When we think of heroes first ones to come to mind are fictional characters; Superman, Batman, Spider-Man. These characters are great and their producers have made a lot of money off of them, but true heroes impact lives and put others before themselves. They are willing to sacrifice their social life, family time, and even money to make a positive impact on your life and influence you to strive for excellence and reach your desired goal. These are all things my hero, Marquita Adley has done for me. Marquita Adley, nicknamed Coach Q, has been my basketball coach since 6th grade.
In The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, Alexie states “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike” (Alexie 364). I would have to disagree with this statement. He is making it sound like just because he is a minority that received somewhat of an education, he should be feared by others. I believe that anyone who is smart and forceful in a community is dangerous because they have the willpower to go to any lengths to uphold their beliefs. On the other hand, I also believe that just because you are smart, you don’t necessarily have to be feared.
The year is 1960. Heroic Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade rescued five school children from a burning building. Many were interested in their story, but none got a chance to talk to them personally. In Ponyboy’s opinion, “They asked too many questions too fast, and got me mixed up. If you want to know the truth, I wasn’t really feeling real good in the first place.
In 1928, James J. Braddock is a boxer, a husband and father of three children. He is at the height of a successful career as a boxer when the Great Depression starts in 1929. He tries to get shifts on the dock to make money to pay bills, but he doesn’t always get picked because there are so many men looking for work. He takes a fight, even though his wrist is injured, because he is desperate to provide a home and food for his family. He is embarrassed in the ring and booed by the fans The boxing commissioners wouldn 't give him any more fights because they didn’t want to lose money.
In the essay Superman and Me, Sherman Alexie uses plenty of information as to how he became a writer, how he learned to read, and what he did to get others to learn. One quotation used in the end of the essay was this one: ” I throw my weight against their locked doors. The door holds. I am smart. I am arrogant.
“There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy (Stevenson 109) .” This bold statement is one of many as Bryan Stevenson sets the tone for his renowned award winning novel Just Mercy. As a young lawyer from Georgia, built the foundation for his company, SPDC (Southern Prisoners Defense Committee) to help convicts that are on death row or in need a second chance. Bryan Stevenson, a young lawyer from Georgia who fought for justice on the behalf of inmates on death row, showed tremendous intelligence in becoming a successful lawyer, demanding for not backing down in moments of refusal, and was an overall advocate
Chris Kyle an American Hero I think that Chris Kyle is a hero because he was strong, noble and brave. Kyle showed his strength in many occasions. The training he endured to become a SEAL was far from easy, even if he had previously lead a very outdoors woodsman life.(Aldrich, Ian) In fact, Kyle became so good at what he did, that he was considered the best of the best.
Reading is an important aspect of a child’s life and it’s crucial to a student’s education and most students and parents neglect to see that reading will make a huge impact during their studies as a student. Rodriguez grew up in a family where reading was never done for fun, rather only when necessary. When he initiated school, he felt that reading was a chore, he also felt lonely and bored
Life is full of doors, some are open and some are closed. There comes a time when sealed doors need to be broken open so everyone can reach their maximum potential and goals in life, just like Sherman Alexie did in “Superman and Me.” An example of Sherman Alexie breaking down doors is one of his quotes from “Superman and Me,” “this might be an interesting story all by itself. A little Indian boy teaches himself to read at an early age and advances quickly. He reads Grapes of Wrath in kindergarten when other children are struggling through Dick and Jane.
The short autobiography titled Superman and Me written by Sherman Alexie really made me think about the way people grow up. Some people who grow up in a lower end family find ways to complain about it. Alexie was different though. He was poor and his family lived off of irregular paychecks and government surplus food. Alexie made the best of situations and I applaud that.
The documentary relates to the United States in the way of that the public school system is broken. Government and political officials have repeatedly promised to correct the public school system and have failed to deliver. Programs such as the no child left behind act and standardized tests have been created to correct this system. But these programs and tests actually hurt this system since they are based on a narrow curriculum not measuring an individual student 's skills and talents. Other issues which are mentioned in the documentary and affect our country are teachers unions and tenure.
All of these heroes have flaws which they struggle with, as all of us do. Iron Man is described in the article as being “pompous, womanizing, hard-drinking genius”, Batman is the alter-ego of the “rich playboy Bruce Wayne” and Indiana Jones is characterized as someone who makes a lot of mistakes and has the same line of thinking as all of us. What separates those men from all other and makes them worthy of being called heroes is the fact that they are not brought down by those flaws and they fight for what they believe is right despite them. That one minute more is the moment when we can see who are the ones strong enough to not give in to their shortcomings and thrive regardless of their own inner demons.
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.
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.
The reasons are that it is through reading that a person is going to be able to discover new ideas, concepts, meet new places and people that time, money or reality sometimes prohibited. It develops your communication tools and expands you knowledge and the conception around you. First of all, reading gives you a wonderful opportunity to learn about other cultures and places of interest in the world. It gives you an insight into the diversity of our world and the chance to visualize it.
