Category: Superman and Me

People are both the goals and motivations for social development. In order to develop, society need to take care of human factor physically and mentally. Especially learning about the world around them so that they can contribute to building and improving society. Education has held an important role in the human lives nowadays. When talking about education and school, book is one of the most essential materials should have always carried in student’s backpack. Reading book is the first step to pick up new vocabularies. Reading is also a passionate and motivate of Alexie as it impacts too many people lives including himself, why he came back to teach children at his old school and the important of a role model for the next generations, by reading “Sherman Alexie’s Superman and Me“.

Reading has always a passionate and motivate of Alexie as it have changed his own life. Alexie’s full name is Sherman J. Alexie Jr. He was born in 1966. He grew up in Spokane Reservation in Washington state. He graduated Washington State University and has published eighteen books including the book named “Superman and Me” published in 1997. Alexie learned how to read book when was young, younger than others. He loved reading by the inspiration of his father, who was a avid reader of westerns. From the text “My father loved books and since I loved my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well”. This was the time that indicate Alexie started reading book with passionate. He described that when he first picking up from his father’s books, that he was first understand and realized about the paragraph. He described “a paragraph was a fence held words”, and also he was seeing the world as a paragraph as well. “I read the books I borrowed from the library. I read the back of cereal boxes. I read the newspaper”; He read anything, anywhere and from everything that had words. Reading has huge impact to him when he was a little kid and it has changed his life that he became a writer.

Since Indian children expected to be stupid, he made out of that system, he came back to prove that they were wrong, he had made it and let everyone knows that he could write novels, short stories or even poems, he was a writer. By the text “I refuse to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky”. He stood up and fought for himself no matters it was being destined to fail. Alexie broke the stereotype. “They look at me with bright eyes and arrogant wonder. They are trying to save their lives”. Alexie was trying to reach out to children like himself, he tried to give hope to the people who have the same aspect of situations just like he had before, he tried to break it by going to each classrooms of school to spread the inspirational. He just wanted to let young students to know that education is crucial and they need that to change the world perspective about Indian children.

A role model is an influence person, it can be a friend, a family member or a person we met once out there on the street that had a good advised to us and changed life. After I have read the essay, I realized that Alexie had a great dad, a perfect influenced person since he was just born. In my opinions, Alexie’s father was the first person that give him the idea of becoming a consistent person, and a good writer. Alexie was also a intelligent kid, a brave kid, he fought with his class mates to just proving his points. Alexie had pretty much knowledge about literature because he felt in love with reading, he educated himself more through books he read, he knows that education would open a new window for his life as well as others. I think Alexie was very confident about doing against what others were doing. Others were too scared and down-grading themselves to just survived. Alexie became a role model for others to follow to find out the ways for saving their own lives.

After reading the Superman and Me written by Sharman Alexis, we can tell that how important education was, and the power of itself. Alexie did a great job in his life by influencing young students about standing up to get over the struggles and take education seriously. It is a tool and weapon to change life.

Charles Blow and Sherman Alexie have similar aspects on reading and books. For instance, they both believe and think that books are important and powerful. While they both do believe this, Charles Blow thinks that books were transformational and powerful. On the other hand, Sherman Alexie thinks that books can shape ones identities, give one opportunities for education, and help to fight oppression. These are their beliefs or take on books.

Charles Blow believes that books can be powerful and transformational. To further elaborate, he thinks that books can shape some into a better person and connect people with the world and the people around them. This is stated in Charles Blows, ‘Reading Books is Fundamental’, it states, ‘ That is the inimitable power of literature, to give context and meaning to the trials and triumphs of living.’ This means that through all struggles and hardships books can help you to understand and connect with things around you everyday. Saying that books have the power to show you reason why and help you to understand things when they get tough. Charles Blow says that the strong power of literature can help someone to open up and look at things differently. Books connect people that never knew each other because books provide the power to show someone that they aren’t going through something alone, and if they take a closer look they would realize many of their peers were experiencing the same things too. In short, this is why Charles Blow believes that books are powerful and transformational.

