Stereotypes In Sherman Alexie's Indian Education

This story is written by Sherman Alexie and is a story of hope for the children of different ethnicity. Hope for them to merge in the American society. The author in the story presents himself as a child having a dream to blend in the American society and by sticking to his dream he grew among the children of his same background. Sherman is a Native American Indian and is expected to be slow and “stupid”. The story is interesting.

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.

First of all, the irony is shown when the fathers hero dies. A person would expect a hero to make decent choices. In this example, the father’s hero did drugs. In Alexie’s short story it states, “Only the good die young,” my father said. “No,” my mother said.

In 1918 the Carlisle Indian Industrial School shut its doors permanently. What remains of this experiment started by Richard Henry Pratt are not just buildings, but ghosts and scars that refuse to be forgotten. The structures that once constituted this exploratory school now stand where the Carlisle Army Barracks are situated today, and while it may seem as if the only observable aspects to remind us of the past are tombstones and markers, the stories still swirl in this town that became flooded with the desire to assimilate Native Americans. Pratt believed Indians possessed the ability to become a complimentary asset to American society if they received the proper education. He insisted that it was necessary to remove the Indians from the confines of the reservation in order to separate them from their culture and traditions, and transplant them to a setting that encouraged the Native Americans to learn the English language, to work for a living, as well as become useful members of society.

Sherman Alexie in the essay, “Superman and Me: The Joy of Reading and Writing,” explains that being underprivileged does not always lead to failure. ALexie supports his explanation by first, introducing his background as a young child on an Indian Reservation then, illustrating how he learned to read through a Superman Comic Book and finally, reflecting on his past to benefit future generations of native children. The author’s purpose is to change native kid’s futures through education in order to prove that native children can be successful. The author writes in a reflective tone for (well-educated) non-natives who expect failure from

Significance/connection- Sherman Alexie was an Indian boy living in reservation in eastern Washington State. Alexie family was living by a minimum wage job but Alexie didn’t let his family lack of wealth define who he was instead he made happiness out of it. Alexie wanted an education for himself and he didn’t let anyone get in the way of that so Alexie writes this essay seeking to persuade others that education is for everyone no matter where you come from.

In Sherman Alexie’s, “The Absolutely Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, Alexie shares the story of a teenage Native American boy named Junior who lives on the rez and desires to have a better education. But for this, he must attend a white school 22 miles from the rez. Despite having various forms of oppression both living on the rez and going to Reardan High School, Alexie shows Junior’s budding future through the use of literary devices and Junior’s

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.

They are trying to save their lives.” Although Sherman Alexie’s success seems as if it has only opened up doors for himself it did not, it opened up doors for other Indian kids that are still on the reservation. When Sherman Alexie wrote his books and poems the kids on the reservation read them. They gave them hope, he gave them a reason to fight for their lives the way he did. Those kids too started to write their own short stories and found the same joy in learning that Sherman Alexie did.

In his book the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie portrays a teenage boy, Arnold Spirit (junior) living in white man’s world, and he must struggle to overcome racism and stereotypes if he must achieve his dreams. In the book, Junior faces a myriad of misfortunes at his former school in ‘the rez’ (reservation), which occurs as he struggles to escape from racial and stereotypical expectations about Indians. For Junior he must weigh between accepting what is expected of him as an Indian or fight against those forces and proof his peers and teachers wrong. Therefore, from the time Junior is in school at reservation up to the time he decides to attend a neighboring school in Rearden, we see a teenager who is facing tough consequences for attempting to go against the racial stereotypes.

both use the literary device irony throughout the stories’ main characters' eventful adventures. Using irony through these stories gave the opportunity for the main characters to prove their worth and to be accepted by their homeland. For example, Odysseus said, “Because I am all dirty, dressed in rags, and begging through the town? I have no choice. This is how homeless people have to live.”

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.

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.

Writer Sherman Alexie has a knack of intertwining his own problematic biographical experience with his unique stories and no more than “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” demonstrates that. Alexie laced a story about an Indian man living in Spokane who reflects back on his struggles in life from a previous relationship, alcoholism, racism and even the isolation he’s dealt with by living off the reservation. Alexie has the ability to use symbolism throughout his tale by associating the title’s infamy of two different ethnic characters and interlinking it with the narrator experience between trying to fit into a more society apart from his own cultural background. However, within the words themselves, Alexie has created themes that surround despair around his character however he illuminates on resilience and alcoholism throughout this tale.

Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" presents a novel centered around Arnold Spirit Jr., a young Native American boy who must grapple with his dual identities as a member of the Spokane Indian Reservation and as a student at a predominantly white high school. Arnold refers to himself as a "part-time Indian," which serves as a critical commentary on the current condition of Indigenous peoples of the US, particularly those living on a reservation. This term emphasizes the way in which Indigenous peoples are often forced to straddle two worlds, leading to a sense of displacement and alienation. As I continue my essay, I will explore the idea of why Alexie believes he is a part-time Indian, and what this shows about