Sherman Alexie Superman And Me

Identity is crucial to one’s life. It determines what one wants to do, how one acts, and why one is the way one is. In Sherman Alexie’s short story “Superman and Me”, the author shows a great example of how his life story shaped these characters. Amy Tan’s short story “Fish Cheeks” gives another example of how identity is shown throughout her life. One’s identity is created by motivation and family.

A big contribution of how one’s identity is created is his/her goals and motivations. If one strives to be a professor he/she must study and prepare for that profession. Sherman Alexie was motivated by others in his short story “Superman and Me”. Alexie said “I was expected to fail.” “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant.” (Alexie, P1) A big part of one’s identity is made up of how one wishes to spend his/her time, like a job or a hobby. Everyone has these time fillers for a reason, whether that's to make money, or to simply become better at it. Nonetheless they are all motivations.

Another portion of how one’s identity is created is one’s family.

Family is definitely important to how one acts, eats, and find interests in. Family is critical in the way one chooses to define one’s interests and how one may act. Amy Tan gives a good example of this in her short story “Fish Cheeks”. She said “At the end of the meal my father leaned back and belched loudly, thanking my mother for her fine cooking. It's a polite Chinese custom to show you are satisfied,”. ( Tan, P6). The environment one is raised in, is a defining attribute of their identity. Each family has something that sets them apart from every other family like traditions, ethnicity, and interests. One’s identity depends on what culture one was born

into.

No one can choose where he/she is born, and they can’t choose who their guardian is. But, they can still find identity in the least ideal situations, like Sherman Alexie in “Superman and Me”. Alexie chose not to give into the common expectation he chose to be motivated. Amy Tan’s short story shows a good example of how she first rejected her family, but learned to accept and show pride in her heritage. In conclusion one needs family and motivation to find Identity.