Eleven By Alexie Alexie Analysis

1. In the end of "Indian Education" Alexie became more successful than his childhood friends. His success is contributed not by the lessons taught in school but by the life experiences he had. Throughout elementary school and high school he dealt with hardships within his family, racist teachers and bullies. I think all these contributing factors helped push him to be successful. In fourth grade, a teacher named Mr. Schluter, encourages him to become a doctor. Ultimately this was Alexie’s turning point that motivated him in school. His previous teacher had either been racist or had not seen his full potential. Another contributing event to Alexie’s success was going to study at a high school off the reservation. The education he received at …show more content…
I enjoyed the story “Eleven” because I felt as if it was very relatable. This story describes an emotional experience that we can all relate to about growing up. Throughout reading the story I thought about how simple the story line was yet there was a strong message in it. The story was written in a way that made me think about how the layers of ages are never fully gone at each birthday instead they are added onto the current age. I agree that a person carries all ages that they have been. Some days you may feel like being childish and silly, that’s the ten year old part of you. You don 't stop being ten when you turn eleven. Instead, you incorporate the ten year old into who you are and who you will become. Some days you may feel like crying for no reason at all and that could be the five year old in you. Some days you may feel like being older and wiser and that 's the part of you that never goes …show more content…
Other features that characterize her style as informal are her use of personal stories. Tans feels embarrassed by her mother’s limited and broken English so she tells personal stories to help the reader better understand her mother’s English. She uses stories such as when her mother speaks of a political gangster, her stock broker and the incident at the hospital. There were moments in Tans life where she had to intervene and use proper English to help her mother out. The use of the personal examples helped better connect readers with her mother as well as the audience she was trying to reach. I don’t think a more formal style would have strengthened her credibility. I personally felt like I could completely relate because the mother that Tan described was my mother. My mother was an immigrant to this country and I had similar experiences as Tan growing up. The use of Tans informative writing made it more relatable to me as well as any other person who has grown up in similar