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Compare And Contrast Superman And Sherman Alexie

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He was three-years-old when he taught himself how to read. Even Though Alexie was reading at the age of three he wasn’t considered a prodigy because he was Indian. His dad would buy a bunch of books and since he loved his dad he decided to love books as well. He first learned how to read with a Superman comic. Throughout the essay Sherman Alexie uses an extended metaphor to describe the connection he has with Superman. Superman and Alexie both save lives even though they have different methods. “I am trying to save our lives.” Sherman Alexie tries to save people’s lives with books and knowledge. “One failure and you forget all the good I’ve done.” Superman constantly saves lives by using his powers. Sherman and Superman are both considered oddities even though Sherman was born on Earth. “...simply an oddity.” Alexie was an oddity because he is a smart Indian. “...born Kal-El on the planet Krypton…” According to Wikipedia Superman was born on another planet which makes him an oddity. …show more content…

“...against their locked doors.” Sherman uses a metaphor to say that he is trying to get them to read. “Superman is breaking down the door.” Superman breaks down doors to save people’s lives. Throughout his essay Sherman Alexie uses an extended metaphor to compare himself to Superman. The way he compared himself to Superman is how he talks about saving the kid’s lives. The difference between how they save lives is that Sherman saves the kid’s lives with books; whereas, Superman saves lives by fighting

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129 Words | 1 Pages

The story of his life in “Superman and me” by, Sherman Alex, expressed deeply of himself on how dedicated and content he was during his youthful life. As a young impecunious Indian boy, he grew up on the sides of Eastern Washington state following the path of his father’s dedication in the love of reading and writing. He self taught his way up to be an overachiever reader by constantly reading everything he saw in sight. Later in life, acting as a life saver, he taught those who lacked in reading and writing. He’s proud and prudent to this day, leading those who are inspired by his novels, poems and short stories.

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940 Words | 4 Pages

In the poem “Stuart” Jackson first introduces his friend Stuart, they have been friends for long time. The way Jackson describes their relationship is so strong, they have too many thing is common, “We had a comic origin, out coincidence too significant to be ignored. We were Batman and Robing, Captain America and Bucky—No created to be singular” (lls. 17-20). This quote reveals how strong is the friendship between Stuart and Jackson.

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178 Words | 1 Pages

Alexie, Sherman, “Superman and Me: The Joy of Reading and Writing.” Los Angeles Times, 19 April 1998. Sherman Alexie shared how his childhood of reading helped him become a better reader and a leader for others. He first read a Superman comic and then went on to bigger and better books. Alexie explains that in his Native American reservation it’s okay for children not to excel in school.

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578 Words | 3 Pages

In the text, “Superman and Me,”One main quote that explains everything you need to know about this article is when Sherman Alexie says, “I wasrefused to fail. I was smart. I was lucky.” Many people that have read this choose to believe that this quote is just an irritating repetition of how he felt about himself, however, closer examination shows that it actually develops his main claim and central idea, refines his claims, and shows the purpose of this text all in one quote. Alexie was a young, Indian boy who just wanted to know how to read in write in the aspiration of becoming emotionally closer to his father because he loved him so.

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522 Words | 3 Pages

Alexie's repetition also evokes emotion from the reader. The reader immediately becomes interested in Alexie's life. When he uses the same phrase he used to relate to his life and talk about the Native American children, the reader feels

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775 Words | 4 Pages

This quote, from Sherman Alexie’s “Learning to Read and Write: Superman and Me,” describes a young Indian boy’s ambition to read and write, to be literate. The same ambition I saw in myself when I was learning to read and write. The meaning of literacy, to me, has always been the next step towards success. I searched for success at an early age; looking back, I surprise myself on how quickly I advanced. In my early years of junior high, I stumbled across “The Inheritance” by Louisa May Alcott.

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271 Words | 2 Pages

In the story the joy of reading Superman and me Sherman Alexie tells an emotional story of both hardship and success. He shares his struggles of being a poor Indian kid destined to fail, but he had a desire to be persevere he wanted to be more than the stereotypical uneducated Indian on a reservation and was determined to do so. He was inspired by his father to love books, and with the love for books came the ability to escape from the boundaries of the reservation and the dream to be more. Alexie shares how he taught his self to read with a superman comic book and with his witty metaphors how it shaped his life. I found Alexis story to be emotional, but yet very interesting.