Sherman Alexie believes that books have the power to shape ones identity, give one opportunities for education, and help one to fight oppression. To explain in greater detail, Sherman Alexie thinks that for him books can help someone to find out who they are and what they want in life, give them the chances that without books they wouldn’t have been able to obtain, and beat the statics and rise above poverty and find a way out of it. This is stated in Sherman Alexie’s, ‘Superman and Me’, it states, ‘I read equal parts joy and desperation. I love those books, but I also knew that love had only one purpose. I was trying to save my life.’ This shows how Sherman Alexie feels about books because he uses the words, save and life. Meaning that he feels strongly enough about this topic to save it is life saving. To say or mean that something is life saving is saying that without you would fail or not have power. To Sherman books helped him out of poverty, it says also, ‘We lived on a combination of irregular paychecks, hope, fear, and government surplus foods.’ This is explaining that for Sherman Alexie he didn’t have much to really look forward to as a kid. He was basically poor and he didn’t necessarily have the access to more expensive things, but he figured that books could help him to open his eyes and become smarter. This made him feel as if he had more opportunities and chances in this world to show others what he got from books that were just like him. To sum it up, this is how Sherman Alexie feels about books and their power.

Lastly, both authors have their own perspective of books and the impact it had on their lives. While having their own perspective they both believe that books are powerful and transformational. Charles Blow and Sherman Alexie both talk about how books can help them to connect with the world around and open their eyes to more in this world. Charles Blow says that, ‘I thought the book fascinating in part because it was a tale of hardship, to which I could closely relate,’ and Sherman Alexie says, ‘I visit schools and teach creative writing to Indian kids. In all my years in the reservation school system, I was never to write poetry , short stories and novels.’ Both of these pieces of evidence show that books were powerful to both of the authors. For Sherman books connected him with other Indian kids who have it just as bad as him. So, for Sherman he finds books to connect with the people. This is the same for Charles books helped him to connect with the people around him through the hardships shared in the books, that he shared with the books and others. Both authors believe and show that books help them to connect with the world and the people around them in many different way, either for friendship or just trying to help one out, so that they too can learn to succeed in this world. This is the similarity between Charles Blow and Sherman Alexie and the power of books.

In the short stories “Superman and Me,” by Sherman Alexie and “Love Letters,” by Megan Foss, the similar symbol of survival in the forms of reading and writing is shared. Characters with little to no proper experience in reading and writing find that to be their lifeline in a world pitted against them. Though set back by skills, characters from both stories learn to use the power of reading and writing to better themselves and change the image that was imposed on them by society.

In “Superman and Me,” Foss describes the character as an Indian boy that learned to read on his own at a young age. In an early society where Native Americans are sought out to be idiotic and savage, it wasn’t common for a young Indian child to be “smart”. “A smart Indian is a dangerous Person…,” says Alexie, but not dangerous in a physical manner rather in an intellectual way (Foss, 5). Survival is referenced as needed so as to maintain in the world because most Indians aren’t educated like non-Indians, they are often pitied because they are expected to fail. Foss then later tells how when he was a kid, there was no Indian guest to speak to them and that now he visits classrooms to encourage the younger generation to pursue books and so that will fight the stereotype that they are a race of uneducated individuals. In an article, “Native American Student Face Ongoing Crisis in Education,” Ellwood says, “Racially and culturally insensitive and incompetent educators continue to be a problem for Native American students,” shows that even educators still see Indian students in a lesser form, and it affects their education (Ellwood, “Native American Students Face Ongoing Crises in Education”). Goes back to why Alexie attends classrooms to encourage them that books are a way they can save their lives and survive in a non-Indian world without full dependence on educators (Alexie, pg. 6).

