5The short story “Indian Education” is written by Sherman Alexie. The story is a great example of a writing piece that follows our theme of “life passages” in our class. The literacy elements of plot and theme help advance the idea of “life passages.” Furthermore, “Indian Education” is a short but powerful writing piece that reveals the true nature of how society portrays Native Americans. 5This is indicative of the author’s experience of discrimination and negative stigma he encounters from being in school due to the nature of his nationality, native American. 5
5The setting of the story is on the 5Spokane5 Reservation and is an autobiography written in the first-person point of view by Sherman Alexie himself. He writes the story of his life throughout his academic career, from first grade to graduating high school. He faces societal adversities in school and the real world due to his American-Indian nationality. The
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plot of the story is broken up into short summaries of memorable events in each grade. Through the story is broken up into sections for each grade, it intends to highlight many important scenes. It begins off with a short paragraph of exposition that is further contained in the First grade. You see conflicts with teachers with other students that arise until several significant moments. Essential scenes to note are when Alexie kisses a white girl who was raped by her father, alienating him from his tribe but 5not5 allowing him into white culture. He also passes out during a high school basketball game due to his diagnosis of diabetes. However, at the end of his high school academic career, he graduates as the valedictorian of his farm town high school. While 5 back at home on the reservation, a few of his former classmates that graduated with him can’t read, and most of them look forward to the parties and are shaken, freighted, because they don’t know what comes next. 5 5The story of “Indian Education” is an excellent writing piece that follows the suit of “life passages.” The idea of “life passages” plays a vital role in how we live our lives, overcome our adversities, and how we achieve our goals, which leads to success. Key moments in our lives helps the transition in people’s lives. Also, this idea becomes very interesting and special because everyone 5is5 individually5 born into different situations. 5That have 5different adversities, influences, cultures, and more. The use of literature helps express individuals with how they lived their lives to others. The power of literature tied with the idea of life helps promote to create an intriguing storyline for other people to read about. Literature and the idea of life are the main components that form into “life passages.” “Indian Education” expresses the situations, adversity, influences, successes, and the mindset of the protagonist through his academic career, which fits the theme of “life passages.” 5Particually the mindset of Alexie is critical to look at. Throughout his schooling years, many external and internal challenges were presented as he grew up such as social prejudice, bullying, and lack of positive engagement from others. Furthermore, his friends and other people in his neighborhood who are Native American usually amount to little success, but for Alexie to graduate as Valedictorian from what he overcame and suffered, speaks a lot to his character, and to be triumphant against all the odds.5 5Paragraph taken out 5 5In the story, “Indian Education,” the main protagonist Alexis, undergoes many social obstacles and challenges from his peers, teachers, and society as a whole. His transition and growth as a person and his character throughout his years in school connects with the theme of “life passages.” Due to his Native American background, he faces profound prejudice. Alexie faces specific challenges during his school in each grade, which the story is broken into sections regarding his grade. A few specifically major accouterments of prejudice he has faced are; in second grade, he faces teachers blaming his heritage for disrespect, and teachers not believing that Alexie should have any rights. In seventh grade, he endures the stereotype that Indians being accused of rape is normal, and the stereotype that Indians being starved is also normal, which takes place in eighth grade. Lastly, in twelfth grade, he faces much criticism of how Indians don’t have much to look forward to a good future. 5Ultamiley, adversity is unequivocally present in the life of Alexie, and he must remain resilient to overcome constant his situation.5 However, when he finishes his high school, he earns the position of being valedictorian of his class, and he overcomes the stereotype that Native American fails in life. This is highlighted when Alexie states, “Back home on the reservation, my former classmate's graduate: a few can't read, one of two are just given attendance diplomas, most look forward to the parties. The bright students are shaken, frightened because they don’t know what comes next.” (Alexie 350). This shows Alexis positive growth and transition as an individual, he 5undergoes constant advertisity5, but in the end becomes very successful compared to his peers and stereotypes of his community. The use of literature of Alexie’ story and the representation of his life further corresponds the theme of “life passages.” 5Literary devices play an important role in shaping and presenting writing pieces. In the case of “Indian Education,” the literary elements of the plot play a role in advancing the theme of “life passages.” The literary element of the plot is the sequence of events in a story. The author develops the plot by structuring his writing piece into sections, which each section represents each grade in his academic career. Also, the story is written from the in first person point of view, which enables the reader to get a deeper and more personal perspective of what the protagonist is feeling and his mindset, which accompanies the use literacy element of the plot. We see the numerous challenges of prejudice and mistreatment that Alexie endures, which stems from his nationality. The plot’s structure breaks down each struggle that Alexie faces in each grade, and in the end, he rises above those adversities and stereotypes he has faced his entire academic career. Also, the plot’s structure focuses more on key moments of his life, to transition him to become the person he is today. He becomes successful as a member of society and member of the Native American culture. 5Another literary element that advances the idea of “life passages” is the theme.
