Superman And Me Summary

Words: 912
Pages: 4
Open Document
In his essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” author Sherman Alexie writes about the pleasures of reading. His thesis “My father loved books, and since I love my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well” best describes the author’s position on the topic. He conveys his thesis to the reader through the primary purpose of expressive writing. His use of personal anecdote along with the secondary purpose of literary writing gives insight to the reader of the lives of those who were raised on a Native American reservation.
Primarily, Alexie’s purpose is expressive. Throughout Alexie’s story, he uses the repetition of the personal pronoun “I” in order to present a point and then make a reference back to it …show more content…
For instance, he would read after he had finished an assignment in class or he would read cereal boxes and things posted on the walls at school, the clinic, the tribal offices, and at the post office. The author further develops his argument of loving books by describing how he turned his passion into his career and started writing novels, short stories, and poems. He has inspired other Native American children to also learn reading and writing. He has established this through his creative writing class where students create their own novels, short stories and poems: "These days, I write novels, short stories, and poems. I visit schools and teach creative writing to Native American kids." This makes the author a trustworthy candidate by establishing authority; this is a form of ethos. The reader does not view the author as a smart Native American boy who had a fascination with reading but rather as someone who used their talent and became successful, establishing Alexie’s secondary pattern of description. In "Superman and Me", Alexie utilizes purposes and patterns as two very strong writing elements. His use of these tools leaves a lasting impression on his audience. Both writing tools are very different but Alexie uses them to create similar responses from the audience. His expressive purpose can be used to evoke emotions from his audience. He did not want this essay to just be informative, but he wanted this essay to display emotive factors that catch a glimpse into the life of a person growing up on a Native American
Show More

Related Documents: Superman And Me Summary

Superman And Me By Sherman Alexie Summary

Sherman Alexie wanted to break the intelligence barrier between the Native American-Indians and the majority of Americans, which he explains in “Superman and Me.” He says “I refuse to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky.” These four simple sentences apply an exceedingly amount of understanding and misconception of the Native American-Indians. We see this as him saying that he just wants to learn, but it has so much more meaning to it then that. Alexie says the words “ I read” empathetically…

Words 533 - Pages 3

informal dc Essay

15 Min(s) INTRODUCTION ATTENTION: Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Catwoman…These are all movies but they all most importantly share….is that they are all from DC Comics. MOTIVATION: Comic Books as the actor Nicolas Cage once said “Are Modern mythology, they reflect our fears, embody our ideal, and personalize our culture.” I have a story I wanna share. When I was 4 I read my first Superman comic book. When I mean reading I read the pictures…

Words 573 - Pages 3

Eleanor Roosevelt Quote

gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face… You must do the thing you think you cannot do”. This quote means that fear is something you have to get over and conquer. What it means to me is that I have to overcome my fears in order to gain more mental strength. The quote professed by Eleanor Roosevelt is connected to my experiences, the arts, and even the world. First, I have been forced to be courageous in certain periods of my life…

Words 889 - Pages 4

The Importance Of Education In Mike Rose's Lives On The Boundary

or whatever they are reading is not thoroughly challenging or compelling to the reader, then they will be just wasting time reading things they do not want to. For example, if Rose’s students or himself were to read a book about who is stronger, Superman or Batman, would that spark any intelligent debate? It would not; at most, students would develop certain points as to which of their favorite hero is better than the other. However, if Rose student’s were to tackle something extremely difficult…

Words 1567 - Pages 7