Phillip Young
Dr. Ochola
English 100
29 September 2015
SWA 1
Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie is a short story about a young Indian boy living on the reservation with a passion for books. His passion is learned from his father who also an avid reader. Alexie tells the story about how he used books to override the stereotypes about Indian children being stupid. Alexie’s family consisted of his mother, father, older brother, his deceased sister, younger twin sisters and his adopted little brother. Alexie mostly speaks of his father, describing him as “one of the few Indians who went to Catholic school on purpose”, presumably to indicate that his father was an educated man. It is clear from Alexie’s story that his father was a very influential figure in his life. In the beginning of the story, Alexie creates an interesting metaphor. He describes how he “began to think of everything in terms of paragraphs”. For example, Alexie says

“Our reservation was a small paragraph within the United States. My family’s house was a paragraph, distinct from the other paragraphs of the LeBrets to the north, the Fords to our south and the Tribal School to the west. Inside our house, each family member existed as a separate paragraph but still had genetics and common experiences to link us.”

Alexie’s difficult experience with overcoming the stereotypes about Indian children have obviously embedded in him a strong desire for success as well as to see other Indian children achieve success.

Citations Alexie, Sherman. "Superman and Me." The McGraw-Hill Guide. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. 89-91.