ipl-logo

Sherman Alexie Outsiders

851 Words4 Pages

Outsiders are a common sources of topic throughout literature and are defined as people who differ from what society deems as normal or having normal qualities. Throughout the semester, we have read several works that use outsiders to help convey a certain theme or message and there was one particular work that stood out from the rest. While reading “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, the use of outsiders was incredibly effective due to Sherman using his own experiences of being an outsider throughout his life. This essay is the perfect example of the use of outsiders because of Alexie discussing how his parents raised him, his childhood experiences in school, and his adulthood ambitions.
First of all, Alexie …show more content…

He exclaimed, “Those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians” (Alexie 13). The other kids on the reservation were instructed to give up and to not push to learn anything that did not concern the native people. When children are taught such ideals at an early age, it plants itself within them through most of their lives if they stay in that society. There are few that can break away from these kind of ideals, but like Alexie it all depends on the kind of household they grew up in and if their parents followed the expectations set by the community. Alexie was fortunate enough to be raised differently than the other kids and had a mind not trapped within the walls of societies’ expectations. Despite the content taught to the children, Alexie persevered and refused to follow them like a sheep which made him unusual or an outsider to the children and many …show more content…

There have been several pieces of literature that we have read this semester that use the topic of outsiders but one work shone the brightest. Sherman Alexie’s essay, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” employed the topic of outsiders through his sharing personal experiences with himself as an outsider in his community. His writing is the model example of the use of outsiders because of Alexie talking about how his parents raised him, his childhood experiences in school, and adult

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Outsiders In Jane Eyre

    988 Words  | 4 Pages

    Growing up as a Buddhist Chinese Malaysian in an increasingly Islamic Malay-centric Malaysia, I oftentimes feel like an outsider. Consequently, I was drawn to the outsiders and the social Other in literature during my undergraduate years in NCCU. The presence of the Other and the outsider can be traced from ancient Greek dramas to modern literature, from Medea to the Underground Man.

    Read More

  • Sherman Alexie

    626 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is not simply written. The author Sherman Alexie, uses several words like articulate, hormonal, and decrepit which displays that the novel could be read by people of all ages. This novel is wonderfully written so that people of every socioeconomic status can relate to real-world problems like poverty, racism, death and substance abuse. Alexie uses simple language to convey the thoughts that are actually inside people’s minds. For instance, in the first chapter of the book, the author introduces Arnold to the world (Alexie, 2007).

    Read More

  • Examples Of Social Isolation In The Great Gatsby

    891 Words  | 4 Pages

    Humans are and will always be social creatures, they like to stay in groups, chat with others, and socialize with other humans and some might even say that it is necessary for survival. So knowing this, the greatest dilemma one could face would be the separation and social outcasting of themselves from the group. Isolation can be very impactful and dangerous for one’s self, for a glimpse of its consequences authors write tales of separation and isolation which the reader can soak in and understand its potential. Crace Chua and F. Scott Fitzgerald are two examples of authors who shared stories of social dissolution in The Great Gatsby and “(love song, with two goldfish)”. This theme of isolation and separation affect many aspects of a story but the characters and various conflicts are truely altered and somehow brought to life when real human nature is tested and denied.

    Read More

  • The Outsiders

    643 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book, The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, the premise of The Outsiders is of a power struggle between two social classes, the Greasers and the Socs. This fictional book focuses on hot-button issues of that time period through the journey of Ponyboy and how he navigated through these times. The aftermath and effects of tensions in the group and when said tensions boiled over in the two groups were also shown. The three topics addressed in the down-to-earth novel are rich versus poor, the power of friendship and what it means to be a hero.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Judgement In Frankenstein

    901 Words  | 4 Pages

    Those who read fiction and mentally observe this socially constructed isolation tend to be more understanding, empathizing, and open minded. By using literature and even historical events to open one’s mind, one can surpass this subconscious animalistic judgment and break these metaphorical barriers of social

    Read More

  • Why Is Ponyboy An Outsider

    750 Words  | 3 Pages

    What makes someone an outsider? In Tulsa, S.E. Hinton went to a large high school and in all large high schools they would have different groups. Everyone would stay in their own groups as they grew up S.E. thought it was idiotic. She made the book The Outsiders which had the socs and the greasers S.E. would get letters from kids who told her they also had the two groups in there school but they had different names for them.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Society And Class In The Outsiders

    707 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thematic Essay- Society and Class Society and class is an important theme in “The Outsiders”, a novel written by S.E Hinton. “The Outsider”, is a book about two gangs, the Greasers and the socs who are rivals because of their economic and social differences. Throughout the book, S.E Hinton outlines that Socs, who have a better economic status are unaware of all of the other aspects in life and feel superior over the Greasers. In book, The Outsiders, it 's shown that a human society can be separated a society because of society and wealth.

