Thursday, September 22, 2011
3-2-1 on "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie DUE FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23rd!
Ok folks. You've had your first look at Sherman Alexie's writing today. I've included a photo of him in case you were wondering what he looks like. He rocks! (Ms. McMaster and I are Alexie groupies!)
Here's what I'd like you to do in a comment to this post:
Write 3 observations you've made about Alexie's writing style.
Write 2 questions about Native Americans that the story raises for you.
Write 1 opinion you have about the story.
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3 observations:
ReplyDelete-He uses simple language that has deeper meanings. He doesn't seem to be a flashy writer who shows off all of the complicated terminology he can use. He says things like they happened, but implies the deeper meaning behind them
-He adds internal thoughts at the end of sections. He adds what he thought about what was happening at the time, but he doesn't share much. He gives little tidbits of thoughts just to give you a peek into what he's thinking, but makes the thoughts so you have to think about them and what he's trying to get at.
-He uses direct, short sentences every now and then to emphasize something. Instead of going on about something he wants to be strongly recognized, he instead shows it with a short, straightforward, yet strong and impacting sentence.
2 Questions:
-If Alexie was somewhat ostracized for kissing the white girl, why was she in the reservation? They ignored him as a brother because of that and because he left for a white school, but it confuses me that if they would reject him for kissing a white girl and going to a white school, why would they even allow a white family to live on their reservation?
-How did the white teachers end up teaching on the reservation in a Native American school if the reservation was made to keep the Indians together and try and keep their culture alive? Who went against the Native Americans and when to put white teachers in their school to take their culture away from them, if it was originally set up to keep the culture with them?
1 Opinion:
-I thought this story was pretty interesting. I'm not really a fan of that crazy excessive writing style, so I really liked how Alexie wrote. I liked how his story didn't lay it all out there but made you think about what he was saying and what it all had to do with each other. I like how he used little anecdotes to trace through his life, yet you could see the broader theme through all of them and what he felt in his life through a short set of memories.
3 Observations-
ReplyDelete- At the end of every grade he talks about, he gives his opinion on what had just happened in the story. It shows you what he is thinking at the time.
- He uses lots of vivid language in his writing. I can really picture what he is talking about.
- At times he uses short, but powerful sentences to get his point across.
2 Questions-
- Why is he kissing a white girl on the reservation and more specifacally, why is the white girl on the reservation?
- What made it so the students that were on the reservation didn't have as much success like the students at Alexie's school did? What was the difference in what was being taught?
1 Opinion-
I thought this was an interesting excerpt from Alexie's book. I think he did a great job describing his school experiences and how Native Americans would be treated. He did a nice job making you think about what he had written. You couldn't just skim through and be able to get it. You had to pay close attention to what was going on in the story to understand it fully. All in all, I liked the story.
3 observations- He tells his educational experience in a plain and simple way. He does not try to sugar code it to make it sound better, it is just simple and straight to the point. Another quality Alexies has is his simple wording. He uses wording that is easy to understand and follow. He has great paragraph finisher sentences. Those lines at the end of the paragraphs um up his final thoughts on the topic or experience.
ReplyDelete2 Questions- Why did he get kicked off the reservation fro kissing a white girl, and better yet why was there even a white girl on the reservation to begin with? Where did Alexie and his family live after leaving the reservation?
1 Opinion- My overall opinion about the story is that native americans are misunderstood. People treat them harshly and they don't have any remorse. Like Alexies third grade teacher for example, she not only discipline him but mocked his culture and heritage by calling him a indian with a lower case I. Another example was the man in the hospital after Alexies passed out and assumed that he was drinking because most native drink. It is a confusing mess of false judgement and lack of understanding of native culture.
3 Observations:
ReplyDelete- While most of his sentences are short and to the point, his writing leaves the audience with a sense of respect towards the Native Americans. He doesn’t convince the readers to feel bad about Native Americans, but instead lets the audience develop their own impression of how they live in the reserves and their relationship towards white people.
- It leaves the audience with a sense of burden on them. A lot of people won’t admit that these things happened or don’t want to believe them. Alexie includes in his writing the hardships that the Native Americans faced and isn’t afraid to show what he went through at that time.
- Each paragraph is what Alexie experienced, an almost telepathic view. He gives the reader what he went through, but leaves it broad enough for the reader to question his decisions.
2 Questions:
- What happened after his high school years? Did he move on to go to college or did he stay behind in the reserve with his family?
-What kind of education were they teaching at this school and how was Alexie able to cope with all the harassment of his culture around him? Why did he keep to himself and didn’t fight back about what was really true about Native Americans?
