“I refused to fail” (653), declares Alexie Sherman. In life all of us will eventually encounter something that becomes our passion. Something that acts as our drive in day to day life and changes the way we see the world. For Alexie Sherman reading books became his life’s passion, he claims in his essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” that his life was saved through books and that he is now trying to save other lives with books and writing. Reading saves a life by allowing him to feel like something other than a stereotypical Indian boy, by giving him a drive to succeed, and also by leading him to teach others to enjoy reading and writing in way that can save their lives too.
Alexie’s passion for reading gives him a title …show more content…
Alexie goes to schools on Indian reservations as an adult and lectures the children on reading and writing. Alexie describe, “They look at me with bright eyes and arrogant wonder. They are trying to save their lives. Then there are the sullen and already defeated Indian kids who sit in the back rows and ignore me with theatrical precision” (655). This shows a present day comparison for Alexie. The sullen and defeated Indian kids are the stereotypical Indian boys he worked so hard to not become. Now he is an adult and is attempting to break down the walls that these children have built. Rather than allow them to give up completely Alexie uses his passion for reading to help influence these students to feel hope. He does this by lecturing the students and revealing his passion for reading books and writing to save his and their lives. By presenting all of the Indian children with an activity to occupy their time he shows them that they can feel inspired and hopeful rather than sullen and defeated by …show more content…
In the beginning of his essay he mentions that a Superman comic is the first thing he reads. He cannot specifically remember which issue it is or what villain Superman was fighting, but he does remember that Superman is breaking down a door. As an adult I believe that Alexie Sherman became his own Superman. He begins by breaking down the door that confines him to a low class reservation Indian boy environment. When he grows up to become a writer and visits the Indian reservation schools he is trying to break down the door that the sullen Indian children have built. Alexie describes one of his lectures, “’Books,’ I say. I throw my weight against their locked doors. The door holds. I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I am trying to save our lives” (655). He is trying to save lives just like Superman does in the comics and movies. Instead of saving their lives through fighting crime, Alexie is presenting the children with something to be passionate about so that he may save their
Alexie’s passion for reading gives him a title …show more content…
Alexie goes to schools on Indian reservations as an adult and lectures the children on reading and writing. Alexie describe, “They look at me with bright eyes and arrogant wonder. They are trying to save their lives. Then there are the sullen and already defeated Indian kids who sit in the back rows and ignore me with theatrical precision” (655). This shows a present day comparison for Alexie. The sullen and defeated Indian kids are the stereotypical Indian boys he worked so hard to not become. Now he is an adult and is attempting to break down the walls that these children have built. Rather than allow them to give up completely Alexie uses his passion for reading to help influence these students to feel hope. He does this by lecturing the students and revealing his passion for reading books and writing to save his and their lives. By presenting all of the Indian children with an activity to occupy their time he shows them that they can feel inspired and hopeful rather than sullen and defeated by …show more content…
In the beginning of his essay he mentions that a Superman comic is the first thing he reads. He cannot specifically remember which issue it is or what villain Superman was fighting, but he does remember that Superman is breaking down a door. As an adult I believe that Alexie Sherman became his own Superman. He begins by breaking down the door that confines him to a low class reservation Indian boy environment. When he grows up to become a writer and visits the Indian reservation schools he is trying to break down the door that the sullen Indian children have built. Alexie describes one of his lectures, “’Books,’ I say. I throw my weight against their locked doors. The door holds. I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I am trying to save our lives” (655). He is trying to save lives just like Superman does in the comics and movies. Instead of saving their lives through fighting crime, Alexie is presenting the children with something to be passionate about so that he may save their