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Transcript

Purpose

The purpose of this personal essay is to express the impact of reading in Alexie's 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.

Why I Chose to analyze

Superman and Me

Key Premise #1

I chose to analyze Alexie Shermans "Superman and Me" because it was one of the readings that I truly understood. I also found it very interesting. Although, it was hard for me to connect to Alexie because I have been exposed to many forms of reading and writing throughout my years of being in school. Knowing how to read and write is a social norm in America unlike in Alexies Indian Reservation.

Alexie states that "[he] decided to love books" (Alexie, par. 2)

  • His father inspired him to love books
  • If it wasn't for his father, Alexie would have had little resources to discover his love for books because his father was always buying books.
  • Alexie taught himself what a paragraph was and how to read through a Superman comic book

Major Argument

Key Premise #2

The major argument Sherman Alexie makes throughout "Superman and Me" is that he believes that Indian student's lives can be saved by learning how to read and write.

Alexie was trying to save his own life by reading

  • Indian children were not encouraged to learn how to read and he didn't want to become the stereotypical Indian
  • Indians were only accepted if they belonged in the social norm of not being educated on how to read and write
  • Alexie's circumstances placed him in a position where failure is expected. He wanted to ovecome this barrier despite his current environment
  • Alexie "refused to fail" (Alexie, par.7) and refused to be categorized like the rest of the Indians

Who is Sherman Alexie?

Key Premise #3

Alexie didn't want to be categorized with the other Indians

  • He wanted to be the exception of Indians who didn't fail in the outside world.
  • He began to read every little thing that had words on it because he was determined to prove that reading and writing can save your life.
  • He visits schools to teach Indian children how to read and write because he wants to make a change in his community. He wants others lives to be saved.

Conclusion

Sherman Alexie is a Native American poet, novelist, performer, and film maker.

Alexie never believed that he would become a writer because it was not a profession that Indians pursued. He wanted to become the change he wanted to see in his community and for Indians all around. He was tired of seeing Indians recognized as unintelligent, and ultimately wanted to save their lives. Alexie believes that if you are an Indian who knows how to read and write, you will be well respected by all.

Other than his personal essay, "Superman and Me", Alexie has also produced The Business of Fancydancing (1992), The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven (1993), which won a PEN/Hemingway Award. The movie Smoke Signals which was produced in 1998 is a movie based on one of Alexie’s short stories for which he co-wrote the screenplay

You may not know that...

Sherman Alexie was born hydrocephalic (build up of fluids in the brain). He underwent an operation at six months old and was not expected to survive. While it is obvious now that he survived, he had many seizures as a child and to pass the time he read.

Alexie has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including the 2009 Mason Award, the 2008 Stranger Genius Award, a Pushcart Prize, the PEN/Malamud Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship, and numerous honorary degrees.

Question

Do you believe having knowledge is more important than following traditions and customs? Just as it was a social norm on the reservation to not know how to read, but Alexie went against the norm because he believe reading can save your life.

Sherman Alexie: Superman and me

By: Emily Schwartz

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