Blog 2-The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie

In the essay by Sherman Alexie, The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me, Alexie at a young age begins to view the world of reading through a Superman comic strip. Even though he isn’t able to read yet, he associates Superman’s actions to the writing in the dialog box.  The actions he experiences and sees everyday help him to make these associations. This is the same concept he uses to recognize paragraphs. He associates the actions of his surroundings as content for a paragraph. In his household there are seven people, each person is a paragraph.  It is like teaching a child to identify a person, place or thing by a picture. The child cannot read a word, but he recognizes the pictures and can make up a story based on what he sees. Alexie discovered freedom through self-taught reading and determination.

Alexie envisioned himself as Superman, a hero coming against obstacles and bringing them down. He sees himself bursting through the door of expected illiteracy. Breaking down a door means taking down a barrier. But this door is not just knocked down by a single blow, it is shattered into pieces. Illiteracy is shattered into pieces.  Shattered things aren’t so easily put back together.

Alexie states, “Indian children were expected to be stupid” and a smart one is dangerous and feared by both Indians and non-Indians. It is one thing if failed expectations come from outside of your community but it has a stronger effect within its wall. As a child he fought with his classmates daily, because he refused to keep quiet when asked to participate. His desire to learn was too strong for him to be silent. When Superman broke down the door, he didn’t ask for permission.  Alexie had to become bold, ask questions and make a seen to conquer the silence. This silence was a closed mind and mouth.  Most of the Indian children in his community struggled in basic reading and confirmed it by their timidity in the classroom. It was again expected and accepted for them to fail.  Just as a good superhero, Alexie puts on his cape and says, “I refuse to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky”.

            He saw the stagnating conditions Indian children were suffering and he was determined not suffer the same fate. Braking down the door was a symbol of triumph; it is good verse evil.  So he read, whenever and whatever he could books, newspapers, and cereal boxes. Alexie was too persistent to give up and it did pay off.

            As a child, he remembers there were no guest speakers, teachers or visitors stopping by to visit classrooms.   Today as an accomplished writer he enlightens, inspires and causes arrogant wonder in Indian students.  There are those who sit in the back of the class with pens down, closed books and minds. He tries to knock down the door but can’t.  Alexie is like any good super hero, he just wants to save lives.