Resilience involves the ability to recover and get back up from difficult or challenging circumstances. Alexie becomes his high school’s basketball star and the valedictorian of his class. Others on the reservation, like Wally Jim, who takes his own life, fall victim to the surrounding negative circumstances. Being surrounded by the hopelessness of his people, and overpowering stereotypes, to becoming successful is a great model which the advancement of “life passages” tries to evoke. 5The idea of life passages is about how we live our lives, overcome our adversities, and how we achieve our goals, which leads to success. The protagonist Alexie follows the concept of life passages but overcoming his difficulties of discrimination by living a life of determination and resistance. He achieves his goal of graduating high school and overcoming the negative stigma which his heritage carries, which demonstrates that he has succeeded as a member of society and
life.5 5Alexie can be best described as a resilient individual, due to the numerous obstacles he had to overcome to overpower the dark shadows that gloomed who he was a person. In his story, he never mentions him becoming violent or aggressive of the lashings of racism he faced, but in the end, he proved that he was different. A silent warrior can be best described due to his quiet nature and sheer determination, while never causing any problems. 5The concept of a warrior reflects one who is in constant conflict or battles and is commonly seen as brave and strong. This relates to how Alexie has faced persistent challenges with his social status, and never crumble despite the hardships. The concept of silence refers to someone who doesn’t express aloud whatever he thinks or feels. For Alexie, the story doesn’t show him as expressive throughout his school and can be described as introvertive.5 The positive transition and growth of his character replicate the model of how the advancement of “life passages” should be. Literary elements by Alexie of plot and theme helps promote this.
The Essay, I have chosen to read from is ReReading America was An Indian Story by Roger Jack. The topic of this narrative explores the life of an Indian boy who grows up away from his father in the Pacific Northwest. Roger Jack describes the growing up of a young Indian boy to a man, who lives away from his father. Roger demonstrates values of the Indian culture and their morals through exploration of family ties and change in these specific ties. He also demonstrates that growing up away from one’s father doesn’t mean one can’t be successful in life, it only takes a proper role model, such as the author provides for the young boy.
The purpose of this story was to help other Indian children that are in the same position he is at to save their lives with reading. Why with reading though? Because reading is a basic skill of knowledge that will lead your to more and more intelligence. He shares in the last paragraph of his short story that there are two different students. The ones that are already saving their lives by reading his stories and fleeing to him when he comes to the reservations and those that have already given up and are defeated in the last row in the back of the class room. Sherman Alexie effectively states clearly “I am trying to save our lives.” He uses pathos, logos, and ethos effectively to describe his difficult life in the Indian reservations and how he persevered and strikes the world as an intelligent boy. Alexie says. “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike. We were indian children who were expected to be stupid.” Even though Alexie became and incredibly smart, he never became an of those things. He was known as an idol, trying to save the lives of young Indian children in the
Imagine growing up in a society where a person is restricted to learn because of his or her ethnicity? This experience would be awful and very emotional for one to go through. Sherman Alexie and Fredrick Douglas are examples of prodigies who grew up in a less fortunate community. Both men experienced complications in similar and different ways; these experiences shaped them into men who wanted equal education for all. To begin, one should understand the writers background. Sherman Alexie wrote about his life as a young Spokane Indian boy and the life he experienced (page 15). He wrote to encourage people to step outside their comfort zone and be herd throughout education. Similar to Alexie’s life experience, Fredrick
Our spirits Don’t Speak English: Indian Boarding school is an 80 minute documentary that details the mental and physical abuse that the Native Americans endured during the Indian Boarding school experience from the mid 19th to the mid 20th century. In the beginning going to school for Indian children meant listening to stories told by tribal elders, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and storytellers. These tales past down from generation to generation were metaphors for the life experience and their relationships to plants and animals. Native children from birth were also taught that their appearance is a representation of pure thoughts and spiritual status of an individual.
In "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, the story is about our narrator of the story Victor. Telling the sad, miserable cruelty and the emotions that his fellow students and teachers gave him from 1st grade all the way through 12th grade. The meaning of this story at first seems the most current for kids in school; bullying each other and calling each other names but the story goes much deeper than that. It shows a reality of the life on the reservation and how the education system is terrible and demeaning to other children who are considered soft spoken. Two pieces of dialogue that were the most interesting to me happened to be "Give me your lunch if you're just going to throw it up," because it ends with the sentence "There is more than one way to starve.