1 Opinion:
I really enjoyed the short story and I was disappointed that it wasn’t longer. After reading it, it makes me feel upset that we have all these opinions about Native Americans that aren’t true. A lot of people use the word Indian loosely and have a set image of what they should look like according to how they’re portrayed in movies, books, poems, etc. I never realized that Native Americans were so discriminated in the past and to see that they’re still thought of as different now is ridiculous. My overall view on them has definitely changed and I’m looking forward to reading Alexie’s next book in class.
3 Observations:
ReplyDelete>Alexie likes to use sayings (ei. It's a good day to die) which are figuratively used to put emphasis on events in his writing.
>Alexie likes to describe events in such a beautiful and terrifying way at the same time.
>Alexie writes in a jumpy manner, always describing completely different events and situations.
2 Questions:
>Was this exerpt based on his own life as it may seem that it is?
>Does Alexie feel offended by society's view of Indians as the main character of this exerpt did?
1 Opinion:
>I believe that Alexie is a fantastic writer because of his complex writing style and use of deep, thoughtful sayings and quotes. I liked this story because I could relate to some of the situations in a way.
3 Observations:
ReplyDelete- Sherman Alexie writes his sentences very briefly, but within each sentence he makes the writer think a lot about what he means.
- At the end of every grade entry he usually had his last sentence as something that makes your think and we're never quite sure where he is going with that statement.
-Within his stories the reader finds out a lot about the setting of his stories and you get some idea about the characters he encounters through out each story.
2 Questions:
- Why does it matter so much that he kissed the white girl? Why does it not make him an Native American.
- What happens to him after twelfth grade? Why does he feel the need to out the class reunion section in at the end?
1 Opinion:
I liked each entry for the different grades. Some were more exciting to read than others, but I have come up with a few questions about all the stories. I learned more about his native culture and where he comes from which makes me more interested in the reading. Thinking about back when he was a child, the Native Americans sort of get treated the same way they do now because America doesn't pay that much attention to them now if they have poverty in their areas.
3 observations:
ReplyDelete-he doesn't give a lot of detail in this short story. He is very to the point, and doesn't really describe how he feels during the time that this is happening.
-it doesn't feel like this a short story. there are no paragraphs, and really not a lot of flow in the writing. He pretty much just write bullets about something that happened in each grade.
-Alexie doesnt explain who the people he is writing about are. He only Wrote about the two white kids, and the cousin who was making a bad choice.
2 questions:
-Why didn't Alexie feel the need to stop his cousin from making the choice to sniff the rubber cement. Reverse from that, how did he stay so positive and away from drugs and alcohol while being around it for so long?
-Why did he feel the need to put in that last sentence about the reunion. I dont understand why he did it because there is no other information about what the bar they are always at is, and why they are there every weekend?
3 observations:
ReplyDelete- i noticed that when Sherman Alexie was in first grade and he got in a fight he won and he was the "warrior" not him, and on his way to the principles he chanted "its a good day to die" which makes me think that maybe he talking about when the indians where in war they xhanted that.
-i also noticed that Sherman Alexie lived in a HUD house which i think would be an awful way to live through his life.
-also when he was in 7th grade and he was talking about white people being in the reservation it makes me wonder why there were white poeple in the reservation.
2 Questions:
- i aslo could ask in here when Sherman Alexi was in 7th grade why was there a white person in the reservation?
-why was a missionary teacher in the school in this day and giving Sherman Alexi a very hard time?
1 Opinion:
one opinion i have in the story is that Shermon gives great detail in his readings and i really think that i will enjoy the reading because Shermon keeps the reader interested in what happens in his life
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteopinion:
ReplyDelete- I really liked his form of writing. It was more enjoyable to read because he got right to the point, and didn't leave much detail to have to think about. Even though he did not give a lot of detail, there as still enough to understand the full aspect of he thoughts and memories about each individual grade.
3 Observations:
ReplyDelete-The first thing I noticed that Sherman Alexie does in this piece of writing is that he gives a little snapshot of each grade of his education from first grade to his class reunion. I like the way he does this because this actually gives the reader a lot of little facts and interesting information about Alexie that can help them in better understanding him and the way he grew up.
-The second thing I noticed was that at the end of each grade he would have one sentence that would basically sum up that whole section. I thought that was really cool and different that he did that. I liked it a lot because it would give the reader something to think about at the end.
