Sherman Alexe's Superman And Me

The author also uses descriptive language in many of his quotes to portray the right idea when readers are reading the

The story of his life in “Superman and me” by, Sherman Alex, expressed deeply of himself on how dedicated and content he was during his youthful life. As a young impecunious Indian boy, he grew up on the sides of Eastern Washington state following the path of his father’s dedication in the love of reading and writing. He self taught his way up to be an overachiever reader by constantly reading everything he saw in sight. Later in life, acting as a life saver, he taught those who lacked in reading and writing. He’s proud and prudent to this day, leading those who are inspired by his novels, poems and short stories.

Superman Learns to Read Four star general, Colin Powell once said, “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and eliminate doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.” His quote rings true for many elements that great leaders and strong arguments share. In order for arguments to be successful, they must be simplified, eliminate doubt, and propose an easy-to-comprehend solution. The argument must be simplified through clear and concise prose. The argument must acknowledge opposing views and void the opposition’s claim.

Everyone has the potential to read and write and “be a Superman” as long as you set goals and maintain the goals. Alexie smashes the doors of knowledge for himself and other children. “In one panel, Superman breaks through a door” (Alexie 4). He can relate to their situations because he was once there.

For Alexie, the connotation for superman breaking down the door would represent, his moment in life where everything would change. He broke down the wall that would limit his education and his ability to move up in this world. In comparison, Fredrick Douglas’s moment was not as glorious because he soon realized that he was a slave and that any hope of him being free where slim to none. Douglas lived in a different time where, even with the ability to read and write, a slave would still continue to struggle just because of the color of his skin. This is why he stated, “It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy” (Mcquade, Atwan, 109).

In The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me, Sherman Alexie shares with his audience his story of when he learned to read at a young age through a Superman comic book. Through stories and memories of his childhood he explains how Indian children on reservations were expected not to try in school and fail in the non-Indian world. In order to successfully portray his ideas, Alexie uses many rhetorical techniques and ideas. By using these techniques the audience is forced to look more into the writing instead of just being giving the direct meaning of what Alexie is trying to share.

His incredible mastery of pathos is once again revealed when he refers to himself in third person. No longer is the audience in boy Alexie’ mind, but they are seeing the situation unfold from the outside. Although he has overcome the struggle to learn how to read, he still battles the oppression of a system that does not want him to succeed. He refuses to fail like other Indians or conform to what is expected of him. As Alexie declares he “was smart.

The anecdote drew in my attention, not because of a personal connection, but because of the story’s strange plot. The nature of the story tempted me to read on; a boy describing how he connected letters on a page to visual diagrams. I have never read a story about someone describing their first experience with reading, maybe because nobody recalls how or when they first learned how to read. After one receives the skill of reading it becomes second nature. However, my attention was lost in the extensive detail.

His father was in love with books. He bought books from wherever he could find them and there were books all in his house. Since his dad loved books, Sherman decided to as well. When he understood the purpose of a paragraph, he soon began to think everything was its own paragraph. He picked up a Superman comic book.

When the quote, “I read with equal parts joy and desperation,” is stated in the document, Sherman Alexie had begun reading. He was reading very frequently. He was reading everything he got his hands on. In the article, it states, “I read junk mail. I read auto-repair manuals.

In the story the joy of reading Superman and me Sherman Alexie tells an emotional story of both hardship and success. He shares his struggles of being a poor Indian kid destined to fail, but he had a desire to be persevere he wanted to be more than the stereotypical uneducated Indian on a reservation and was determined to do so. He was inspired by his father to love books, and with the love for books came the ability to escape from the boundaries of the reservation and the dream to be more. Alexie shares how he taught his self to read with a superman comic book and with his witty metaphors how it shaped his life. I found Alexis story to be emotional, but yet very interesting.

In the essays, “Reading to Write” by Stephen King, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, “Learning to Read” Malcolm X, and “Learning to Write” by Frederick Douglas have three things in common. In each essay Reading has contributed towards the authors life leading to benefit from learning to read, allowing them to leave a legacy behind. In each essay the authors has thought their self how unlike Frederick Douglass. For Stephen King, reading has done a lot for him. King stated, “Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (221).

(1). He uses the rhetorical device of figurative language to give the reader a strong image of his feeling

Within the essays “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie and “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglas, both recount the battle they fought to gain an education from a society that was dedicated to withholding it from them. Each of the authors’ experiences are characterized by intense focus and incalculable perseverance, telling a story of hard won success in the face of adversity. Nevertheless, despite their similarity in message, theme, and situation, the essays are diverge on specific rhetorical techniques, such as syntax and imagery, to tailor their own emotional response in their unique audiences when conveying their message. The essays maintain striking similarity as the authors describe how they learned to read and write.

Everyone knows that reading is important, but have you ever asked yourself why is that so? Reading is one of the most beneficial and practical activities that a human being can do. Unfortunately it is a disappointment that people these days read less. As we know, books were the main source of entertainment centuries ago, but with the widespread of technological advances such as the cinema, television, internet, among others, many people left their books on the bookshelf. The purpose of this speech is to present the benefits and the importance of reading.