexie convinces his audience that an education is crucial to being successful by using personal anecdotes to captivate and create a connection with his audience and repetition to reiterate the importance of having an education. Alexie's use of personal anecdotes fortifies the impact he has on his audience.
Can you recall your favorite childhood book? Children’s books date back to the 1800s with books like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Later in the mid-20th century, books like The Cat in The Hat and Green Eggs and Ham brought entertainment and joy to kids all around America. Both books came to life by Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. Geisel sold more than one hundred million copies of his books for children.
Expectations often impose an inescapable reality. In the short story “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie, Victor often struggles with Indian and American expectations during school. Alexie utilizes parallelism in the construction of each vignette, introducing a memoir of tension and concluding with a statement about Victor’s difficulties, to explore the conflict between cultures’ expectations and realities. Alexei initially uses parallelism to commence each vignette with cultural tension. In second grade, Victor undergoes a conflict with his missionary teacher, who coerced Victor into taking an advanced spelling test and cutting his braids.
Charles Blow and Sherman Alexie are both influential in how they feel about reading. Through this they are influencing others through their passages. Alexie writes that he enjoys reading because of his dad. Blow writes that he enjoys reading because of going through the store. They both share a common interest of reading.
Being a writer of many different styles, Sherman Alexie started off as a poet before writing novels and short stories. His poetic manner continues in the story “Indian Education”. He has a wide array of dry statements mixed with metaphors and statements that are not meant to be taken literally. The trend for each years is that he starts off dry and literal and ends poetic and metaphorical. His description of his interactions with the “white girl” in seventh grade is a great example.
This quote, from Sherman Alexie’s “Learning to Read and Write: Superman and Me,” describes a young Indian boy’s ambition to read and write, to be literate. The same ambition I saw in myself when I was learning to read and write. The meaning of literacy, to me, has always been the next step towards success. I searched for success at an early age; looking back, I surprise myself on how quickly I advanced. In my early years of junior high, I stumbled across “The Inheritance” by Louisa May Alcott.