Superman And Me Summary

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“I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I am trying to save our lives.” Sherman Alexie says these words in an article he wrote to persuade his target audience to see how learning to read and write can be a beneficial part of education for not just the indians in his tribe but for all cultured, lower-class. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”, was published in the Los Angeles Times. This magazine is available for everyone to read. However, the target audience leans more towards the lower-class, cultured people rather than everyone. He wanted to inform on what was happening in his indian tribes and others alike. He wanted other indians know that it is okay to want to pursue education not offered by their school. Furthermore, he …show more content…
In this article he explains how they were viewed and looked upon as he grew up. Alexie starts the article by giving background about how his passion for reading began. It began with his father. It was a bond shared between the two of them. He says how reading would make him “think of everything in terms of paragraphs”. He explains that, for him, breaking down dialogue and narrative helps when it comes to understanding more clearly. Alexie also says how all class ranks of people are not treated equally. Indians, were poor, or lesser class, and expected to be unintelligent. Smart indians were believed to be dangerous and feared by other indians and non-indians alike. Despite his cultural upbringing, Alexie went on teaching himself to read and write. He defied the stereotype by gaining as much knowledge possible, from as many sources available to him. He then went on to writing and helping other young indian children defy the stereotype given to indians as well. Although not all the children were willing to participate, he still felt he was, as he says, “saving lives”. Alexie’s style in this article is conversational and informational. He was just telling his story. He wanted to inform on how his people and others like his are treated. This article affects the reader is an emotional one. He triggers emotion

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