Summary Of The Joy Of Reading And Writing By Sherman Alexie

In the passage, “Superman and Me” Sherman Alexie explains to the readers the life of an Indian and how he defeats and tries to help others defeat the stereotype of an Indian. As a kid, Sherman Alexie dealt with stereotypes about reading and writing based upon the values of his tribe; however, he taught himself how to read from Superman comic books. Throughout the text, he uses figurative language, and quotes that mean way more that what they look like when you read them. One quote that really stood out was, “ I throw my weight against their locked doors. The door holds.

Sherman Alexie is a Native American man who is well known for his novels and short stories based on his experiences as a member of many different Native American tribes. In his short story “Indian Education”, Alexie details the struggles with bullying and discrimination one Native American boy went through during his time in school. Although “Indian Education” is written differently from other short stories it still conveys a solid theme and has a well written plot. Alexie’s style is also a benefit to the reader as they make their way through grade school with the main character, Victor.

The short piece of writing “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie is about his own childhood growing up as an Indian on an Indian reservation in Spokane Washington. He talks about how unfortunate his family was, how they survived as Indians during rough times, and most importantly describes his struggle to achieve his passion, which was being able to read and write in English. He mentions this to let us realize that he did not grow up with many opportunities, he was not raised in a wealthy family, he did not have the best teachers who could give him the proper education, nor was the society he lived in, kind to him. Sherman Alexie tries to engrave into his audience's minds one message which is clearly demonstrated throughout his entire story which is, education can make a great difference in a person's life. He uses three main rhetorical choices in order to craft his message through, they are ethos, pathos, and hyperbole.

“Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie first appeared in “The Most Wonderful Books: Writers on Discovering the pleasures of Reading.” Sherman Alexie is a well-known Native American writer that publishes short stories, novels, and poetry. Out of the three narratives, I found myself connect with this story more than the others. Alexie tells us about his childhood as an Indian boy that grew up on the Reservation. His father was a big reader so as a kid he’s always had an interest in books and eventually it became a passion. As he advanced in reading at an early age, peers would have difficulty with the content that he’s already achieved. Other kids would frown upon him because it was out of the ordinary for an Indian to be smart. Children on the Reservation were expected to be unsuccessful, but Alexie refused to let himself fail. Throughout his obstacles in life, he ended up becoming a writer and now, visits the Reservation to make sure children get as much education as possible. Reading saved his life and he believed it could save theirs as well. Sherman Alexie uses multiple techniques throughout his narrative to inform the audience about how he saved his life through literacy by tieing in his personal perspectives.

Sherman Alexie choose to reflect on his experience through the education system with the purpose of highlighting the mistreatment of Native American both inside and outside their own culture in “Indian Education”. This was accomplished through the structure of the narrative and use of techniques throughout it. For example, Alexie structures his writing into short, segmented parts based on his level of education going from the first grade to post-graduation. This type of structure allows for a fast-paced narrative where only the most impactful moments of Alexie’s education are shown. Moments such as him being ostracized by those at his reservation because he, “kissed the white girl, I felt the good-byes I was saying to my entire tribe”(Alexie par. 43) or when he overcame his bully and “the little warrior in me roared to life and knocked Frenchy to the ground” (Alexie par. 4) all demonstrated how his culture affected his life. Furthermore, Alexie uses a combination of dark humor and irony throughout the narrative in order to help explain his purpose. In the eighth grade, Alexie makes fun of the bulimic girls in his school by saying “Give me your lunch if you’re just going to throw it up”(Alexie par.51) when the irony of the situation is that Alexie is starving because he lives in poverty while these girls are wasting their food by throwing it up. Sherman Alexie's way of storytelling through short, fast-paced, segmented parts intertwined with dark humor and irony helps achieve his purpose for writing the narrative which was that Native Americans were not only persecuted outside of their culture, but

