In “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, Alexie is an Indian boy on a reservation who is expected to get nowhere in life because of where he came from. However, he is smart, he knows he is capable, and he is lucky for being that. These characteristics make him special and according to the text, “dangerous”. In the text, he says, “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky.” This quote sends a very strong message to the audience about how Alexie thought of himself. The quote’s meaning, reasoning, and contribution to the development of the text all aid the author in expressing the main idea. When Alexie says that he refused to fail, he is not just talking about how he refused to fail at reading. He is also refusing to fail at proving all of the others wrong. Everyone around him expected him to fail, but that wasn’t going to be the case with Alexie, and he lets us know that in this quote. The text states, “I read books late into the night, until I could barely keep my eyes open. I read books at recess, then during lunch, …show more content…
He wants the audience to put themselves in his shoes and understand how confident he is feeling. Also, he wants the audience to realize his determination in learning how to read and prove to everyone that Indians can get somewhere in life. It was also maybe added to show that being arrogant is not always a bad thing. This is shown in the text, “Most lived up to those expectations inside the classroom but subverted them on the outside. They struggled with basic reading in school but could remember how to sing a few dozen powwow songs. They were monosyllabic in front of their non-Indian teachers but could tell complicated stories at the dinner table.” He wants others to know that being submissive to others won’t get you anywhere. Alexie is trying to explain that you have to be a little arrogant and believe in your own abilities to succeed and rise above the