Rhetorical Techniques In Sherman Alexie's Superman And Me

In the essay “Superman and Me”, the author, Sherman Alexie recalls the time he first learned to read. He talks about his Indian culture and the perception of people like himself. He also discusses his childhood and the outcome of learning to read. The reoccurring theme of the essay is the love of reading. The author used various literacy devices to express the feelings of empowerment, happiness and the necessity that came with learning to read.

In between the middle of his essay, another tool that he utilizes extensively is repetition. In paragraph 16 through 25, shows the clearest form of repetition in which he uses in his essay. In each of these paragraphs either the first word or the first sentences contains the word “illiterate.” His repetition of the word “illiteracy” is used to create almost like it is a chronic disability. That these people are no longer in control of their life or actions and are helpless to change their path.

While the number of sentences in a paragraph varies – sometimes six, sometimes ten, sometimes more – their length changes to give the essay an almost musical rhythm. Even in the longer sentences the mind’s eyes is tickled by Parker’s constant use of figurative language, humor, description chock-full of metaphors and adjectives, and allusions to the biblical, the supernatural, and the historical (especially so in paragraph five). All of these elements work in tandem to slowly but surely illustrate and finally reach Parker’s point as they hold an audience member’s attention and give him a way to slip in facts and citations without boring the

Sherman Alexie is an Indian boy who started to read books because of his father who he looked up to. Since he loved his father’s devotion, he picked up a book and there he first understood the purpose of a paragraph. “The words themselves were mostly foreign, but I still remember the exact moment when I first understood… the purpose of a paragraph…” (Alexie paragraph 3). When he discovered what a paragraph was, he started comparing his family to a paragraph.

Since he was unable to read, all he could do was look at his father’s books and admire them. As a result, an epiphany occurred and he was able to clearly comprehend the meaning of a paragraph, even though he didn’t know the technical term “paragraph”. Alexie began to see his world as in relation to paragraphs. At the same time, he began looking at Superman comic books, which displayed pictures that described the actions that were written. He would describe what the figure was doing and “read” it as though those were the words that were printed.

He changes up his style of writing to keep the reader entertained and also gave them a view of a student’s perspective in

This is a key point in understanding the narrator’s character and the overall meaning of the

Although he learned a lot due to books, he believes that each book teaches you a lesson. He believes that all bad books usually have a greater lesson to teach you than the good books. Books also thought him what he can and can’t do while writing. While reading books he learned “Good writing, on the other hand, teaches the learning writer about style, graceful narration, plot development, the

He talks about how a book can help you learn how to read, and learn the structure of a book. He saw life as an "item of paragraphs" because everything belong to a section that made up a story or meaning. Just like Alexie saw life as a paragraph and that everything needed to fit into a section, in contrast Barrientos did not fit into the category. She assimilated to the wrong category which caused her to have trouble coming back to her roots. She "wanted to call (herself) Latina ", but she knew she did not belong there anymore.

He makes his family out to have followed the original way to wealth, hard work instead of the noble stature his family believes in coming down from

The only reading I cared to do or could do was from sports magazines.” (Graff 216). This is his first piece of evidence of his “hidden intellectualism”. Graff states this because he is trying to convey his idea that he would’ve been interested in school reading if it were based around sports or other interests he may have had. Graff also argues that “intellectualism is good, and that schools ought to encourage learners to read, think critically and write about their fields of personal interests like fashion, music, or cars” (217).

The text show how the ambitious yonaton is because he has this idea he thinks is great and how the story moves along because he is convinced it is a good idea. Another example says “No prep, no plotting, natural as can be, Yoni grabbed his camera and went out knocking on doors.” . This text shows how ambitious yonaton is

Unbroken Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Unbroken, wrote the book about Louis Zamperini’s fight to survive though tortured, beaten, and a barrage of gunfire. After surviving a plane crash in the middle of the ocean, where he spent forty-seven days slowly dying of intense hunger and thirst, the book shows Louis Zamperini’s quick wit and will to survive despite being tormented as a Japanese POW (prisoner of war). The author uses rhetorical devices such as syntax, diction, imagery, and tone to amplify certain moments, Hillenbrand uses imagery to convey the scene and appeal to the reader’s senses and uses precise diction to elaborate on certain scenarios. She uses tone to convey the characters’ attitudes and to give the feel of certain moment.

Dewight Greene 6th hour 4/8/2016 Rhetorical Analysis Essay/ Waiting On Superman The film waiting on superman addresses the problem that kids are not receiving the right education to be successful in real life; after school is over and off to college.

Mark Twain, an 18th century humorist, was known for his critical and satirical writing. In one of his most famous essays, “ Fenimore Coopers Literary Offenses” Twain addresses Coopers inability to realistically develop a “situation” and his failure to effectively back up his stories in order for them to be more plausible. To dramatically convey his unimpressed and sarcastic attitude, he applies biting diction, metaphors and hypophora throughout this work .