...“The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” How does this Sherman Alexie essay compare to the Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X essays we read earlier in the semester? What implications does Alexie invoke with his use of the Superman imagery? In comparing the three essays, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, to “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass and “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X, one immediately recognizes that all three authors place high importance on the value of reading and writing. When one has the ability to read and write, one has the ability to achieve many goals. One also has the ability to make a difference in the lives of others and society. In “Learning to Read” by Frederick...
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...common goal that we all share, and instead prioritize other things such as land, wealth, and power they forget about the people around them and treat them as if they are not of the same species. The same idea is shared by the author Sherman Alexie in his essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”. The essay reflects upon the life of an Indian boy living in a reservation in today’s America. His main argument highlights how determination is a useful weapon when it comes to facing segregation in a society, and offers insight of how he is trying to save the children currently living on these reservation by getting them to open up to literacy and adaptation. Alexie was made a victim of racism. He was in an environment where the society’s restrictions allowed no one to go further in life. Everyone was required to follow the same old tradition and be under certain standards. Most followed these beliefs, but Alexie, he was different. He always loved reading and hoped to become a pediatrician. He was considered an oddity by his own people for being smart. He never liked the negative influences of the Indians and therefore never followed them. For this he always got in a brawl with his classmates, “They wanted me to stay quite when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers, for volunteers, for help. We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid” (Alexie 17). Alexie views this as an opportunity to show the outside world how an Indian society works. How...
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...He describes his childhood home on the Spokane Indian Reservation, where he was introduced to literature by his father, an avid book collector, and a Superman comic book, both of which played important parts in the development of Alexie’s obsession with reading and knowledge. Alexie explains that in his mixed-heritage school, Indian children were expected to be quiet and simple, and give no indication of their intelligence and skills in non-academic ventures; however, Alexie defied these expectations by quickly becoming a rebel among his community, known for his refusal to be a quietly mediocre student. He believes that his love of books empowered him to lead a fulfilling life as an author of poetry, short stories, and novels, and enables him to fiercely advocate for the fair education of Indian youth and encouragement of their suppressed...
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...In the essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing,”Sherman Alexie claims reading saved his life. It explains Alexie’s life as an Indian boy and how reading and writing shaped his life. He learned to read despite having limited resources. Alexie proves that you do not have to be affluent to obtain an education. Alexie and his family come from an underprivileged Indian reservation in eastern Washington state. Although his family was considered very poor in American society, on the reservation he was from a middle class family. This shows how tough life was on the reservation and how much poverty there was. His father had a passion for reading and would buy cheap books from pawnshops. It rubbed off on Alexie and he would pick up books before he could...
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...Breaking the Stereotype In his writing “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie explains how he taught himself how to read through a Superman comic at the age of 3. He did this by imagining what the illustrations were portraying and then putting words to the pictures. He then became fascinated with reading at a young age and began reading anything and everything he could get his hands onto. He got his fascination of reading from his father who read a lot as well. Growing up Alexie was exposed to piles of books throughout his home. These included murder mysteries, gangster epics, basketball biographies and anything else he could find. In this writing about his childhood Alexie makes it very clear that as a minority he refused to fail and fall into the stereotype surrounding his Native American heritage. He knew he wanted to learn, and that he loved to read. According to the writing, most Indians in that time were expected to be short, quiet and uncommunicative in-front of their non-Indian teachers, and did not want to speak up or seem smart in the classroom, especially at the young age Alexie was. Therefore they were comfortable around other Indians but came off as completely un-intelligent around non-Indians. He always spoke out in class and asked questions, he was not afraid to stand out, because he knew it was not necessarily a bad thing. Alexie describes a smart Indian viewed as “a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians...
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...Leonid Fridman wrote an essay titled, “America Needs Its Nerds”, in which he described the derogatory terms and meanings that accompany words such as “nerd” and “geek”. I disagree with Fridman’s view on this topic. Though the terms “nerd” and “geek” may have negative connotations, they are not always meant in a negative manner. Also, Fridman states that nerds and geeks “are ostracized but athletes are idolized” (Fridman 1). I do not always think that statement is true either. For example, in the Greencastle School District, there are many students who value schoolwork, and are not “ostracized” for their dedication to school. There are also students who are dedicated to both sports and academics, which is very respectable. I believe that the...
