Sherman Alexie's Influence On Education
The first time one is able to comprehend the meaning of a word is a momentous childhood moment that is forever engraved in one’s memory. Books and reading are significantly impactful to people’s lives; Mark Twain said that, “books are for people who wish they were somewhere else.” This statement is apropo for Sherman Alexie, who was a Native American living on a reservation during the time he learned to read. Sherman Alexie convinces his audience that an education is crucial to being successful by using personal anecdotes to captivate and create a connection with his audience and repetition to reiterate the importance of having an education. Alexie's use of personal anecdotes fortifies the impact he has on his audience. Alexie's personal …show more content…
He states, “I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky. I was trying to save my life.” Alexie first introduces this point when he expresses how life was like growing up on a Native American reservation and his desire to succeed. Later, he goes to a Native American reservation and attempts to make a breakthrough with the students. At this point, he repeats the same phrase, however, he changes it to, “I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I am trying to save our lives.” He changes the ‘my life’ to ‘our lives’ because he is conveying how he wishes to change not only his life, but the lives of the Native American children he meets. Alexie's use of repetition effectively shows the recurring theme of his desire for success. He introduces and reintroduces this phrase at two critical moments in the story. He placed the phrase correctly at two points in the story because both points discuss the same central idea of succeeding and Alexie's motivation for success. The difference, however, is that the first point refers to success in his own life, and the second point refers to success in the lives of the Native American children. Alexie's repetition also evokes emotion from the reader. The reader immediately becomes interested in Alexie's life. When he uses the same phrase he used to relate to his life and talk about the Native American children, the reader feels
Kaffir Boy Quotes
279 Words | 2 Pages“‘ But what a battle it was. It took me nearly a year a year to get all them papers together.’” Analysis:By giving him an education, she gave him an opportunity to have a life his illiterate friends from the gangs never could. This enabled him to escape the black ghetto of Alexandria, go to college in America, write a bestselling book and have a life far better than that of his father or mother. This shows not only that a person 's life can be improved by others, but that education can create opportunities even in the most structurally
Overcoming Obstacles In Sherman Alexie's Life
571 Words | 3 PagesDespite the negative stereotype of American Indians, the objections and disapproval of fellow Natives, and the criticism of others, Sherman Alexie went on to become a successful writer that has inspired many. Alexie overcame many obstacles that would have deterred him from his goal, but he was able to remain steadfast and continue on in his pursuit of writing. As a result, he has published many literary works that include several short stories, poems, and a variety of novels. He allows his culture to seep into his writing, and continues to inspire young American Indians who also desire the path of knowledge.
An Analysis Of Superman And Me By Sherman Alexie
933 Words | 4 PagesThey are trying to save their lives.” Although Sherman Alexie’s success seems as if it has only opened up doors for himself it did not, it opened up doors for other Indian kids that are still on the reservation. When Sherman Alexie wrote his books and poems the kids on the reservation read them. They gave them hope, he gave them a reason to fight for their lives the way he did. Those kids too started to write their own short stories and found the same joy in learning that Sherman Alexie did.
How Does Sherman Alexie Use An Extended Metaphor In Superman And Me
336 Words | 2 PagesIn “Superman and Me” Sherman Alexie uses an extended metaphor to compare himself to Superman. It talks about his struggle to get to where he wanted to be and how he tried to help others when he got there. It also talks about how he became Superman but in his own way. Sherman Alexie was a three year old, Indian boy who lived on an Indian reservation in eastern Washington State. He had a brother and three sisters.
Analysis Of Thomas King's The Truth About Story
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Analysis of 'This Is Water' by David Foster Wallace
1763 Words | 8 PagesDavid Foster Wallace’s commencement speech “This is Water” at Kenyon College is often thought of as one of the most influential speeches because it calls the graduates to observe the world around them through a different lens. However, he does not accomplish that by calling the graduates to action, but instead challenges them to use their education. He also appeals to the students’ emotions through his use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Although people mostly only remember the antidotes, it is the message associated with reoccurring emotions and literary devices throughout the speech that moves the reader into action. Wallace is able to captivate his audience and persuade them to view the world without themselves at the center through his tactful use of rhetoric.