-The final thing that I noticed about in Sherman Alexie's writing is that he is a funny guy. He likes to add in little funny things about his childhood into his writing. I really enjoyed that because for one it make it a lot more fun and interesting to read about and secondly, it was much easier to relate to.
2 Questions:
-One question I have is why did he kiss the white girl and why was she even on the reservation?
-Another question is, I don't understand why the teachers in the school were teaching on the reservation? The reservation was made to keep the Native Americans together and so they could keep their culture alive, but white teachers were teaching them in schools and wanted to make them "more white."
1 Opinion:
-Something that I really liked that Sherman Alexie did in his writing is talking a little bit about each grade of his education. I thought that was a good way to show how as a Native American kid to a young adult, how his school was and how they were treated though education and through society. It taught me a lot about him and made me really connect with him, it was also a more fun relaxed way to approach it then to just tell it like a normal story would go.
3 observations:
ReplyDelete-Sherman Alexie does not go into super detail when he writes, he get to the point in a way that we can all understand what is going on.
- He does not use very sophisticated vocabulary, his words are as simple as his sentences.
- When he describes people, he only explains what is needed to be known, and doesn't explain a lot about them.
2 question:
- Why doesn't he use sophisticated language instead of simple language to give the reader a better picture?
- Why were the Native Americans treated so badly and why didn't anyone try to stop it from happening?
1 opinion:
I can say that I enjoyed reading this short story, but I also disliked reading this story. My favorite thing about this story was his use of language. It was simple enough for me to understand but it still fit in good with the story because it gave me a better understanding about what he was going through. The thing that i didn't like was what he was going through. I this it was just plain and simply mean of what the kids and teachers did yo him. That is my reaction on Indian Education.
3 Observations:
ReplyDelete- Sherman Alexie will put two very differnet stories together but in a very simple way but it actaully has much deeper meaning behide it.
- he ends each grade with simple phrases that are actually the most important words in that grade. "there is more than one way to starve" - grade 8
- He always starts out by physically describing the other characters and then doesn't go into any further detail, just leaves it at that.
2 Questions:
- Why was the white girl on the reservation?
- How come his second grade teacher gave him a spelling test for junior high students? What was this suppose to teach him?
1 Opinion:
I like Alexie's writing style because it is so simple in the text but between the words it always means something so much deeper and it really makes you think and keeps you interacted as a reader and really helps you connnect with the book because you get a much deeper understanding through his style of writing.
3 observations:
ReplyDelete-Describing people is something that he skipped over when writing this piece.
-He uses simple words and does not use a very in depth vocabulary.
-He does not describe things in a lot of detail when he writes. He is direct and right to the point.
Two Questions:
-Why would he kiss the white girl when he must have known he would be shunned?
-Why would he choose to go to a white school if he was Indian?
I liked reading this story because it was quick and easy to read. It got right to the point and did not stay on one subject for too long. Also it gave me a look into and Indians childhood which i had never seen before.
3 observations:
ReplyDelete-Sherman Alexie wrights with out giving a lot of detail but you can still understand whats going on during that time that he is talking about.
-He says some weird and interesting things, like "after that, no one spoke to me for another five hundred years" we dont really know what that is meaning.
-we dont know who the people are that he is talking about he only says their names and does not let us know about who they are and what they have to do with the story.
2 question:
-Why did people treat them so badly, they were people too?
-Why did he not explain who the other characters in the story were?
1 opinion:
I really enjoyed this short story, I liked how they split it up and it was not boring like other short story's it. I could under stand what was going on and was interested in how they were treated back then.
3 Observations:
ReplyDelete-At the end of every grade description Sherman Alexie uses italics to describe something that is in his opinion extremely important. For example, at the end of the third grade description he says, "Freedom of expression" because he feels like the Indians are not being treated as equally as everyone else.
-Alexie says the first thing that comes to his mind and can use evidence to back up every statement. He is not afraid to speak his mind no matter what comes to mind. He is not afraid to hide anything from his past.
-Alexie also sets images for you to picture as you read each grade description. He uses specific details that make you want to continue to read his short story. For example, in first grade when he is describing when he got beat up and his glasses got thrown over his head.
2 Questions:
-Why does he use the example of "kissing a white girl" rather then something else involving another white person?
-What happened to the rest of the Indians who were living at his tribe?
1 Opinion:
While reading this there were times that I was shocked but times that there was a slight bit of humor. I like how instead of just telling all of the negative things, he tried to make readers laugh. In order to do so, he would explain specifically something that was meant to be horrible but unless you read it a second time you find humor. I enjoy his style of writing because he is so up-front but in a way he can mix in some humor.
