Comparing Sherman Alexie's The Joy Of Reading And Writing

Upon reading the essays, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass, and “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X, one can easily identify the commonalities amongst the three authors. All three men were born into what was considered to be minority ethnicities, during an era when education was discouraged amongst minority races. Alexie was a Native American, while Douglass and Malcolm X were both of the African race. There were also major differences between the writers. Alexie was a prodigy, Douglass was a suppressed slave, and Malcolm X was a criminal. Still, in spite of their varied backgrounds, it is evident that each of these men drew from a well of strength, from deep

He was a child prodigy, already figuring out how to structure thoughts into paragraphs by the age of three! He would literally visualize his family and home as an essay composed of paragraphs! It may have helped that his father was an avid reader and the young Douglas’ house was filled with books. It was evident they were not of great means, financially, because he spoke of his dad purchasing books from thrift stores such as “Dutch’s Pawn Shop, Goodwill, Salvation Army and Value Village.” (Alexie 16) He also mentioned that it was only when his dad had extra money that he would actually splurge and purchase a new book. Alexie’s obstacles to learning were different than that of Douglass in that it would seem Alexie had every opportunity to learn, unlike Douglass. Things are not, however, always as they appear, because Alexie’s obstacle also had to do with his race. He was born a Spokane Indian. Indians were not supposed to be thought of as educated. Even their own people would turn on them if it was known they could read and write. At the age of three it was evident this little powerhouse was not going to be stopped, though! He had an issue of a Superman comic book and would immediately began determining what the story line must be. He was capable of “seeing the world in paragraphs… Each panel, complete with picture, dialogue, and narrative was a

This reader recalls learning in history class that he had actually excelled academically and was even the class president of his junior high school. How does one excel academically and become a class president if one cannot even read? Therefore, I tend to find Malcolm’s autobiography “Learning to Read” to be a bit conflicting when compared to my history notes. His narrative suggests he taught himself to read while in Charlestown prison, “when Bimbi first made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge.” (Malcom 274) It is apparent that imprisoned Malcolm had plenty of time on his hands and decided to use his time of restriction to better himself. He wanted to not only be able to better express himself, but he also desired to better his handwriting. Prior to arriving at Norfolk Prison Colony, Malcolm mentioned he would go “through only book-reading motions.” This meant he would simply pick up any book and make it appear to the other prisoners as if he was reading. He said he could not understand any concept of any book. Finally, he decided faking was not the answer to bettering himself, so he found a dictionary. Excited, Malcolm wrote that he “spent two days just riffling uncertainly through the dictionary’s pages. I’d never realized so many words existed!” (274) Malcolm creates a visual,