Similarities Between Superman And Me And I Know Why The Caged Bird Cannot Read

In Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie and I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read by Francine Prose, both authors introduce the notion that reading is a powerful source of knowledge, opinion, and overall better understanding of the many perspectives on life. Alexie strives to make clear that reading is important, regardless of the material that is read. Prose, however, argues in particular that reading material in high schools often lacks substance and adequate novels are often times approached incorrectly. Both authors use rhetoric with personal style, structure, and diction in order to convey the significance of effective reading. In Alexie’s Superman and Me, he begins the essay with an anecdote about his learning to read. Alexie writes, “I learned to read with a Superman comic book. Simple enough, I suppose.” (pg. 110). Later in the essay, he writes, “I read the backs of cereal boxes. I read the newspaper. I read the

Prose’s piece uses personal knowledge and opinion to argue that commonly read books in the high school classroom are either not sufficient enough to challenge students intellectually or they’re taught in such a way as to deter proper understanding of the book. Prose writes, “My own two sons… have read Shakespeare, Hawthorne, and Melville. But they’ve also been slogged through… manipulative melodramas…” (pg 90). “Neither has heard a teacher suggest that he read Kafka… No instructor has ever asked my sons to read Alice Munro, who writes so lucidly and beautifully about the hypersensitivity that makes adolescence hell.” (pg 91). Prose uses her son’s reading lists as personal evidence as to what kinds of books are read in the classroom, and those that are not. In doing this, the reader is more likely to accept Prose’s opinion as a mother who is knowledgeable about the type of material teenagers are reading in high