Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie's literary style is characterized by a blend of humor and tragedy, often addressing the complexities of Native American life. His writing frequently employs a conversational tone,...

In "Superman and Me," Sherman Alexie draws parallels between his life and Superman's values, using the superhero as a metaphor for empowerment through reading and education. Alexie, who taught...

The purpose of Sherman Alexie's "Indian Education" is to expose the challenges Native American children face in the U.S. education system, particularly on reservations. Through the protagonist...

A critical appreciation of "Evolution" will reveal the speaker's biting tone against both Native Americans and the businesses that take advantage of them.

In the poem "Crow Testament", Sherman Alexie uses foreshadowing, personification, symbolism, allusions, parallelism, and structure to demonstrate the abuse that the Native Americans suffered at the...

In “Indian Education,” humor is created by the narrator’s depiction of his relatable kindergarten conflicts. He is picked on, and he lists a series of humorous “Indian names” he must have been...

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...

The line "There is more than one way to starve" in Sherman Alexie's "Indian Education" highlights different forms of suffering. Indians on the reservation face literal starvation due to poor-quality...

Sherman Alexie employs a personal and reflective writing style in "Superman and Me," using anecdotes and a conversational tone to engage readers. His rhetorical strategies include repetition,...

In "Superman and Me," Alexie understands paragraphs as "fences" that organize words, which helps him comprehend the world. He sees communities, including his reservation, as analogous to...

Steven Ford's experience in "Indian Education" contrasts with the narrator, Victor, as Ford remains caught in a cycle of substance abuse and stagnation, symbolized by his sniffing rubber cement on a...

Sherman Alexie's quote, "Believe me, everything looks like a noose if you stare at it long enough," means that prolonged exposure to suffering or difficulty can make even innocuous things seem...

In “Indian Education,” hair symbolizes Native American identity. In order to get an education, Victor is forced to abandon key aspects of his culture. Cutting his hair stands for white, Euro-American...

Three central images in Alexie's "Evolution" that highlight the theme of systematic Native American degradation include the metaphor of Indians pawning their hands, illustrating their desperation for...

Alexie’s long hair is likely a symbol of his ability to grow and reach his full potential.

In "A Drug Called Tradition," Sherman Alexie ridicules stereotypes of Native Americans, such as dancing naked around fires, wearing braids and loincloths, and riding stolen horses, portraying these...

What this reveals about the mindset of the children is that it revolves around a binary choice between playing basketball and sniffing glue as a way of escaping life on the reservation. It says a lot...

The poem "Tourists" by Sherman Alexie tells of three different visits by dead celebrities to a Native American reservation. James Dean behaves obnoxiously and disrespectfully, Janis Joplin is lied...

"Breaking down cultural barriers" is a theme in Alexie's "Superman and Me" because it highlights his struggle against societal expectations for Native Americans to remain uneducated. Despite...

Sherman Alexie depicts the relationship between Native Americans and white Americans as tentative at best, frequently distrustful, and even hostile. Both sides often appear to have preconceived...

Paragraphs 29 and 31 show Alexie engaging both physically and mentally with basketball. The identical sentence structures show that his physical and mental attitudes are similar, but very different...

In "Superman and Me," the speaker, Sherman Alexie, implies his role as an intellectual outsider within his Native American community. He portrays himself as a product of a culture that undervalues...

"Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie explores conflicting values of Native American identity against the prejudice and ignorance of white society. The story highlights the protagonist's struggles...

The purpose of Sherman Alexie's "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" is to explore themes of identity, cultural resilience, and redemption. Through the journey of Jackson, the protagonist, the story...

The opening paragraph of "Superman and Me" is carefully developed but does not include the essay's time or a complete summary. It introduces the topic by describing how a young Native American boy...

The narrator in "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" can be considered reliable despite the story's third-person perspective, which often suggests a more objective view. However, the...

Some questions to ask about the poem are: What is the speaker seeing that prompts his memories? (Hint: Alexie uses alliteration in the first three lines.) How does the speaker feel about his...

Reading saved Sherman Alexie's life by providing him with a sense of connection and validation. As a Native American child facing challenges, Alexie found solace and representation in books like The...

"The Lottery," "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," and "Indian Education" critique blind adherence to tradition. In "The Lottery," a town conducts a deadly ritual without understanding its purpose....