In Megan Foss’s “Love Letters”, tells how a trailer trash junkie used writing as a way of survival in the streets and in jail. Though not being educated much, she managed to use writing to maintain her emotions at first, then as a way of communication and for a shorter jail sentence. She wrote bundles of letters that were conversations to friend but didn’t mail them off as which would acknowledge her friend was incarcerated. It wasn’t soon after she became the one incarcerated and at first used writing as a way to speak to the outside then to shorten her sentence. In jails/prisons, taking educational classes is seen as a step to rehabilitation, few participate in this even when it can reduce served time. In the article, “In Prison, Education Is Your Best Route to a Better Life,” James Erwin states, “Only one in five people in prison are able to complete a job application form,” this goes back to inmates not using resources provided to rehabilitate (Erwin, In Prison, Education is Your Best Route to a Better Life). Though she was living half her life as a junkie, she was able to turn it around for the better using writing as a form of survival with being alone in the streets and in incarceration (Foss, Megan., “Love Letters”, Approaching Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing).

Both Alexie and Foss tell self stories of how they were from an uneducated world and how they were supposed to be seen by society, dumb Indians and junkies. Faced by challenges set to dwindle their lives, they needed overcame that with a similar symbol portrayed in their stories of surviving using reading and writing. One found reading at an early age to be different from others, with this he was able to educate himself and break the stereotype his people accepted and others acknowledged. The other faced problems by her upbringing but used writing as a way to maintain sanity while on the streets alone, then used that same survival trait to aid her on bettering her life during and after incineration (Schakel, Peter J., and Jack Ridl. Approaching Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing). Reading and Writing is a necessity in society and for some a way of surviving or getting out of hardships for the better.

Works Cited

1. Alexie, Sherman., “Superman and Me”, Approaching Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 4th ed., Bedford/St. Martins, 2017., pg. 4-6.
2. Ellwood, Lisa J. “Native American Students Face Ongoing Crises in Education.” IndianCountryToday.com, Indian Country Today, 3 Sept. 2017, newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/native-american-students-face-ongoing-crises-in-education-UwYSu7MAjES2d5Ikd9D1oQ/.
3. Foss, Megan., “Love Letters”, Approaching Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 4th ed., Bedford/St. Martins, 2017., pg. 10-24.
4. James, Erwin. “In Prison, Education Is Your Best Route to a Better Life | Erwin James.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 Sept. 2009, www.theguardian.com/society/joepublic/2009/sep/17/erwin-james-education-prisoners-rehabilitation.
5. Schakel, Peter J., and Jack Ridl. Approaching Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 4th ed., Bedford/St. Martins, 2017.

In the essay Superman and Me an Indian boy named Sherman Alexie recalls how he advanced in reading above his age group. Sherman Alexie was being discriminated against by the other student in his class and his teachers. Due to him being Native American and living on a reservation his talents went unnoticed and because he was smart, he was bullied. Sherman Alexie chose to overcome the expectations of failing by putting in the work, he worked hard, and his plan was to become a pediatrician, but he had a difficult time in his anatomy class and that is when he decided to become a writer. Sherman Alexie like to visit schools and teach Native American children creative writing and the children are learning very fast. Some of the children are writing stories and poems of their own and they are also reading books by themselves. At a very young age Sherman Alexie became interested in reading. Sherman Alexie wrote about his mother and his siblings, but he also wrote a whole paragraph about his father and his fathers love of reading. This let’s the us the reader know that his father and his love for reading had an impact on Sherman Alexie’s life, even then he didn’t know it. Sherman Alexie had a saying when he was a child “We lived on a combination of irregular paychecks, hope, fear, and government surplus food”. These words give the readers a sense that maybe he had an unstable childhood and came from a dysfunctional home. He used reading to feel stable.

Reading superman comic books is how Sherman Alexie taught himself how to read and he writes about how he didn’t understand the narrations that went with the pictures, but he used his imagination to create a dialogue for the story. Sherman Alexia wrote about how Superman broke down doors and he used that as a metaphor for him teaching himself how to read (pg. 4).

Learning to read opened a new world to Sherman Alexie and it gives the reader the impression that Superman was more than a character, he was a role model. Sherman Alexie also writes about the low expectations his classmates and his teacher had for him, but he had a thirst for knowledge he chose to break down the door and overcome those expectations.

Even though writing was not what he originally planned to do with his life, he has become an author that has won awards for his work. Sherman Alexie gives back to the community by going to schools on reservations as much as possible and teaching the Native American children creative writing. He could of taken his knowledge and not look back, but he has chosen to show others that they can chose not to except low expectations, discrimination or failure. They too are capable to break down doors.