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...the answer is yes. He is a Spokane Indian and also a prominent writer. He is the author of “Superman and Me” a short essay first published in Los Angeles Times, April 19 1998, as part of the series “The Joy of Reading and Writing”. In this piece Alexie describes how he taught himself how to read at the age of three and how he manage to literally read his way out of the reservation in which he grew up. By narrating his own story, he illustrates how few were the chances for him as well as for all young Indians in a reservation to succeed in life, not only because of poverty or because of the limited school system, but more precisely because of the mental barriers Indians have imposed themselves when exposed to the challenges of the Non-Indian society. In contrast to this panorama, and against all statistics and predictions, Alexie succeeded...
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...Jeff Soto Jon Hilton ENGL 1883-678 21 August 2011 The Power Within Reading The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me illuminates the struggle Sherman Alexie and his Native American peers had in trying to succeed in a non-Indian environment. Inside the classroom, harsh ridicule and racial discrimination was awaiting for Native American children who wanted a chance to acquire a proper education. Many took the role of being the “dumb Indian” to avoid the mockery and derision of the classmates. Alexie looked past the stereotypes and refused to give up. His arrogance and determination allowed him to propel forward and prove to the world that Native Americans can be educated. Alexie’s love for books catalyzed his interest in learning. He taught himself how to read by analyzing the pictures in a Superman comic. While analyzing, he realized the purpose of a paragraph. Knowing the concept enabled him to succeed in his knowledge of reading. When Alexie entered school, he often fought with classmates because of his intelligence. He refused to succumb to the racial abuse and intimidating environment. He found that in the books he read, he was able to escape and save his own life. After reading the excerpt, I realized how deeply it hit me. The struggles Alexie went through in school for being an intelligent Native American is something I can relate to. Being a Mexican-American in elementary was difficult. Teachers seemed to not care if I needed help or had questions about something...
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...EH102 3 August 2015 Millennials and Books I read an essay called “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” which is written by Sherman Alexie several days before. I noticed this essay because of its heading which is interesting. In this article, Alexie aims to tell millennials, especially those from India that the way he acquired literacy and how he succeeded in a non-Indian World despite the negative expectations of Indian people in US society. Alexie starts this article with a short story about the book which encourages him to read. He says: “We were poor by most standard …… I still remember the exact moment when I first understood, with a sudden clarity, the purpose of a paragraph” (12). Alexie establishes pathos by describing the poverty in his childhood and the happiness when he understood the paragraph. Readers could get into his story and they doubt the relationship between those books and his brilliant literacy. He also establishes pathos with some sentences like “As Indian children, we were expected to fail in the non-Indian world. Those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians. I refused to fail” (12). These words are easy to affect the audience’s emotional response. So it will be easier for Alexie to persuade millennials to read books and benefit from books. Then Alexie tells that he read and learned a lot from books after that. According to his own experience, Alexie says that millennials should read...
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...“What can I gain by having an education?” Gaining an education can enhance your life as an act of defiance and assertion of power. As we all know going to school isn’t always for everybody, but you decide what you want to do. As for Sherman Alexie, (author of “Superman and Me”), he described his life as an Indian boy living on the Spokane Indian Reserve in eastern Washington state and how reading and writing greatly affected his life. As an Indian child, the he was expected to fail. But although failure is what was expected of him, Alexie refused to do so. He wanted to make his point, that his culture was able to get an education and value reading. Now he teaches creative writing to Indian children and has many students described as students who are “trying to save their lives”. Therefore having this quote, “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky”. (p. 91). (Alexie, 83-91) inspired me to take on this challenge in life. An education in law provides me with skills, knowledge, perseverance, and wisdom. It allows me to open my heart and mind to helping others; it enhances my understanding of how the world really works; it provides the possibilities for growth and joy in my life. Education challenges me to become a dedicated, productive, and relevant member of my American society. I decided to attend midlands technical college for an education in some kind of law to gain a greater life. A year ago my life took a huge turn and change for what I say was for the...
