Sherman Alexie Superman And Me

Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie challenges expectations based on racial stereotypes. Alexie, an Indian, was expected to be unintelligent and he was expected to fail in the non-Indian world. I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read by Francine Prose confronts high schools and the reading materials that are encouraged to be read by the students. Prose makes claims about the messages and the depth that these books lack. Superman and Me begins with a flashback of the author’s life. Alexie recalls when he began to teach himself to read and how that ability came to him. The essay itself was easy to comprehend and understand the message of the piece. Alexie’s tone in Superman and Me makes the reader believe he is ashamed of the people who stereotype others. “I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky.” Alexie adds these quotes into his piece twice along with the variations of “I was trying to save my life” and “I am trying to save our lives.” These phrases are powerful in Alexie’s essay because it challenges the stereotypes that are placed on Indians. Another powerful component of Superman and Me is when he has a flashback to his childhood. His argument is made stronger when the audience learns he has dealt with these difficulties in his own life. Alexie asks rhetorical questions in his …show more content…
Prose is critical of the high school education system mostly concerning the english and reading departments. The organization of her piece is common throughout; she adds in many censures of books throughout the essay. In the beginning of the essay, her point of view sounds like the concerned mother she is as though she is looking for good education for her children. “I find myself, each September, increasingly appalled by the dismal list of texts that my sons are doomed to waste a school year reading.” Prose uses sarcasm in her essay to strengthen her credibility and her views on these reading