Sherman Alexie Questions and Answers
Sherman Alexie
In his essay "Superman and Me," how does Sherman Alexie connect his experiences to Superman's values and heroic...
In the essay "Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie, the author, a Native American from the Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern Washington, writes that he learned to read by reading a Superman...
Sherman Alexie
In "Superman and Me," what does Alexie realize about paragraphs, and how does he use that to understand the world...
Sherman Alexie recounts a story of when he was a young boy, before he understood writing and the structure of an essay. He was examining one of his father's books and saw the delineations that...
Sherman Alexie
Detailed analysis of Sherman Alexie's poem "Crow Testament"
Sherman Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservations in Washington. His background is important in understanding his poem, “Crow Testament.” In this poem, Alexie uses foreshadowing,...
Sherman Alexie
Where do you see humor in “Indian Education”? Who or what, if anything, does Alexie poke fun at? How effective is the...
There is some humor in “Indian Education” when the speaker describes his experiences in school as a child. For example, he says that his Indian name was Junior Falls Down. Sometimes it was Bloody...
Sherman Alexie
What is the purpose of Sherman Alexie's short story "Indian Education"?
In “Indian Education,” Alexie presents the hypocrisy of education on reservations in the United States. The story is told through the eyes of Victor, a Native youth who attends school on the...
Sherman Alexie
In “Indian Education,” what does hair symbolize?
Sherman Alexie’s story “Indian Education” presents the different educational experiences that Victor has at different times in his childhood. The story shows the identity transformation that Victor...
Sherman Alexie
In "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, what does the line mean from eighth grade "There is more than one way to...
This line means that both Indians on the reservation and the wealthier whites in the farm town where Alexie attends school in eighth grade are devoid of comfort and are suffering in many ways....
Sherman Alexie
In "Indian Education," in the fifth grade, Alexie compares and contrasts Victor’s love for basketball with his...
In a particularly ironic passage in "Indian Education" Alexie remembers the "sweet, almost innocent choices" that Indian boys were forced to make, such as that between sniffing glue or playing...
Sherman Alexie
How does Sherman Alexie depict the relationship between Native Americans and white Americans?
Sherman Alexie depicts the relationship between Native Americans and white Americans as tentative at best and frequently distrustful and even hostile. Both sides often appear to have preconceived...
Sherman Alexie
In “Indian Education,” Alexie refers to his hair in the opening sentence of the essay and in the sections on second...
To discuss the possible symbolism of Sherman Alexie’s hair in his essay “Indian Education,” think about how his hair could be seen as an indicator of his predicament. As the question notes, Alexie...
Sherman Alexie
Summarize "Tourists" by Sherman Alexie.
The poem "Tourists" by Sherman Alexie is in three sections. In the poem, Alexie imagines that various deceased celebrities enter an Indian reservation at different times. He uses them as examples...
Sherman Alexie
What does the quote, "Believe me, everything looks like a noose if you stare at it long enough" mean?
In the context of Sherman Alexie's work, this line is a reference to the continued suffering of the Native American or Indian people, to whom almost everything seems to have the capacity to become...
Sherman Alexie
What is the purpose of Sherman Alexie's story "What You Pawn I Will Redeem"?
A first step to answering a question like this is to look at the title of the story. Titles offer clues as to what a narrative is about, and hence what purpose the author has in writing it. Titles...
Sherman Alexie
What is a critical appreciation of Sherman Alexie's poem "Evolution"?
A critical appreciation of a poem is a critical (close) reading of a poem. It does not mean to criticize the poem. Rather, a critical appreciation will examine a poem's meaning, themes, mood, tone,...
Sherman Alexie
Discuss Sherman Alexie's use of rhetorical strategies and his claim in his essay "Superman and Me."
Sherman Alexie’s principal claim in “Superman and Me” is that reading books saved his life and that he is now trying to use books to save the lives of other Indian children along with his own. This...
Sherman Alexie
What is the literary style of Sherman Alexie?
In her work on Native American Writers, Susan Brill describes Alexie Sherman's writing as a mix of ...pain and humor, hunger and survival, love and anger, broken treaties Manifest Destiny,...
Sherman Alexie
What are the writing styles Sherman Alexie uses in the essay "Superman and Me"?
Sherman Alexie's essay "Superman and Me" is primarily written in the narrative style. The narrative style of writing is used to tell a story. Sherman Alexie is a self-proclaimed storyteller. In an...
Sherman Alexie
In "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, how does the narrator's cousin Steven Ford's experience differ from the...
Throughout the story "Indian Education," there is only one mention of the narrator's cousin, Steven Ford, but the idea of this character is present throughout the narrative. When in fifth grade,...
Sherman Alexie
What is the summary of Sherman's "Flight Patterns"?
This is the story of William, a Spokane Indian salesman who works for a think tank and travels around the USA frequently on business trips. The story is set in the immediate aftermath of the...
