Sherman Alexie's 'The Joy Of Reading And Writing : Superman And Me'

Sherman Alexie, the author of “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and me,” begins by informing the audience of the trials and hardships that he faced as an Indian boy on the Spokane reservation. Then Alexie shares with the audience, a story, about the first time he read which impacts the audience because it is personal and concise, which emotionally connects the audience and builds a foundation of understanding. The foundation built by the story, allows for Alexie to elaborate on the passion he had for reading and later reminds the audience that he lived on a reservation where the children were not expected to succeed, and even though he did and we find out children now have an “arrogant wonder,” (Page, 14) there are still the few that may adhere to old expectations. Alexie uses Pathos, Ethos, and Logos to assist in conveying this message.

Since the past, black people had been oppressed and excluded from a formal education, leading them to find ways to educate themselves. While they open their minds to new worlds and perspectives, they encounter themselves with a disastrous world that discriminates them and unjustly takes their rights away from them. In these essays, “Learning How to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass and “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X, both authors tell their stories about how they found their way into the world of literacy even though they were banned to do it. Because they left ignorance back, they realize all the injustices that surround them. In my opinion, literacy is one of the most important tool humans possess to be aware of the issues of the world. Knowing about world problems makes people able to decide how to act towards situations and helps avoid being led by people that the only thing they want from others is power.

The audience in this literacy narrative essay is widespread because people from different social-cultural groups might be interested, but most importantly people from upper-middle class. Alexie's purpose is to express how anyone don't need to be affluent to learn. He expresses his point well in the literacy narrative essay and his tone is inspirational because he uses positive words such as “loved”, “bright eyes” and “lucky” to give an inspirational message to the reader. Alexie’s main idea in the literacy narrative essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing”: Superman and Me is how Alexie used his own personal experiences to express his point of view, about his love of reading. He learns to read with a superman comic book for the first time when

A synthetic analysis of two works from African American literature reveals that there is no greater accomplishment than learning to read and write. Literacy is what allows us to gain knowledge through learning. This topic is important because based on a study conducted by the U.S Department of Education and the National Institution of Literacy, 32 million adults in the U.S are still unable to read and write and African Americans are expected to make up nearly half of that amount. In both Fredrick Douglass’ “Learning to Read” and Malcolm X’s “A Homemade Education,” common themes regarding literacy and freedom are identified and both reflect why literacy is so important. The two texts prove how crucial the processes of learning to read

For example, when interview, William Cooper at the age of 10 “had no time to go to day school,” (Document 1). Because of the lack of education, Cooper would not have been able to go on to work as a teacher or a doctor in order to support a family or better society. Instead, he can only read, but not write. Because he was illiterate, he couldn’t write resumes, he couldn’t read and understand complex texts, and he couldn’t think thoroughly, which hindered him by keeping him from receiving any higher paying work that could raise him from the working class into the middle class. Moreover, without a decent supply of money, one would have to live in the slum areas, where typical workers would have to live.

Education is something that is often taken for granted in this day and age. Kids these days rebel against going to school all together. In the essays “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie and “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass, we learn of two young men eager for knowledge. Both men being minors and growing up in a time many years apart, felt like taking how to read and write into their own hands, and did so with passion. On the road to a education, both Alexie and Douglass discover that education is not only pleasurable, but also painful. Alexie and Douglass both grew up in different times, in different environments, and in different worlds. They both faced different struggles and had different achievements, but they were not all that different. Even though they grew up in different times they both had the same views on how important of education was. They both saw education as freedom and as a way of self-worth even though they achieved their education in different ways. They both had a strong mind and a strong of sense of self-motivation.

