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The importance of books
Literature as the reflection of the society
Literature as the reflection of the society
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The author of Superman and Me, Sherman Alexie, claims that reading can teach you things necessary for life. Throughout Superman and Me, Alexie describes things reading taugh him, like how picking up a book at the age of three pushed him into learning above his level. Also, in his story, Sherman Alexie shows how reading helped to save him from being segregated or stereotyped because he was an Indian boy, which helps stress their importance. Alexie uses his life experiences and specific situations to express emotion and get intouch with the reader. He tries to push the point that books helped him grow and gave him new oportunites: helping him discover his love for journalism and writing. Alexie believes that reading is an important part of life for all people, he expresses this by using diction and repetition to add emotion to his story about how reading is so important. …show more content…
Alexie uses many different phrases and words to describe how he loves to read and how it has changed his life.
While reading his essay you would see continuous repetition of the phrase “I read books” on page 217. For example, Alexie uses repetition in paragraph seven of his writing. He states, “I read books at recess, then during lunch and in a few minutes after I had finished my classroom assignments.” (217) He goes on to explain more situations in which he has read books as a child. This is significant because it stresses how much Alexie adores books and how important they have always been to him. In addition, he mentions the phrase, “I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky.”(217) The repetition of this phrase is important to his claim because it shows how he used books to push past social standard set for Indian children, emphasizing their importance in his early
life. Through the text, Sherman Alexie uses diction—specific language and style that expresses the subject of the essay—this helps him add emotion to this story and makes the audience feel for him. He uses this to describe the different reasons that reading and books are so important. For example, in paragraph five he uses the word “prodigy” (216) to describe himself because of his ability to read. This alludes to the fact that books helped him fight the thought that Indian children where “an oddity” (216) and shouldn’t have more knowledge then “non-Indian” (216) children. Alexie also uses the phrase “aching devotion”(215) in paragraph three. He uses these words to describe his first feeling for books, this feeling stems from his father’s own love of books. This is important to his claim because it expresses his strong passion for books; as well as, the fact that it stems from his father’s own loves, this signifies the fact that books are important to him because they created bonds in his family. Throughout his story, Sherman Alexie stresses the significance of reading in his life and the lives of others. He brings a message to the reading, he wants his readers to learn from the writing of others as he did, he wishes they will be passionate about something like he always has been. He uses both diction and repetition to conduct his interests and help the reader understand his main goal. Using both these literary devices, though different in their own right, he brings them together in a way to impact the audience and highlight his goal of why reading is important. Sherman Alexie—by using diction and repetition— did not only want Superman and Me to be an essay about the importance of reading, but an essay on how reading can help people and give them hope and freedom in life.
As I grew up learning to read was something I learned in school, yet for Sherman Alexie and Malcolm X can’t say the same. These two amazing authors taught themselves, at different stages of their lives, to read. In Sherman Alexie’s essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” and Malcolm X’s essay “Learning to Read” they both explain the trials and experiences they went through that encouraged them to work to achieve literacy.
Sherman Alexie illustrates through the short story, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” how he developed the same reading and writing skills taught in a classroom solely from a Superman comic book. Alexie’s situation was unique from not only non-Indians but Indians as well. Alexie’s family was not privileged, which was the case for most of the people who lived on the Indian reservation. They, Indians, had access to very limited resources which ceased any aspirations they had at being successful. Alexie, as a young Indian boy, was not supposed to be educated by the societal norms expressed of his era. However, Alexie refused to fall victim to a stereotypical uneducated Indian boy. As a product of an Indian reservation, Sherman Alexie informs his audience, mostly dedicated to Indian children that he did not fail simply because of the joy he had for reading and writing.
At what age did you learn to read? Were you younger or were you older? In “Superman and Me”, Sherman Alexie describes the importance of learning how to read at a young age and how reading saved his life. Sherman Alexie’s “Superman and Me” uses rhetorical analysis effectively to show that by reading he became an example for Indians at the reservations by beating and conquering all of the stereotypes that were against Native Americans.
Annie provides evidence by studies, published in 2006 and 2009, in her second paragraph. The evidence provided by the studies was "that individuals who often read fiction appear to be better able to understand people." By including this in her essay, she is able to support her claim about the importance of "deep reading."
The three reading are Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, You’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you by The Oatmeal, and Girl by Jamaica Kincaid. While analyzing these readings, it became apparent all three contained different rhetorical situations. The purpose, or reason to write, in Superman and me, is the cultural significance. Superman and me is a rare story where a Native American was able to succeed by reading books. The purpose can be identified after Sherman mentions how “A little Indian boy teaches himself to read at an early age”(Alexie, 130). An Indian boy teaching himself how to read was significant since all “Indian children [are] expected to be stupid"(Alexie, 130). Alexie mentioned if he had “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”(Alexie, 3). The purpose allowed Sherman Alexie to speak
The short story “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, and the excerpt “Learning to Read” from The Autobiography of Malcom X had similar themes, although they were written with different styles. The theme these two stories had alike was the power of learning through books and reading. Sherman Alexie and Malcom X both drastically improved their education by teaching themselves new things. They did this by reading books, dictionaries, and anything else that interested them. It is amazing what these two men have done for themselves, and very inspiring. Sherman Alexie became a successful writer, and Malcom X became one of the most powerful leaders of black America. The impact that books and other written pieces had on these men did not happen overnight, but in the end it was time well spent.
