Purpose the purpose of this personal essay is to express the impact of reading in alexies life. Mentor text superman and me by sherman alexie writing techniques. Born on an indian reservation with little to no money and three siblings, sherman alexie was not provided a bright future. Sherman alexie addresses the sexualmisconduct allegations. Just like superman, alexie saves the life of other people as well. Superman and me is a touching story based on sherman alexiss youth. Sherman alexie, who was a spokane indian, learned how to read at the early age of three with a comic book, which he could not remember anything about. Instead of discussing paragraphs in a formal sense, he describes them as being a fence that held words. Mlastyle works cited bibliographical entry models for selected essays reprinted in our muller textbook. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. His books included the lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven and the absolutely true diary of a parttime indian. In the essay superman and me by sherman alexie, the author, a native american from the spokane indian reservation in eastern washington, writes that he learned to read by reading a superman.
This reading of the outstanding writer sherman alexies essay superman and me is given in honor of native american heritage month. His bestknown book is the lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven, a collection of short stories. In superman and me, the underlying issue throughout is the problem of prejudice in. Sherman alexie uses rhetorical strategies such as, ethos, pathos, and logos, to appeal to the reader. This is made evident by alexies argument that reading was a way of. Sherman alexie had very rough childhood as stated in the. We revisit things because we need to refresh or remix them. Sherman alexies superman and me analysis and outline. The main ideas of this story are sherman alexies experience of learning to read, the power of words, sherman alexies experience overcoming diversity and his path to success.
Reading of sherman alexies essay superman and me youtube. Sometimes, its because we teach the same texts or units of studies, the same courses. Summary of superman and me by sherman alexie the story superman and me was written by sherman alexie. I enjoyed reading his personal story and how he overcame obstacles growing up.
Superman and me, by sherman alexie, portrays the meaning through his experiences, from the. Sherman alexie wrote the essay superman and me to help indian children realize that they can learn and not be defined by what people tell them. Superman and me reading the joy of reading and writing. Sherman alexies superman and me 911 words bartleby. Get an answer for in his essay superman and me, how does sherman alexie connect his experiences to supermans values and heroic abilities. A funny thing about teaching is how we revisit things. Paragraphs the most memorable part of sherman alexie s essay is the section where he talks about paragraphs. Alexie is an awardwinning and prolific author and occasional comedian. Quotations by sherman alexie, american writer, born october 7, 1966. Sherman alexie on his new memoir, his mother and donald. Alexie begins his essay with an anecdote about his introduction to reading, as he learned to read through a mixture of superman comics and his fathers books alexie, 1997, and quickly transitions to the thesis of his essay. Discuss sherman alexies use of rhetorical strategies and. In his essay superman and me, how does sherman alexie.
Sherman alexies article, the joy of reading and writing. The essay superman and me by sherman alexie and stone soup by barbara kingslover have a multitude of differences, but similarities between the two can be revealed by understanding the overall themes of the essay. The theme of superman and me sherman alexie, essay. Superman and me summaryresponse september 3, 2015 ianmcgr uncategorized sherman alexie tells a story about growing up as an indian, learning to read at a young age, finding fascination in everything he read, becoming a writer, and teaching his experiences to help young native americans. By using an extended metaphor to state how certain objects are. The comparison is the reason sherman alexie named the title because he wanted to have a reason to name it superman and me. This title represents something very special that would compare sherman alexie to superman. Superman and me superman and me is a brief overview of sherman alexies path in becoming a writer. This line, just like the one mentioned earlier, has great. The theme of superman and me sherman alexie was quite appealing to me at first, but when i read the entire story, i got to observe a few negative aspects and had liked to share them here. Sherman alexies superman and me sherman alexies superman and me pg.
The benefits of repetition in sherman alexies superman and me. His writings draw on his experiences as an indigenous american with ancestry from several tribes. The essay is introduced with the superman comic books that taught alexie how to read. I read books at recess, then during lunch, and in the few minutes left after. I cannot recall which particular superman comic book i read, nor can i remember which villain he fought in that issue. Sherman alexie grew up on the spokane indian reservation. It helps that he was surrounded by all books because it somewhat forced him to have an interest in his surroundings. In the essay superman and me, alexie talks about how when he was a child he was looked down upon because he wanted to learn.