“What was it? Who were they? Where are they now? Do they exist?” wonders the writer Sherman Alexie if the Native American reservation school system ever exposed him to the concept of creative writing or writers. In his essay, “The Joy of Reading: Superman and Me,” he describes how notions such as creative writing and reading high-level texts were considered “beyond Indians.” To combat such unwarranted profiling, he reminds young Native Americans of the importance of resisting negative stereotypes. Alexie claims that no matter the situations they were born into, they can still accomplish their aspirations. He supports this contention through his own experiences, reflecting upon how empowerment from reading and writing– particularly that which he garnered from reading the iconic comic Superman at the age of three– “saved” him from the failure expected from his race. In his essay, Spokane Indian-American writer Sherman Alexie employs relatable and uplifting personal narrative to motivate Native American youth to view others’ success, real or fictional, as validation of their own potential.

Otherwise they would be considered dangerous. However, Alexie refuses to live like that and starts to read at a young age, which eventually gives him the courage to face the outer world and escape the miserable life on the reservation. Alexie’s reading skills not only assisted him, but also assisted other children in the reservations. “They have read my books … They looked at me with bright eyes and arrogant wonder ... The door holds.

Alexie's principal claim declares that reading can bring about a major difference in a person's life. According to Sherman Alexie, reading and books helped him to achieve leaving the reservation and finding his way out in the world. However, "Superman and Me” comes alive for readers due it implies that all a person needs is courage to fly pass their current situation, and this story shows how the hostility of such bravery can be emphasized even in classrooms. In addition, the writer demonstrates to readers that all it takes is effort to initiate dreams actually coming true, and especially when living in a hostile world or environment. Although, Alexie uses rhetorical strategies to appeal to the reader in innumerable ways and his ethical appeal

Education is an important aspect in the lives of many individuals. Education is often seen as a means to better oneself. With education, a whole new world can be opened up to individuals. For African Americans education is key to achieving a variety of things in life. During the days of slavery, African Americans were not allowed to be educated. It was frowned upon and strictly discouraged because slave masters knew that they could not dominate an educated person. Any slave caught trying to read or write was punished. There are many individuals whose main purpose is to fight for the rights and equality of African Americans and fighting for the right to be educated was one of these goals. African Americans alike wanted to be educated because they know it would lead to progress and a better overall situation. Now in today’s society we see that even though many before us has fought for the right to be educated some do not see it as a privilege. In this paper, the views of Malcolm X, W.E.B. DuBois and Oliver Cromwell Cox will be examined in regards to their thoughts on education.

After correctly pronouncing a series of difficult words from a book, Pauli Murray distinctly remembers her grandfather reply “that will do. That’s pretty good for a little girl. You may make a fine scholar some day if you keep at it.” Since those early days of colorful memories, education always served as a source of empowerment for Pauli—not only as a budding reader, but as an educated African-American female coming of age in the Jim Crow South.

In Sherman Alexie’s essay “Superman and Me” Alexie uses an extended metaphor to explain how himself and the fictional character Superman are alike. A few points I have found in the passage are they both break down doors ,mental and literal, they both save lives , mental mindsets and physical beings, and they are both stereotyped through the whole essay, whether it is to never fail or always fail. Both Alexie and Superman break down doors. In paragraph four of Alexie’s essay he explains he picked up a Superman comic but he couldn’t read it so be looked at the picture and saw Superman was breaking down a door. “Superman breaks through a door.”

In “Sponsors of Literacy,” Deborah Brandt explains how all of us are the beneficiaries-individuals, institutions, events, and ideas that make it possible for us to gain literacy or allow our access to literacy. Brandt’s main claim is that a person’s access to literacy is largely dependent on socioeconomic factors. Supporting that main claim, she introduces three sub claims: the first being that there exists a stratification of opportunity; those with wealth and social status; and those who are rich are more likely to be the beneficiaries of literacy development. On the other hand, those of a lower socioeconomic status, those who are ethnically or racially non-white, are less likely to receive the advantages of literacy development. Another

She kept insisting to do things the non-Bolivian way and her mother continuously explained to Andrea that’s not the way she was raised. “Why did I have an American flag next to my Bolivian one? My mother instilled Bolivian values in me…” (Roman 256) she included both flags indicating that she doesn’t want to fail her mother and forget the Bolivian culture.

Themes for Writers, edited by Lynn Z. Bloom and Louise Z. Smith, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014, pp. 63-65.