    Read More

  • The Running Man Character Analysis

    905 Words  | 4 Pages

    By creating characters in the novel who are excluded and labelled the author demonstrates how cruel society can be to people. The purpose of this essay is to show how the author reveals the experiences of marginalised characters in society. Joseph Davidson is an introverted, fourteen year old boy who feels that he is trapped within his own world of chaos, and he too is a marginalised character in the book. It is suggested by the author that other characters believe that Joseph’s mother smothers him too much and his father has

    Read More

  • Being An Outsider Is Universal

    826 Words  | 4 Pages

    Another example of this is in part 6 of the poem where it says "As with every other country I've visited, nobody thought I was Indian. This made me lonely." This excerpt from the poem shows that the narrator feels like an outsider no matter what country he was in. No matter where he was, he was the only Indian which caused him to feel like an outsider. Many people believe that outsiders are people who have low self-esteem which makes them exaggerate what they think makes them outsiders, but everyone has things that can make them an outsider.

    Read More

  • The Outsiders Essay

    690 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Outsiders” is a novel written by S.E. Hinton. Originally Published in 1967, Hinton was only 18 when her novel hit the shelves. Instead of using her real name Susan Eloise Hinton, she used her initial’s so people wouldn’t know she was a girl making the book less desirable. The Outsiders is considered a cult classic and is typically assigned reading across the U.S. She always loved reading but did not like the books they had for young adults

    Read More

  • Who Is To Blame For Johnny's Death In The Outsiders

    1073 Words  | 5 Pages

    Whose fault is it for all the problems and fights that happened between the socials and Greasers . The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel by S.E. Hinton. It follows the rivalry between the Greasers, a group of young boys from a poorer community, and the rich, high class Socs of the same age through the view of Ponyboy, a 14 year old Greaser. The day after Ponyboy gets jumped by a group of Socs, he meets Cherry, who is a Soc.

    Read More

  • How Does Ponyboy's Point Of View Change In The Outsiders

    667 Words  | 3 Pages

    Carlos’ Outsiders Essay When you change the way you look at something the things you look at change, to give you a wider perspective of what you see. Ponyboy Curtis learns this the hard way. One theme in The Outsiders by S.E Hinton is that as people grow up experiences force them to see life in different perspectives and look beyond their bias. This essay will demonstrate how Ponyboy’s point of view changes throughout the book.

    Read More

  • The Outsiders Book Report Essay

    603 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this book report I will talk about the book “The outsiders” written by S.E. Hinton, I will do a review of the story, the point of view, theme, symbols and my opinion about this book I really liked to read for the English class. The story is about a boy named Ponyboy who lived in a small town in Texas with his two brothers Darry and Sodapop were a gang war was taking place between two different social class people: The Socs and the Greasers. Ponyboy will learn the consequences bad acts can bring to your life in the middle of a gang war. The greasers were a middle class and not so social kind of people who liked to get in trouble and The other gang The Socs were a most of them a high class or middle-high class group of people who where they went they will always go in groups of like three or four people.

    Read More

  • Themes In Flowers For Algernon

    886 Words  | 4 Pages

    The novel portrays the alienation and loneliness individuals go through and how they react to being isolated when trying to be accepted by society. Charlie desired to be intelligent so he could have a lot of friends and so people would like him yet when he had surgery to triple his i.Q he finds that he is singled out and isolated from others around him. Charlie’s limited emotional maturity also creates a barrier between him and others around him which disables him to understand and connect with others. People around Charlie are having trouble relating to him as they are alarmed at his new found intellect. The techniques which represents this theme are rhetorical question and rhyme .The

    Read More

  • Alienation In H. G. Wells's The Invisible Man

    1727 Words  | 7 Pages

    He suffers from psychological complexes, that alienated him from society, and he 's unable to face the realities of life. This research indicates the modern theme of breakdown, absurdity, uselessness, loneliness, and bitterness of life. The protagonist also realizes that the escape from the responsibilities is not a solution to life 's problem. A person ought to create a struggle for his survival, otherwise, there 's the decay of humanity in alienation. In the novel, the author appears to

    Read More

More about Sherman Alexie Outsiders

Open Document