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.
In the essays, “The Joy of Reading and Writing; Superman and Me” and Frederick Douglass’s “Chapter 7: Learning to Read and Write”, Sherman Alexie and Frederick Douglass write about their hardships and challenges they faced while learning how to read and write due to their social economic status. Despite the fact that Alexie and Douglass are incredibly different people, they both use education for freedom and a sense of self-worth. Alexie and Douglass both struggled to receive education and struggled mentally and physically because of their social economic status. Although, Alexie and Douglass both experienced these hardships, they saw the world through a totally different perspective. Alexie saw the world in a more positive manner than Douglass
In Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, Alexie’s father’s love for books grew to make his self-love books ending up in Alexie teaching himself how to read. Alexie describes the stereotypes and what is expected of Indian children and how Indian children were expected to basically have no knowledge Many lived up to those expectations inside the classroom but invalidated them on the outside. While other children were doing this, Alexie’s father was one of the few Indians on the reservation who went to Catholic School on purpose and was also an devoted reader. Alexie grew up around books. His father had a strong love for books as he bought them by the pound from pawn shops, goodwill and the salvation army.
In “Reading and Thought” by Dwight Macdonald, Macdonald raises the idea of reading deeply and how our society has changed its reading style. He points out that our modern society constantly reads irrelevant information in articles, newspapers, or magazines in our daily lives. A term called “functional curiosity” is a person’s interest in being amused, entertained or wanting to know what’s happening around the world. According to Henry Luce, the creator of Time magazine, “Functional Curiosity grows as the number of educated peoples grows.” Macdonald argues that being “functionally curious” is not functional because it does not help the individual function.
The first time one is able to comprehend the meaning of a word is a momentous childhood moment that is forever engraved in one’s memory. Books and reading are significantly impactful to people’s lives; Mark Twain said that, “books are for people who wish they were somewhere else.” This statement is apropo for Sherman Alexie, who was a Native American living on a reservation during the time he learned to read. Sherman Alexie convinces his audience that an education is crucial to being successful by using personal anecdotes to captivate and create a connection with his audience and repetition to reiterate the importance of having an education. Alexie's use of personal anecdotes fortifies the impact he has on his audience.
“NO MORE BOOKS, STAY INSIDE AND WATCH/ TALK TO YOUR SCRIPTED FAMILY!” In Fahrenheit 451, society consists of every living soul to pertain to one another unoriginal thought and feelings; for all to agree with thoughts of one individual ultimately the one that seems more logical than the rest. The burning of the books ‘benefits’ the prevention of constructing advanced and possibly absurd aim of impressing another. Also, acts of socialization are known as one of the indications of an outcast.
Science has proven that reading can provoke positive changes in us as human beings. Annie Murphy Paul is the author of the article ‘Your Brain on Fiction’ published on March 17, 2012. Annie explains how researchers have discovered that reading can initiate different parts of the brain, this is the reason why sometimes literature can make the reader so engaged and attached to a piece of writing. Research also explains how reading has the ability to produce activity in our brain’s motor cortex. Finally, Annie explains how reading fictional pieces can change how you interact with other individuals.
She stated “I hate exercise…I work out and want to die…I knew I was in love with The Hunger Games when I did not want to get off the treadmill” (138). Her involvement with the text helped Gay to overlook the negative aspect being at the gym, making her a creditable source to encourage the audiences to realize literature can be used as a tool to surpass obstacles. Although Cox Gurdon, a young children book reviewer stated: “Young Adult Fiction has taken too dark a turn,” but Gay appeals to ethos by claiming, teens read book to escape dark aspect of reality (qtd Gay145). She quoted Sherman Alexie an American poet, who is a passionate writer who believes that, “There are millions of teens who read because they are sad and lonely and enraged,” to prove her argument against Gurdon (145). She successfully shapes her argument about kids reading book to escape reality, by telling the reader the reason she read The Hunger Game was because she likes the way the author placed people in their world.
“I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky. I read books late into the night, until I could barely keep my eyes open” (Alexie 17).
X’s figurative and denotative language constructs an emotional opening of his essay, depicting a diligent man outgrowing his illiteracy. Malcolm X uses several figurative dictions to characterize an enthusiastic tone from a knowledge pursuer. During his time in prison, X recalls his intellectual inmates are “walking encyclopedias” and are even “celebrities” (para. 15). Though ironic, the metaphor comparing inmates and celebrities not only conveys X’s distinct perspective towards knowledge but also illustrates his admiration for education. This enthusiasm reflects his perseverance of learning as well.
While it may be true that even if a student is reading Sports Illustrated, they will still become more literate and reflective than if they hadn’t read at all, it is also true that the student is then less likely to read the same desired material outside of class because they are already being forced to read it inside of class. Moreover, if class time is spent reading something such as Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success, the student will be more inclined to read Sports Illustrated outside of class; thus, increasing their reading time altogether. On the report of Engaging Schools: Fostering High School Students’ Motivation to Learn, “studies have shown that students who read outside of school become better readers (Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding, 1988; Fielding, 1994; Guthrie, Schafer, Wang, and Afflerbach, 1995)” (64). Therefore, by engaging in materials which the students may not be interested in during the school day, they will be more likely to read other subject matters outside of school and consequently increase their reading
In this article “ Why literature matters” by Dana Gioia explains that American art has changed. It points out the fact that literary knowledge is declining. Some of the changes that were pointed out is that most people no longer read. His main purpose is to encourage people to begin to read again and that will help them improve their intellectual level. In the article Gioia expresses reasoning and includes evidence of the importance of reading.
In the essay “Superman and Me”, the author, Sherman Alexie recalls the time he first learned to read. He talks about his Indian culture and the perception of people like himself. He also discusses his childhood and the outcome of learning to read. The reoccurring theme of the essay is the love of reading. The author used various literacy devices to express the feelings of empowerment, happiness and the necessity that came with learning to read.
Her full use of strong language diminishes pieces of literature’s worth and questions their true significance. She claims this in a critical tone by stating, “Like most parents who have, against all odds, preserved a lively and still evolving passion for good books, I find myself, each September, increasingly appalled by the dismal lists of texts that my sons are doomed to waste a school year reading”(Prose, 176). She uses words like dismal to describe the book choices students would have to read according to the curriculum of the educational system. By using words like dismal, she expresses her feeling of disappointment towards the curriculum. She
Everyone knows that reading is important, but have you ever asked yourself why is that so? Reading is one of the most beneficial and practical activities that a human being can do. Unfortunately it is a disappointment that people these days read less. As we know, books were the main source of entertainment centuries ago, but with the widespread of technological advances such as the cinema, television, internet, among others, many people left their books on the bookshelf. The purpose of this speech is to present the benefits and the importance of reading.