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498 Words | 2 Pages

Alexie states that he doesn’t remember much about what he read, but he remembers one important detail. He remembers when he learned to read. The panel that first taught him how to read was a scene of Superman breaking down a door. I believe this detail is important because Alexie is beating the odds, or breaking down a barrier, when he learns how to read so well. Because of his love of reading, Alexie wants to share the art of words with other Indian children.

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424 Words | 2 Pages

An example of Superman’s super strength would be when he is fighting the bad guys and picks up cars and other heavy objects to use as weapons. Even though both heroes share the power of super strength, Superman possess other attributes that are unique to only him. Superman has the ability to fly anywhere he wants. An example of Superman flying would be when Superman is flying around to help save the towns people during a fight with the bad guys. Superman is also immortal, unlike Beowulf.

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929 Words | 4 Pages

Sherman Alexie writes the story “Indian Education” using a deadpan tone to build and connect the years of the narrator 's life together in an ironic way. Alexie is able to utilize irony through the use of separate, short sections within the story. The rapid presentation of events, simple thoughts, and poetic points made within the story enable the reader to make quick connections about the narrator’s life to draw more complex realizations. The art that Alexie uses to write this very short story is poetic in nature through the meaning and structure of his writing. By the fact that the reader can draw deeper conclusions about the narrator 's life from Alexie’s writing is evident that his writing is poetic.

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606 Words | 3 Pages

If the odds are not in one’s favor, it does not mean that he or she cannot accomplish his or her goals. Sherman Alexie proved this by overcoming the barriers and the doubts to become a writer. In his essay Superman and Me Alexie conveys anyone can accomplish their goals, he does this by using the rhetorical devices anecdote, ethos, and anaphora. Alexie utilizes personal anecdotes throughout the essay to demonstrate how he has overcome the odds. In the beginning he discussed how he was introduced to reading, then conveys the extent of his effort towards reading and how it has assisted him in becoming a successful writer.

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916 Words | 4 Pages

Sherman uses a tone shift between paragraphs five and six the tone of the first part of the passage is gloomy and melancholy by talking about his poor family situation and him being expected to fail. But the tone shifts to inspirational and motivational by using the anaphora to show all the things he did to overcome the stereotype and become an educated successful Indian. Sherman uses an analogy when he first mentions superman breaking down the door to save someone” but he reads it as “I am breaking down the door” superman breaking down the door also refers to Sherman as a teacher when he states "I throw my weight against their locked doors” he is talking about him helping his students by saving their life through education. Sherman not only uses superman as an analogy but also as a symbol Sherman also uses hyperbole when he states “Our house was filled with books. They were stacked in crazy piles in the bathroom, bedrooms and living rooms.”

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626 Words | 3 Pages

He declares this as being the moment he learned to read. I imagine that learning to read would bring a sense of empowerment. In this quote, Superman breaking down the door not only represents empowerment but also the author breaking down the barriers of his culture and the mistaken belief that Indians are stupid.

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571 Words | 3 Pages

Since he was unable to read, all he could do was look at his father’s books and admire them. As a result, an epiphany occurred and he was able to clearly comprehend the meaning of a paragraph, even though he didn’t know the technical term “paragraph”. Alexie began to see his world as in relation to paragraphs. At the same time, he began looking at Superman comic books, which displayed pictures that described the actions that were written. He would describe what the figure was doing and “read” it as though those were the words that were printed.

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480 Words | 2 Pages

“Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie In Sherman Alexie’s autobiographical essay, he uses an extended metaphor to compare and contrast himself and a fictional character Superman. Illustrations that was used by Alexie made a huge impact on this essay. It helps the readers better understand what is being said in Alexie’s “Superman and Me”. On this essay, Alexie mentions how he can see his family being a paragraph. Also, one of an extended metaphor that was used is how Superman and Alexie broke down the doors.

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