The Inspiring Sherman Alexie free essay sample

Eric Moore English 102: Writing ll Mrs. Bobbi Buchanan 18 July 2011 The Inspiring Sherman Alexie In the essay â€Å"Superman and Me† by Sherman Alexie illustrates the unstoppable ambition and courage of a young Indian boy who beats the odds by rising out of a life of poverty and oppression and helping others do the same. He was a very intelligent child who loved to read. He wanted to be like his father, who was an avid reader. He loved his father with an aching devotion, so he decided to love books like his father. He was determined to teach himself how to read, to make a better life for himself. Alexie seemed to be a very driven man who knew exactly what he wanted, and was willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goals. He would say â€Å"I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I want to save my life (210). We will write a custom essay sample on The Inspiring Sherman Alexie or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † He didn’t want to work odd jobs to live; he wanted something better for himself. He didn’t want to be like his parents, who barely got by working odd jobs around the reservation. Alexie would pick up his father’s books before he was able to read. He didn’t know the words but that didn’t stop him. Alexie remembers when he learned to understand the clarity of a paragraph.He couldn’t say paragraph but he knew what a paragraph was. He called a â€Å"fence that held words (208). † He started to relate everything to a paragraph. I found this quote interesting because it showed him as a simple man, despite his accomplishments. This made him more relatable to me. As he began to understand everything in a paragraph, he picked up a Superman comic book. He still couldn’t read but he understood what the pictures meant. He was only three years old. This stood out to me because at three years old, my mind was on playing, not reading.When he saw a picture of Superman going through a door, he would say â€Å"Superman goes through the door (209). †He looked at it as teaching himself how to read. He eventually taught himself how to read. As he began to read, the books he read got harder and harder. When Alexie was in kindergarten he was reading â€Å"Grapes of Wrath†, while the other children were reading â€Å"Dick and Jane. † He was well liked amongst his teachers. He wrote, â€Å"If he had been anything but an Indian boy on a reservation he would have been called a prodigy. But because he was an Indian boy on a reservation he was called an oddity 209). † The picture this creates in my head is a boy that is an outcast and unpopular, despite his amazing intelligence. Even being shunned by his peers didn’t stop Alexie from achieving his goals. Alexie often would speak in third person to sound more modest about his talents. He always felt like an outcast, because he was so smart and knew how to read. Alexie writes â€Å"A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely focused and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike (209). † Alexie fought with his classmates on a daily basis.Alexie wrote â€Å"Indian children would submissively duck their heads when confronted by a non-Indian adult but would slug it out with the Indian bully who was ten years older (209). † They didn’t like the fact that he was smart and wouldn’t stay quiet when the non-Indian teachers would ask for answers when they would ask questions. He would also volunteer his services to help the non-Indian teachers with things around the classroom. Indian children were supposed to be unwise. Indian children were supposed to go belly up in a non-Indian world. They were praised by Indians when doing so, but Alexie didn’t want to fall into that statistic.He wanted to be smart and break that stereotype. With my knowledge of the brutal and sometime fatal treatment of African-Americans during desegregation of schools, I can imagine the similar obstacles he faced. Alexie refused to fail. He was arrogant, smart, and lucky. He would read books late into the night. He would read books at recess, at lunch, and in the few minutes left after he had finished an assignment in class. Sherman would read books as his family would travel to powwows and basketball games. He would go to the bookstore and read bits and pieces of as many books as he could.He would read books his father would bring home. It didn’t matter how small or large the books where. He would read the back of cereal boxes, newspapers, things posted on the bulletin board at school or the library. By reading constantly it showed the dedication Alexie had toward reading. Alexie would read anything that had words or paragraphs. Alexie loved his books, but he also knew that love had only one purpose. He said â€Å"I was trying to save my life (209). † He was determined to be a self-taught man. He wanted to be smart and succeed in life. Despite on the reading he had done, he was surprised that he became a writer.He thought that he would become a pediatrician. Today he writes novels, short stories, and poems. Sherman visits schools on the reservation and teaches creative writing to Indian children. In his childhood years he was never taught to write poetry, short stories, or novels. He didn’t think Indians wrote that way. Today he visits as many schools as possible. By his work in schools Indian children today are writing their own poems, short stories, and novels. Alexie has been a positive role model for the children on the reservation, by his devotion to preventing these children from going through the same trials he went through.The children have read his books and have been inspired by him. There are still defeated Indian children that sit in the back of the classroom. They are the children who don’t believe that they can be smart. They ignore him when he is speaking. But Alexie throws his weight against their locked doors and tries to dock the doors down. The children keep resisting him. Sherman says â€Å"I am smart, I am arrogant, I am lucky. I am trying to save our lives (210). † Throughout the story, Alexie shows that no matter what kind of background you come from you can be an intelligent person and succeed at life. He took it upon himself to learn to read.No matter the obstacles, he never stopped believing in himself. He believed in teaching himself to read and creating a better life for himself. With everything he has done in his life he still finds time and is able to give back to the Indian children on his reservation. He is a positive role model and example to the Indian kids. He has also shown that no matter what obstacles or what type of background you come from; if you work hard you can achieve success. Missy James, Alan P. Merickel. â€Å"Superman and Me 208-210† Reading Literature and Writing Argument Fourth Edition. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. 2011. Print