In the essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie credits learning to read a Superman comic book with saving his life. As an Indian boy growing up on a reservation in Spokane, Washington, where being uneducated was not the exception but the rule, Alexie was given few opportunities to succeed. The Superman comic book was the book he taught himself to read with, which in turn saved him from going down a path that lead to a the life of inferiority and failure. Learning to read gave him the confidence to break down a door that had previously prevented Indians from succeeding as well as the driving force that allowed him to persevere against the adversity he faced. The significance of Superman is carried on

"As Indian children, we were expected to fail in the non-Indian world." (Pg. 24) Sherman Alexie, a significant Indian writer who grew up on reservation, discusses his childhood experience in seeking hope and salvation in readings and writing to break the stereotypes of Indian kids. In Alexie's article "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me", he proves that one doesn't have to be affluent to enjoy readings and writing, whereas one has to be resistant and persistent to "save their lives" from poverty. He not only provides courage and hopes for Indian children from a lower class, but also shows the non-Indians that Indians are smart and talented as well.

“Superman and Me” is a personal essay Alexie wrote to talk about his experience of learning to read at a very young age despite living in a poor family and having limited resources available to him. The main topic of the essay discusses the importance of books and defeating the stereotypes put on Native Americans. He was born on an Indian reservation with his three siblings and very little money but, he was lucky in the aspect of having a father who enjoyed reading and thus sparked his interest in reading. He details how he was determined to succeed in an environment that he was expected to fail in. He goes into depth with the quote, “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared

Author Sherman Alexie, in his pieces of literature “Indian Education” and “Superman and Me”, he recounts his endeavors, he faced as a child living on the Spokane and Coeur D’ Alene Indian Reservation. In each story he uses a variety of rhetorical strategies to convey to the reader the importance of these experiences. He discusses how difficult it was to be considered an “average Indian”, but at the same time trying to receive the best education as possible. Alexie’s purpose was to transmit the idea that, an Indian boy could strive and succeed at getting an education. He adopts a sentimental and in tone in order to appeal to similar struggles and experiences in his young adult readers face as they go through school.

In the first branch of his essay, Sherman Alexie explains growing up as a native american boy in a impoverished house hold with his dad. Who had a addiction to books, and one of those books would change Alexies's life forever. He picked up the book and something inside him sparked, though he didn't know

Sherman Alexie grew up on an Indian reservation. Alexie was lucky. His father loved to read. This encouraged Alexie as a young child to look at books. His first experience was with a Superman comic book. He would look at the pictures and say what the pictures represented. Thus, he eventually was able to actually read the words.

However, he does not let this stop him. Alexie teaches himself to read at the age of three. Through an extended metaphor, the author shows that his own life story is very similar to Superman’s. Both are feared because of their extraordinary talents, both face tough obstacles, and both save lives.

Superman and Me summarized Sherman Alexie’s life as an intelligent indian who learned how to read at 3 years old. Alexie’s introduces us to the lifestyle he was raised around, he states “we were poor by most standards, but one of my parents usually managed to find some minimum-wage job or another, which made us middle-class by reservation standards” (496). He explains were his passion came from, his father was an indian who attended catholic school, and loved to read. Alexie felt like because he loved his father he should love to read to. Sherman Alexie’s “Superman and Me” informs and persuades readers the importamce reading can have in your life.

He tells a story of his childhood and the story of learning to read and write as a Spokane Indian. His love for reading came from his father, initially, who also enjoyed reading. Alexie would take his father’s books and teach himself to read starting out with Superman comic books. Outside the Indian culture, Indians were expected to be unintelligent

In the seventh paragraph Alexie goes into detail about his experience reading. Alexie “Read books late into the night… read books in the car… [and] in shopping malls”. Alexie uses the verb “read” a total of fourteen times in this paragraph alone. Alexie intentionally uses this word repeatedly to emphasize the struggle and desperation that he had. Alexie ends the paragraph with, “I was trying to save my life”. He used the word “read” repeatedly to emphasize the fact that he was trying to save his life. He didn't want to be like the other Indian kids on the reservation; Alexie wanted to break down the door in his way and make a life for himself. A life beyond the hardships of the reservation, a life better than his parents, a life that can inspire other unfortunate children.