Sherman Alexe's Superman And Me
626 Words | 3 PagesIn 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.
Rhetorical Analysis Of Learning To Read By Malcolm X
116 Words | 1 PagesIn “Learning to Read”, Malcolm X uses rhetorical analysis to argue how African Americans continued to struggle in gaining education due to racism. He informs people that through our history books, there have been modifications that restrain the truth about the struggles black people faced. Malcolm X encouraged his audience to strive to get the rights that they deserved. He demonstrates that knowledge is very important because the truth empowers us. In his interview he persuades his audience with diction, tone, pathos, ethos, and appeal to emotion to make his point.
Class Sherman Alexie Analysis
1423 Words | 6 Pages“Class” by Sherman Alexie is a story about a man, Edgar Joseph, on a journey to self-identification. While on this journey he experiences many different tribulations and encounters a multitude of women. The encounters with these women will reveal to the reader his selfless, barbaric, and lost personality. However, the experiences he had with women of his own descent provided a transformative experience that shows what he is looking for and what he truly values. Edgar’s selflessness can be seen through his mother.
Indian Education Sherman Alexie Analysis
929 Words | 4 PagesSherman Alexie writes the story “Indian Education” using a deadpan tone to build and connect the years of the narrator 's life together in an ironic way. Alexie is able to utilize irony through the use of separate, short sections within the story. The rapid presentation of events, simple thoughts, and poetic points made within the story enable the reader to make quick connections about the narrator’s life to draw more complex realizations. The art that Alexie uses to write this very short story is poetic in nature through the meaning and structure of his writing. By the fact that the reader can draw deeper conclusions about the narrator 's life from Alexie’s writing is evident that his writing is poetic.
Learning To Read And Write Superman And Me Essay
775 Words | 4 PagesThis quote, from Sherman Alexie’s “Learning to Read and Write: Superman and Me,” describes a young Indian boy’s ambition to read and write, to be literate. The same ambition I saw in myself when I was learning to read and write. The meaning of literacy, to me, has always been the next step towards success. I searched for success at an early age; looking back, I surprise myself on how quickly I advanced. In my early years of junior high, I stumbled across “The Inheritance” by Louisa May Alcott.
Comparing Sherman Alexie's Life And Work
161 Words | 1 PagesSherman Alexie, a Spokane Indian boy who taught himself to read by the age of three, grew up being ridiculed for his reading passion. However, since then, he has published numerous books and earned numerous awards, including the World Heavyweight Poetry Bout title in 1998. Alexie was raised with poor/middle-class standards, but was always surrounded by books, his father purchase. Alexie never let the stereotype of Indians slow him down, and refused to fail because he knew he smart, arrogant and lucky. He read every time he had an opportunity including: late at night, during recess, at lunch, after finishing class assignments, and while traveling to powwows or basketball games.
Analysis Of Superman And Me By Sherman Alexie
165 Words | 1 PagesIn Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, Alexie’s father’s love for books grew to make his self-love books ending up in Alexie teaching himself how to read. Alexie describes the stereotypes and what is expected of Indian children and how Indian children were expected to basically have no knowledge Many lived up to those expectations inside the classroom but invalidated them on the outside. While other children were doing this, Alexie’s father was one of the few Indians on the reservation who went to Catholic School on purpose and was also an devoted reader. Alexie grew up around books. His father had a strong love for books as he bought them by the pound from pawn shops, goodwill and the salvation army.
Analysis Of Learning To Read And Write Frederick Douglass
560 Words | 3 Pages“Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass is a personal narrative which describes a specific time in his childhood when he was learning to read and write. Born as a slave in the pre-Civil War south, Douglass was not expected to be literate. However, through strong ambition, Douglass overcame restrictions and stereotypes placed on slaves and taught himself to read and write. Later in his life, Frederick Douglass wrote down this story in his book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845. Today, students and adults can enjoy this narrative on how he overcame the struggles of learning how to read and write.
Narrative Literacy Examples
541 Words | 3 PagesAlexie expresses that kids can teach themselves how to tread by picking up any interesting book. He used his comic book to help him learn how to read, eventually he read every minute of his life. Lastly Barrientos shows us how assimilating can cause a negative impact on your roots. She
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