This short story is about the sherman alexies life as an indian boy living on the spokane indian reserve in eastern washington state and how reading and writing greatly affected his life. It was a way for him to explain how learning and knowledge is looked at in his society and why it needs to change. What is the purpose of sherman alexies short story. I read books late into the night, until i could barely keep my eyes open. Sherman alexies principal claim in superman and me is that reading books saved his life and that he is now trying to use books to save the lives of other indian children along with his own. As he shares his experience with us, he weaves into his story a powerful truth about our society. When alexie speaks at indian school the advice he quotes himself saying is books is. If youre reading this open letter then youre probably aware that i recently published a memoir, you dont have to say you love me. The theme of selfeducation in superman and me by sherman. In alexies tribe, indians were expected to fail, or be intellectually miniscule in the eyes of nonindians, but be the contrary when they were amongst indians. It was adapted as the film smoke signals, for which he also wrote the screenplay. Sherman alexie wrote about this in his essay superman and me. Superman and me born in 1966 and raised on the spokane indian reservation in wellpinit, washington, sherman alexie is one of the foremost native american writers and the recipient of the native writers circle of the americas 2010 lifetime achievement award.
A spokanecoeur dalene indian, he grew up on the spokane indian reservation in wellpinit, wa, about 50 miles northwest of spokane, wa. In the article superman and me, sherman alexie gives a biography of his life as a poor indian boy who successfully selfeducated himself through literature. He grew up on the spokane indian reservation and now lives in seattle, washington. Sherman alexie, who grew up on the spokane reservation in wellpinit, washington, explains his life as an indian boy, and how reading and writing helped his life to succeed. Summary of superman and me, by sherman alexie melissa. The theme of selfeducation in superman and me by sherman alexie. I cannot remember the plot, nor the means by which i obtained the comic book. Alexie purposes is to discuss how he first learned. Enjoy the best sherman alexie quotes at brainyquote. Sherman alexies superman and me uses rhetorical strategies to present the argument that by reading he can become an example for indians at the reservation and fight the stereotypes associated with native americans. The memoir is mostly about my relationship with my late mother, lillian alexie. This reading of the outstanding writer sherman alexies essay superman and me is given in honor of native american heritage month november and in hopes of.
Through the medium of past experiences as a minority with a strong hunger for learning, alexie reminds everyone of the potential for an individual to overcome adversity through. I assumed i would no longer have to deal with her and her judgment of me, alexie says. Sherman alexie learned how to read at a very age and read at a greater reading level compared to his classmates when he was a child. Ethos and pathos in sherman alexies superman and me. Comparing kings reading to write to sherman alexies the joy of reading and writing. He elaborate upon why and how he learned to read under the constraints of being a little indian boy who is simply an oddity. It is basically the story of a poor indian boy who decides to follow the footsteps of his dad in developing an interest in novels and books. In the final sentence of the essay, sherman alexie says, i am trying to save our lives alexie 50. Superman and me sherman alexie i learned to read with a superman comic book. Author sherman alexie issued a statement acknowledging that hes hurt people over the years, addressing for the first time anonymous accusations of harassment that have swirled for days and that. Allen july 10, 2012 superman and me analysis and outline a preliminary response as i read this essay, i have come to find that sherman alexie was trying to explain how his childhood was. In the case of sherman alexies superman and me, we see that selfeducation is not only just learning what a word is, and what a few letters. Reflective writing a deliberate shift making connections background. Superman and me in the realm of knowledge, writing is one of the most basic edification practices for enhancing learning, teaching, and the entire process of acquiring insight.
I cannot remember the plot, nor the means by which i. In all superman comics, television shows or movies, superman saves the life of at least 1 other person. Sherman alexies the joy of reading and writing 760 words 4 pages despite all the books i read, i am still surprised i became a writer, writes sherman alexie in his article, the joy of reading and writing. Discuss sherman alexies use of rhetorical strategies and his claim in his essay superman and me. In sherman alexies essay, superman and me, he uses repetition and extended metaphors to transition from a personal to social level as he illustrates his poor childhood, and how reading saves his and others lives. Sherman alexie, native american writer whose poetry, short stories, and novels about the lives of american indians won him an international following. Superman and me, was very interesting story to me because it gave me insight into another culture.
Superman and me, gave me a different perspective of reading and writing. Through all his childhood obstacles that obstructed his. Superman and me is a personal narrative in which he recounts his early life and how he started to appreciate reading. Verdelle english 101 author sherman alexies short story superman and me demonstrates how growing up on the reservation restricts his resources for learning though he was able to teach himself to read.
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