Authors have different motivations to write either a poem or a novel. Writers display similarities and differences when developing their work. The differences among authors may be established on different grounds, including inspiration to write, challenges when developing content for different works as well as factors contributing to their success. However, authors may also exhibit a number of differences in developing their writing works. The differences can be established while considering the form style of writing, the choice of language, tone of the writing, and the use of literary devices. Authors adopt a unique style of writing as a way of developing unique and distinctive content for their targeted audience. It is a strategy that creates a difference for different pieces of work that an author uses to present different themes.

This essay is a comparison of two writings, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua and “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexi. Anzaldua and Alexi show similarities in their writings as the focus on describing their personal life experiences. Both writing adopts a biopic style as the general as authors present chronological events in their lives. A common factor is a focus on the reasons as to why they ended up as writers. In this sense, much emphasis is placed on challenges experienced at a tender age and motivation gained to be writers. Alexi notes, “I learned to read with a Superman comic book.

Simple enough, I suppose. I cannot recall which particular Superman comic book I read…” This statement implies the passion for reading that drove Alexi to start writing. Similarly, Anzaldua states, “I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess…” In both cases, Alexi and Anzaldua speak about their personal experiences. Another significant similarity between the works of Alexi and Anzaldua is the use of the first-person perspective. It is an appropriate style for the two pieces of writing because they give accounts of their own life experiences. The choice of the first-person perspective is necessary for the authors to understand the characters in the writings easily. Even more, a further similarity is observed that the authors are the only characters in the writings. Despite the similarities, Alexia and Anzaldua have also used different styles of writing that creates a distinction between their works. First, Alexi’s and Anzaldua’s writing is based on different settings.

The setting for Alexi writing is California in the late 1990s. It is a writing in which Alexi provides feedback on his earlier life, indicating how he learned to read and write. The work is written at the turn of the century, indicating the intention of Alexi to spread hope to people living in reservations. It is a writing that helps minorities to have hope that their voices can be heard. The minority in this context refers to individuals from a poor background. On the other hand, the setting of Anzaldua’s work is Mexico. Anzaldua explains her experience as an immigrant from Texas. The setting of the book helps readers to learn about social and cultural differences is a common way of life. The second significant difference is the purpose of the writings. The purpose of Alexi’s presents an indication that individuals should not have be affluent to learn. For instance, Alexi gives a personal experience of developing a reading habit by reading comic books.

Alexi notes that reading a superman comic is simple, and anyone can obtain despite the economic status. Anzaldua’s purpose in writing is to imply that individuals should not be ashamed of speaking their native languages. Anzaldua gives a personal experience in speaking Spanish despite the challenge that she faces in Mexico. The other difference emerges from the tone of writing. Alexi uses an inspirational tone as he focuses on the use of positive words. On the other hand, Anzaldua’s tone is passionate and deterministic. Anzaldua explains her experience of showing passion in speaking her native mother tongue in a foreign country. Anzaldua is determined to continue speaking her native language. Another significant difference is the target audience. Alexi’s focuses on a wider audience to address the issue of Indian children being considered an unintelligent. Anzaldua focuses on a narrow audience emphasizing the needs of immigrants to stick to their native languages. Anzaldua and Alexi play significant effects on the development of poetry. First, the description of personal life experiences helps to create an understanding of the plot of poetry. The description of personal experience contributes to the development of the content.

Second, Anzaldua also plays the role of contributing to the development of themes. For instance, the two poetries have different themes despite the authors focusing their content on personal lives. It is critical to note that Anzaldua and Alexi focus on different aspects of personal life hence contributing to the development of diverse themes. Finally, the discussion of personal life experiences helps to help to give a representation of the wider perspective of different phenomenon. Anzaldua’s life experience is a representation of immigrants’ challenges, whereas Alexi’s experience is a representation of challenges that minorities face in society. Work Cited Alexie, S. (1998). Superman and me. Los Angeles Times, 19. Anzaldúa, G. (1987). How to tame a wild tongue (pp. 2947-2955). na.