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...Sherman Alexie’s Story with My Experience Every people may have their own favorite book when they were young. It could be a bedtime story, fable, or novel. This would pretty much affect their lives in a good or bad way. In Sherman Alexie’s essay, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”, he simply explained about himself as an Indian kid who loved to read even he lived with low standard of living. Sherman’s dad had always spent his extra money to get new books for him. However, Sherman was different with most of Indian people in his age, because he read books that quite difficult for kids in his age at that time, such as “Grapes of Wrath”. He read everywhere and he believed that he could save his life by reading books. Based on Sherman’s childhood, I realize that reading a book could influence someone’s life, enrich someone’s knowledge and lead them to be a successful person. In his essay, Sherman tells us that non-Indian people mostly would underestimate Indian kids. Therefore, Sherman proves that they are wrong. He struggled with his lives and tried to read everywhere, because “(he) was trying to save (his) lives”. Ultimately, he becomes a successful writer instead of pediatrician. He writes books and teaches creative writing to Indian kids. According to Sherman’s experience, I feel that we have got common things. When I was a kid, I used to read a novel by Paulo Coelho, “The Alchemist”. The story tells us about a man who has to understand every single sign that appears...
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...Bibliography Alexie, Sherman. "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me." Http://www.qcounty.com/SCC/Spring10/Eng305_10035/Readings/ShermanAlexie--Superman.pdf. Web. Allen, James P. "Ethnic Geography Dynamics: Clues From Los Angeles." Yearbook Of The Association Of Pacific Coast Geographers 67. (2005): 97-116. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. Alpert, Emily. "Many Asian Americans Are as Segregated by Neighborhood as Latinos." Los Angeles Times 25 June. 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. Didion, Joan. "Why I Write." (1976): 4-8. Print. Dweck, Carol. "The Perils and Promises of Praises." Print. <http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct07/vol65/num02/The-Perils-and-Promises-of-Praise.aspx>. Elbow, Peter. "Freewriting." (1973): n. pag. Print. Gruwell, Erin. The Freedom Writers. New York: Broadway, 1999. Print. Gurnee, Kim. Success Strategies. California: Impact, 2013. Print. Hughes, Langston. “Theme for English B.” The Presence of Others: Voices and Images That Call for Response. Eds. Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. 484-485. Print. Rose, Mike. “Lives on the Boundary.” The Presence of Others: Voices and Images That Call for Response. Eds. Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. 90-102. Print. Hurston, Zora Neale. “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.” The Presence of Others: Voices and Images That Call for Response. Eds. Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J....
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...an assertion of power. Going to school isn’t for everybody but it’s up to you to know what you want. As for Sherman Alexie, (author of “Superman and Me”), he described his life as an Indian boy living on the Spokane Indian Reserve in eastern Washington state and how reading and writing greatly affected his life. As an Indian child, the narrator was expected to fail. But although failure is what was expected of him, Alexie refused to do so. He wanted to prove that his culture was able to get an education and value reading. Now he teaches creative writing to Indian children and has many students described as students who are “trying to save their lives”. Therefore having this quote, “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky”. (p. 91). (MHG Alexie 83-91) inspired me to take on this challenge in life. An Art education provides me with skills, knowledge, perseverance, and wisdom. It broadens my attitudes of acceptance of others who are different from me; it enhances my understanding of how the world really works; it provides the possibilities for growth and joy to my life. Education challenges me to become a dedicated, productive, and relevant member of my American society. I have the ability to draw still life. My dream is to become a still life artist. The skill of drawing cartoons started in 6th grade when my teacher gave me a Garfield coloring book. Once I got home, my cousin and I decided to have a contest to see who could draw Oldie, the dog, from Garfield...
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...“You will never catch me with a free fifteen minutes in which I am not studying something I feel might be able to help the black man” (X 289). Although my journey in learning how to read and write did not lead to liberation and freedom in a physical sense like Malcolm X’s, I still became more confident that I would succeed in my life. Through reading and writing, I am free to be creative, imaginative and speak my mind. Furthermore, being taught multiple languages growing up has helped me to reach some of the highest points of my life. My philosophy of education is that being literate and educated opens up more opportunities to succeed and this belief has stemmed from my personal experiences from learning different languages. When I first moved...
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...large part to the idea that once you own the moniker “prisoner” that is all you will ever be. There are families that foster the idea of educating oneself as an unnecessary endeavor and perhaps even a lofty aspiration. There are people that fold to such expectations, and then there are those who defy them. Malcom X is an amazing example of a person who breaks the chains of expectations by transforming into a prisoner who pursues his “homemade education.” In “Learning to Read”, Malcom X advances himself in education and becomes an entirely different person. In the “Bard Prison Initiative”, on 60 seconds we find prisoners challenging preconceived notions by engaging in a rigorous academic program inside the prison. Sherman Alexie in “Superman and Me” goes against the grain of the common belief that Native Americans are not intelligent people, and that they are people who never engage in trying to better themselves. Alexie pushes with determination to discover that Native Americans are...
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