Alexie Sherman, a boy under an Indian Reservation that suffers from bullying since the 1st grade, who would have a hard time being around white people and even Indian boys. US Government provided him glasses, accommodation, and alimentation. Alexie chose to use the title "Indian Education" in an effort to express his internalized feelings towards the Native American education system and the way he grew up. He uses short stories separated by the different grades from first grade to twelfth grade to give an idea of what his life was like. He seemed to have grown up in a world surrounded by racism, discrimination, and bullying. This leads on to why he chose not to use the term Native American. He used the term "Indian" to generate negative connotations
Adjusting to another culture is a difficult concept, especially for children in their school classrooms. In Sherman Alexie’s, “Indian Education,” he discusses the different stages of a Native Americans childhood compared to his white counterparts. He is describing the schooling of a child, Victor, in an American Indian reservation, grade by grade. He uses a few different examples of satire and irony, in which could be viewed in completely different ways, expressing different feelings to the reader. Racism and bullying are both present throughout this essay between Indians and Americans. The Indian Americans have the stereotype of being unsuccessful and always being those that are left behind. Through Alexie’s negativity and humor in his essay, it is evident that he faces many issues and is very frustrated growing up as an American Indian. Growing up, Alexie faces discrimination from white people, who he portrays as evil in every way, to show that his childhood was filled with anger, fear, and sorrow.
While both Zitkala Sa and Sherman Alexie were Native Americans, and take on a similar persona showcasing their native culture in their text, the two diverge in the situations that they face. Zitkala Sa’s writing takes on a more timid shade as she is incorporated into the “white” culture, whereas Alexie more boldly and willingly immerses himself into the culture of the white man. One must leave something behind in order to realize how important it actually is. Alexie grew up in the Indian culture but unlike Sa he willingly leaves. Alexie specifically showcases the changes in his life throughout the structure of his text through the idea of education.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian showed all of the problems that arose in Junior’s journey. From poverty and alcoholism to bulimic semi-girlfriends, he had so many excuses to stop, but the passion of his dreams pushed him forward. Like a hero, Junior continued, determined to do well and build a greater future for himself. An example that showed Junior’s passion for education and desire to achieve his goals was when he threw an old geometry textbook at his teacher: “My school and my tribe are so poor and sad that we have to study from the same dang books our parents studied from. That is absolutely the saddest thing in the world…My hopes and dreams floated up in a mushroom cloud” (Alexie, 31). Junior clearly understood his disadvantaged education and he was very upset about it. He longed for a better education. Junior was passionate about education, because it would allow him to achieve his goals and break the depressing pattern he was trapped in. Bravery and determination are caused by passion, and heroes are very passionate about their actions. Passion clearly drove Junior when he walked to school, since he said, “Getting to school was always an adventure…Three times I had to walk all the way home. Twenty-two miles. I got blisters each time” (Alexie, 87). Putting all of this effort into simply going to school, Junior must have had
Growing up on a reservation where failing was welcomed and even somewhat encouraged, Alexie was pressured to conform to the stereotype and be just another average Indian. Instead, he refused to listen to anyone telling him how to act, and pursued his own interests in reading and writing at a young age. He looks back on his childhood, explaining about himself, “If he'd been anything but an Indian boy living on the reservation, he might have been called a prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply an oddity” (17). Alexie compares the life and treatment of an Indian to life as a more privileged child. This side-by-side comparison furthers his point that
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group, 2007. Print.
Indian Education by Sherman Alexie places the reader in the shoes of Sherman Alexie. Taking the reader step by step through different school years of his life. As each year passes by the evidence of his struggle become more apparent. Although the story is told in that of a narrative, it doesn’t have anything spectacular separating it from other stories. There were a few moments that captivated the attention of the reader such as “But on the day I leaned through the basement window of the HUD house and kissed the white girl, I felt the good-bye I was saying to my entire tribe. I held my lips tight against her lips, a dry, clumsy, and ultimately stupid kiss. “Personally, this sentence stood out because it displayed the struggle and difficulties
In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man’s ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. “Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition” (back cover) is a great way to show that the author’s stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will discuss the major themes of the book and why the author wrote it, it will describe Native American society, its values and its beliefs and how they changed and it will show how Native Americans views other non-Natives.
Alexie discusses bullying, abuse and racism. Junior deals with bullying everyday in the novel. Racism is tied into that also. Many people at Junior’s new school bullied him because he was indian. He dealt with that not only there but everywhere outside of the reservation. Sherman Alexie wrote about the reason behind his books in his letter responding to Ms. Gurdon’s article, “now I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing everyday and epic dangers.” (Alexie, par. 27). He narrates these stories to relate to teenagers and their struggles.
“It's a good day to die, it’s a good day to die all the way down the hallway” is a quote from the story Indian Education by Sherman Alexie. In the story it talks about Alexie childhood to adulthood and how he was treated being an indian.and the trial and tribulations that he went through and how he handled them. So i write this essay i'm got to tell my experience, and Alexie experiences and compare them and contrast.