Sherman Alexie
How would you describe Sherman Alexie's style in "Every Little Hurricane"?
When discussing style, I find the most useful literary elements you must look at are the following: point-of-view, narrative presence, diction, and figurative language. In "Every Little Hurricane,"...
Sherman Alexie
In "Indian Education," what point does Alexie make with similarities between paragraphs 29 and 31 and paragraph 70...
The paragraphs in question not only create contrasts between themselves, they create contrasts between Alexie and his peers. The paragraphs show that different choices lead to different...
Sherman Alexie
Alexie refers to his hair in the opening sentence of the essay and in the sections on 2nd grade and 12th grade. How...
Sherman Alexie is a well-known American Indian author, poet, and filmmaker. While it's unclear which of his essays you are referring to here, he does mention the significance of hair in many of his...
Sherman Alexie
Is there an epiphany in "What You Pawn I Will Redeem"?
Let us remember that an epiphany is defined as a moment of sudden insight experienced by a character when they realise something about who they are or their own identity. We can see that Jackson,...
Sherman Alexie
In "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" by Sherman Alexie, why can Victor be friends with Thomas when they...
In the story "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," Victor doesn't have the money to fly to Phoenix, where his father has died. Thomas offers to lend him the money if he can come along on...
Sherman Alexie
Is the narrator in "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" reliable?
Generally, it's not a bad idea to go into every piece of literature, especially those written in first-person point-of-view, with the belief that the narrator is unreliable. Since Sherman Alexie's...
Sherman Alexie
Will you help me formulate a proposal for a working thesis based on the poem "Grief Calls Us to the Things of This...
In 1956, Richard Wilbur wrote his often-anthologized poem “Love calls us to the things of this world.” In this poem, a sleeper rouses, and in the state halfway between slumber and wakefulness, sees...
Sherman Alexie
Why is breaking down cultural barriers a valid theme for Alexie's "Superman and Me" essay?
In Sherman Alexie's touching essay "Superman And Me," the writer discusses the idea of the "smart Indian." The essay revolves around Alexie's perception that people expected him and other members...
Sherman Alexie
What are Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," and Sherman...
The three short stories—Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," Sherman Alexie's "Indian Education," and Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"—all deal with tradition. Tradition is...
Sherman Alexie
Are there stylistic similarities between Sherman Alexie and Toni Morrison? This is more as it relates to postmodern...
What an interesting question! Two authors with very distinct styles, indeed. I think that both authors express similar IDEAS and THEMES, but the way they deliver these ideas (another part of style)...
Sherman Alexie
How do you think reading saved Sherman Alexie's life?
Sherman Alexie is a Native American writer from the Spokane, Washington area. He had some challenges as a child that kept him from taking part in some traditional kids' activities, like sports. One...
Sherman Alexie
What role is implied by the speaker's self-presentation in Sherman Alexie's Superman and Me?
Superman and Me is an autobiographical indictment of the moral and intellectual destruction inflicted on the Native American population by European interlopers. Sherman Alexie doesn’t come right...
Sherman Alexie
What is the act of kindness in “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”?
You could actually argue that there are several acts of kindness in this impressive short story. However, the most significant comes at the end of the tale, when Jackson returns to the pawn shop...
Sherman Alexie
What values seem to clash in the short story "Indian Education" by Alexie?
In Sherman Alexie's "Indian Education," bigotry and prejudice by whites and others clash against Native Americans and their values. I use the term Native Americans for lack of a better term....
Sherman Alexie
What do you think about Sherman Alexie stories? no
Sherman Alexie's stories about Native Americans are extremely important to the discourse. The reality is that the voice of adolescent Native Americans is missing from the dialogue of identity...
Sherman Alexie
Why do you think Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven has become a significant book? Are...
Sherman Alexie is a contemporary Native American writer from the state of Washington. In 1993 in published his first book, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, which won the...
Sherman Alexie
Is the opening paragraph in "Superman and Me" carefully developed? Does the writer include the time of Alexie's essay...
The introductory paragraph does not include the time of the essay, or summarize the essay, but works to introduce the topic whilst peaking the reader's interest. The topic of course is that of a...
Sherman Alexie
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, what does the old math book symbolize to...
In the beginning of Sherman Alexie's book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior lives and goes to school on the Spokane reservation. Like most things on "The Rez," Junior's...
Sherman Alexie
What immediate consequences does Sherman Alexie's early ability have in the essay "Superman and Me?"
Sherman Alexie, "a Spokane Indian boy living with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern Washington state," was able to teach himself to read at the age of three. Although his...
Sherman Alexie
Select three central images in Alexie's "Evolution." In one paragraph per image, describe Alexie's choice of language...
At eNotes we can't answer your homework questions for you, but I will try and offer some ideas which will hopefully help you complete the task for yourself. One key image in the poem is from the...