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Khai Tran
Dr. Christina Cedillo
Writing Composition I 1301.01
November 18, 2015
The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me
Sherman Alexie, the author of The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me, was
born in 1966 at a reservation in Wellpinit, Washington. He later moved to Washington State
University to become a writer. The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me is an
interesting story that describes his experiences in reading. In writing this novel, Alexie used
anecdote as the overall tool of his strategy to persuade his readers that he could become
successful despite lacking necessary resources. By imagining himself as superman, he inspired
his readers, who were Native Americans as well as other ethnicities and races, that they could
overcome their limited resources to learn how to read and get education, resulting in better
futures.
When learning to read, Alexie had to face several challenges. He used nostalgia to show
his readers his childhood conditions. He and his family lived in a reservation in eastern
Washington. He grew up in a poor family by most standards (Alexie 73). Therefore, his parents
had to work very hard to support the family and standards of living. He described his family life
was a combination of irregular paychecks, hope, fear, and government surplus food (Alexie
74). His poverty was also illustrated when he named the stores in which his father came to buy
books which were less expensive than other stores. In order to gain sympathy from his readers,
Alexie demonstrated that he lacked necessary resources such as money and food. He used
anecdote to create a connection between him and his readers. This connection played a key role

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in his strategy and supported him to convey his message easier. He wanted his readers to know
that he had the same starting point as every other Indian child who lived in the reservation. In
addition, there was a belief that Indian children were supposed to be stupid. This belief was
provoked not only by non-Indians but also by Indians themselves. He discussed his observation
of his classmates who pretended to be dull and stupid in class, but were very smart outside the
classroom. He drew a conclusion that a failed Indian was very common. His intention was to
show that there was a stereotype about Indians. He used appeal to emotion to talk about it to gain
the empathy and sympathy of his readers. Alexie wanted them to know that the stereotype was a
big obstacle preventing Indians from success. Moreover, he aimed his ideas to non-Indian
readers who usually treated Indians unfairly. He really wanted them to change their perceptions.
In the novel, Alexie said that he loved reading due to his father. He described his father as
an avid reader who was interested in westerns, spy thrillers, murder mysteries, etc. (Alexie
74). He also remembered that his father always spent extra money on books and novels though
his family was poor. Living in a house full of books, Alexie was exposed to them even when he
was a kid. Using hyperbole such as they were stacked in crazy piles in the bathroom
(Alexie 74), he demonstrated how many books in his house and how many books he had read. In
his early years, while other children played with toys, he spent time reading, though, he could not
read. He started to learn how to read by comic books. He guessed the content from the boxes in
the pictures and imitated Supermans action. Intentionally, he used appeal to ethos to gain
credibility from his readers and made them believe that he had learned reading by himself.
Besides, Alexie used imagery to describe his impression about a paragraph: a fence that held
words (Alexie 74). He used two methods effectively to deliver his message.

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More importantly, what led him to his success was a change in his faith. He was
conscious about his talent, his intelligence and his future. He said to himself, I was smart. I was
arrogant. I was lucky. (Alexie 75). He used repetition to emphasize his desire to success and his
commitment to change. This change resulted in his actions. He told about the fact that he read
books everywhere and all the time: at night, during lunch, in class, in the supermarket, etc. He
stated the importance of reading books, I loved those books, but I also knew that love had only
one purpose. I was trying to save my life. (Alexie 75). He believed that education was the best
way to overcome poverty and have a better life.
Besides, Alexie used the images of Superman and a door to describe how he read.
Actually, he wanted his readers to think of him as Superman, and the door was the stereotype
about Indians. When he yelled, I am breaking the door (Alexie 74), he wanted to show his
wish to eliminate the stereotype. He used metaphor in this paragraph to express his desire that
one day Indians could read and be educated. On the other hand, the reason Alexie chose to name
his novel Superman and Me was because he thought that both of them had the same
characteristics. Superman was coming from another planet. He had super powers and he used
them to overcome the evils to save the world. Alexie was also different from his people. He did
not accept to be a stupid Indian kid (Alexie 75). He overcame his challenges, which was
similar to Superman and the evils. He also wanted to save his world - his Indians world - by
coming back to the reservation and teaching the children.
In the last paragraph, he showed his belief in reading and education. He came back to the
reservation to teach Indian kids. He was now a real Superman. He used his super powers to save
the children in the reservation. He repeated the same statement in the former paragraph, I am
smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. (Alexie 76) He changed the tense because what he desired for

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that time was not only his own life anymore, but he attempted to save the Native American
childrens lives, I am trying to save our lives. (Alexie 76)
On the one hand, opponents might say that Alexie might succeed because he had such a
father that loved books, which motivated him very much. These opponents might express their
opinions that other Indians did not have such a father as Alexie did, so they could not learn how
to read. On the other hand, they believed that Indians could not have literacy because they lived
in reservations which lack necessary resources and were isolated from the world. However, they
could be wrong because Alexie showed that he also had the same conditions and resources as
other children in the reservation. He proved it by telling about his childhood condition. The fact
that he lived in a full house of books had nothing to do with his ability to read. He learned to read
by himself, by his special method. He described details about how he learned to read, which was
evidence shown to his readers that he really did it without any help. More importantly, although
he knew that a smart Indian kid is a dangerous person (Alexie 75), he still chose to be
different, to be smart. He dared to change. Living in a reservation and having shortages of
resources did not upset him. Conversely, he tried his best and utilized all of his resources to
learn. By imagining himself as Superman, he wanted his readers to be aware that the biggest
obstacle was not the conditions and the resources; it was the limited and unwilling mind. By
using metaphor, he showed that if he had enough will to change and he committed to it, he would
become successful.
Alexie successfully used anecdote to inspire people through his story. He did not want to
write this novel only to be informative. He wanted his readers to believe that they could become
successful after reading the novel. He wanted to be a motivation for the Native Americans as
well as other ethnicities. He did it by showing how he succeed despite his poverty. He gained

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sympathy and empathy by using emotional appeal, which helped him to delivery his message
effectively. The most memorable moment is when he used metaphor to image himself as
Superman breaking the door. It left his readers strong impression about his spirit and his will to
success.

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Works Cited
Alexie, Sherman. The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me. Class Handout. PDF.