Summary Of Superman And Me By Sherman Alexie

Alexie Saves Lives Sherman Alexie’s essay “Superman and Me” is about how Alexie changed his life and the lives of others by learning to read. His family was poor, but his father loved to read and Alexie adopted that love of reading at an early age. Alexie soon started to see the world around him like paragraphs. He would read anything and everything he could get his hands on. Indians like himself were not supposed to be smart, those who failed were excepted, but Alexie refused to fail and soon became a writer. He shared his gift with those around him no matter what they said or did. Sherman Alexie’s short story “Superman and Me” uses character, setting, symbolism and tone to illustrate the theme of “-breaking down barriers-”.

Alexie uses character

In the beginning of the story Alexie’s tone is curiosity and devotion, by the way Alexie explained his family’s situation and their devotion to reading and gaining knowledge, - “Our house was filled with books. They were sacked in crazy piles in the bathroom, bedrooms, and living room. In a fit of unemployment-inspired creative energy, my father built a set of book shelves and soon filled them with a random assortment of books about the Kennedy assassination, Watergate, the Vietnam War and the entire 23-book series of Apache westerns” (279). Since Alexie loved his father, and his father loved books, he decided he would love books too. His tone then shifts in a sad or pained direction. When Alexie describes how he was treated growing up, - “If he’d been anything but an Indian boy living on the reservation, he might have been called a prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply and oddity. He grows into a man who often speaks of his childhood in the third-person, as if it will somehow dull the pain and make him sound more modest about his talent” (280). Alexie was ridiculed and shunned by Indians and non-Indians alike. The tone changes again to show Alexie’s determination to read, - “I read books late into the night, until I can barely keep my eye open. I read books at recess, then during lunch and in the few minute later after I had finished my classroom assignments. I read books in the car when my family traveled to powwows and basketball games. I shopping malls, I ran to the bookstores and read bits and pieces of as many books as I could . . .” (280). Alexie read anything and everything he could get his hands on. The tone shifts one more time to show Alexie’s desire to change other Indians lives through reading and writing, - “I visit the schools as often as possible. The Indian kids crowd the classroom. Many are writing their own poems, short stories and novels. They have read my books. They have read