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Sherman Alexie Outsiders

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Outsiders are a common sources of topic throughout literature and are defined as people who differ from what society deems as normal or having normal qualities. Throughout the semester, we have read several works that use outsiders to help convey a certain theme or message and there was one particular work that stood out from the rest. While reading “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, the use of outsiders was incredibly effective due to Sherman using his own experiences of being an outsider throughout his life. This essay is the perfect example of the use of outsiders because of Alexie discussing how his parents raised him, his childhood experiences in school, and his adulthood ambitions.
First of all, Alexie …show more content…

He exclaimed, “Those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians” (Alexie 13). The other kids on the reservation were instructed to give up and to not push to learn anything that did not concern the native people. When children are taught such ideals at an early age, it plants itself within them through most of their lives if they stay in that society. There are few that can break away from these kind of ideals, but like Alexie it all depends on the kind of household they grew up in and if their parents followed the expectations set by the community. Alexie was fortunate enough to be raised differently than the other kids and had a mind not trapped within the walls of societies’ expectations. Despite the content taught to the children, Alexie persevered and refused to follow them like a sheep which made him unusual or an outsider to the children and many …show more content…

There have been several pieces of literature that we have read this semester that use the topic of outsiders but one work shone the brightest. Sherman Alexie’s essay, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” employed the topic of outsiders through his sharing personal experiences with himself as an outsider in his community. His writing is the model example of the use of outsiders because of Alexie talking about how his parents raised him, his childhood experiences in school, and adult

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