In the second last paragraph of this essay, Alexie uses the parallel structure of “I read…” to emphasize his passion in reading and his strong determination to pursue his purpose of saving his life as an Indian who is always challenged by stereotypes. The last paragraph repeats “write poetry, short stories, or novels” for four times in different scenarios, including Alexie himself has never been taught of how to “write poetry, short stories, or novels”, and he is now teaching the Indian kids “writing poetry, short stories, or novels”. Alexie employs this repetition to highlight the fact that reading and writing still play essential roles in the Indian life, and there are always Indian people who are interested in learning about reading and write just like him. The final sentences in the last two paragraphs are only slightly different. Alexie ends the second last paragraph of this essay with his ultimate goal after stating his experience as a passionate reader in the beginning.
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” -Malcolm X. Ever wondered how difficult it might be to achieve greatness while others around you are constantly attempting to bring you down? In Sherman Alexie’s essay “Superman and Me”, the author informs the reader of the struggles he has experienced as a young American Indian boy striving for success. Alexie faces poverty and stereotypes while growing up, yet despite these challenges, he wants to learn, which shows the reader how education can be a gateway for success.
An essay “Man and Superman: In athletic competitions, what qualifies as a sporting chance?” by Malcolm Gladwell is attempted to answer an issue “Do genetic advantages make sports unfair?” The essay contains two arguments: human biological diversity makes sports unfair, and, consequently, as human attempts to equalise all the players as considered a moral obligation, the sports industry has no problem with athletes’ self-transformation while doping athletes is prohibited which, in his opinion, they should be justified just like those self-transformations. Gladwell also criticises the sports industry who is actually a culprit of this fairness, they try to level the playing by measuring that no one has an advantage over others but the consequence is a catalyst of science intervention.
Reading a book is a great entertainment, but more importantly, it gives you more knowledge to learn. In a short story entitled “Superman and me” by Sherman Alexie, he discussed how it’s like to be in a minority, or an Indian in a non-Indian world, and how reading helped him get through it. Growing up, his father influenced him into reading books. Due to this he started to teach himself how to read and gained more knowledge. Though he is smart, it was hard for him to be noticed, “Indian children were expected to be stupid,” because of this he worked hard and proved the majority what he is capable of. Alexie’s passion in reading had helped himself and his fellow man rise against all the discrimination and be accepted by
In a world dominated by technology, reading novels has become dull. Instead of immersing into books, we choose to listen to Justin Bieber’s new songs and to scroll through Instagram posts. We have come to completely neglect the simple pleasures of flipping through pages and getting to finally finish a story. Sherman Alexie and Stephan King’s essays attempt to revive this interest in books that has long been lost. They remind us of the important role that reading plays in our daily lives. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” for instance, demonstrates how being literate saved the narrator from the oppressive nature of society. The author explains that even though he was capable of reading complex books at an astonishingly young
I began to read not out of entertainment but out of curiosity, for in each new book I discovered an element of real life. It is possible that I will learn more about society through literature than I ever will through personal experience. Having lived a safe, relatively sheltered life for only seventeen years, I don’t have much to offer in regards to worldly wisdom. Reading has opened doors to situations I will never encounter myself, giving me a better understanding of others and their situations. Through books, I’ve escaped from slavery, been tried for murder, and lived through the Cambodian genocide. I’ve been an immigrant, permanently disabled, and faced World War II death camps. Without books, I would be a significantly more close-minded person. My perception of the world has been more significantly impacted by the experiences I've gained through literature than those I've gained
On October 10th, 2017 at Springhurst Elementary School, I conducted a “Reading Interest Survey” and the “Elementary Reading Attitude Survey.” These surveys were conducted on a 1st grade student, Jax, to determine what his feelings are towards reading in different settings, what genres he prefers to read, and interests. It was found that Jax doesn’t mind reading, but prefers a few different topics. This was evident through his raw score of 30 on recreational reading, and a raw score of 31 on academic reading.
In his essay “Superman and Me”, Sherman Alexie details how he rose above the limits placed upon him because of his ethnicity. Alexie begins the essay by opening up to his audience and recounting how he taught himself to read by using a Superman comic book. Alexie’s family was living paycheck to paycheck, so he began reading anything and everything that he could get his hands on. The purpose of Alexie’s “Superman and Me” is to inform the audience of how one does not need to be affluent to learn. With pathos, repetition, and elaborate metaphors, Sherman Alexie evokes a change of mind from his audience.
Reading was never something I fussed about growing up. As a child, I loved genres of realistic fiction. I was hooked on The New Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley, Goosebumps, The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes, Judy Moody, and especially, Zoobooks and Highlights magazines. My mother was always ready to help build my reading and writing skills. She took me to the library constantly to feed my passion for books and knowledge. I loved exploring the shelfs, organizing the books, and filling up my library cart. I tried keeping a diary in elementary school to keep track of my outings with my parents and grandparents to museums, zoos, movies, and libraries. This flash of writing enthusiasm was spun from books I read in the 4th and 5th grade that were