How Does Sherman Alexie Teach Children To Rebel Against Authority Figure

Sherman Alexie is by far one of the most controversial authors in American and Native American literature history. His most notorious works focus on the despair, poverty, and alcoholism that were known to circulate amongst the Native American people, some of which he experienced first hand. He is best known for using a bold, outspoken style in many poems, novels, and short stories. At one point in time, the author states that his “only purpose is to teach children to rebel against authority figures”. Sherman Alexie’s writing combines humor, sadness, realism, and pop culture, along with Native American culture stereotypes. Born on October 7th, 1966, Sherman Alexie was raised in Wellpinit, Washington as a member of the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene …show more content…
“He excelled in not just academics, but also in sports and extracurricular activities”(Childhood, Achievements, & Timeline). In 1985, his success led him to Jesuit Gonzaga University to pursue a medical degree. After becoming uncomfortable with anatomy classes and also beginning to abusing alcohol, he dropped out in 1987. Alexie then transferred to Washington State University to study creative writing, where he became the protege of famous poet, Alex Kuo. This inspired him to start writing on his own and also gave him the incentive to stop …show more content…
Two of them were “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” (1993) and “The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” (2007) due to their crude language, sexism, violence, and much more. Alexie responded to the book ban by saying it “made the books more sacred”. A few of his other famous works include “Reservation Blues”, a story about kids on the reservation who wanted to pursue the Rock’N’Roll lifestyle. “The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” is thought to be almost an autobiography by Alexie. Although he claims it to be fiction, the characters and plot of the story very closely resembles Alexie’s youth. Gloria Bird, a member of the Spokane tribe, recently wrote a literary criticism on “Reservation Blues”, and mostly pointed out that Alexie was promoting racism of his own people. In “Reservation Blues” the introduction of elements for 'effect," likewise becomes stripped of emotional investment. It is a literary strategy that is consistent throughout the novel (Bird). By saying this, Bird implies that Alexie put no emotion or empathy into this novel and is basically slandering the Native American People. In retrospect, Alexie is just trying to connect with a younger audience by using humor and pop culture as a way to grasp his readers’