3 Observations:
ReplyDelete-Alexie’s sentences are very brief but he makes the writer think about everything he says.
-Alexie uses sayings that put emphasis on his writings to make the writer think about what he means on a deeper level.
-Sherman Alexie does not go into great detail when he writes. He gets the point across in a very short and brief sentence.
2 Questions:
-Why did he kiss the white girl and why was she even on the Indian reservation?
-Why were Native Americans treated so poorly, yet no one did anything to help them?
1 Opinion:
I really enjoyed reading Sherman Alexie. His text is very simple and it makes it easy and interesting to read but also he puts so much detail into the writing without complicating it. He leaves sudden hints in the book and it really makes you think and keeps you focused and interacted while reading. His type of writing helps you connect with the book and you get a deeper understanding of his writing.
3 Observations:
ReplyDelete-Sherman Alexie doesn't use extravagant language but there is often a deeper meaning to was he is saying.
-He gives a phase at the end of each grade description that applies to both the grade and his life now. For example, "I'm still waiting."
-He is short and blunt when decribing people but you are able to learn more about them from the events that he writes about.
2 Questions:
-Were there normally white people living on the reservation?
-Was he treated better in the white school than the reservation school?
Opinion:
I think this story is easy to read and you get a lot of insight into the life of Sherman Alexie.
3:
ReplyDeleteSherman Alexie writes very poignant and abrupt end sentences, such as: "I'm still waiting." (2nd Grade), or "After that, no one spoke to me for another five hundred years." (7th Grade)
He uses little points- i.e. "always throw the first punch" (6th Grade) and "There is more than one way to starve." (8th Grade). They're like mini-morals.
Alexie's writing style is very humble. He states emotional things in a very stoic way, such as "my white friends revived me... doctors would later diagnose my diabetes" (9th Grade). He also casually throws people's ethnicity and race into the story.
2:
Why do white people live on Native American Reservations?
Why do Native Americans grow their hair so long?
1:
I think that Alexie's style is very dry and colorful. He paints a vivid picture of some very hard times and there is not a lot of emotion in his writing, though he touches upon some very deep subjects. He is as he was in his graduation pictures, "stoic".
3 Observations:
ReplyDelete-I observed that starting in first grade, Alexie was bullied. Up until his senior year, bullying was always an issue with him. Whether it was physical or mental, or even things like isolation, Alexie was always mistreated. For example, Alexie was pushed face first into the snow, taken out of recess, violated of "Freedom of Speech, along with many other bullying occurances.
-I also noticed what Katie talked about. In every paragraph, Alexie has a word or a phrase in italics. I am not sure the definite meaning of this, but I think he may be doing this to grab our attentions. I believe the things in italics are important to him and his upbringing. Re-reading some of them, I realized that these phrases in italics can sort of sum up the memory he described.
-A final thing I observed was while reading his seventh grade memory, it hit me how many times he used the term "white girl." He didn't just say this once, everytime he mentioned the girl he continually threw in the "white" part. This was obivously intentional and it reiterated his point about how out of the ordinary it was for his kiss to be with a "white girl."
2 Questions:
-An important that was brought up in class was, Why was the "white girl" on his reservation in the first place? This really drew my attention and made me extremely curious as to why she was there.
-Did Alexie regret going to get a better education at an off-reservation all white high school?
Opinion:
I really enojoyed this short story because it was easy to read and to comprehend. He is very sucessful at getting his point across through simple, everyday Engligh. I like how he didn't bore us with something like a documentary. Instead he carefully wrote this to make it humerous and easier for his readers to make connections to. I overall enjoyed reading his story.
3
ReplyDelete-He contrasting details.
-He usually ends his paragraphs with important or meaningful sentences
-We haven't really seen it yet, but im waiting to see some of his humor in his writing.
2
-Who was this white girl that he kissed and why did he feel guilty about it?
-Why is he going to this school that is trying to make him more "white"
1
-I enjoyed this story, although it brought up a lot more questions than answers, i think that this was the point of the story. to make the reader ask themselves questions about how we look at native Americans and how their life style is
Three Observations:
ReplyDelete1) Throughout the reading pertaining to Sherman Alexie’s experience from first grade to twelfth grade I noticed that the author generally focused on horrific experiences that made him feel guilt and regret. This was shocking because relating back to our class list of our experiences my childhood as well as my peers consisted of happy experiences.
2) I also observed that although Sherman Alexie portrayed a lot of his recollections as comical there was a greater depth then what was exposed to the reader. For instance, the author writes ‘“Give me your lunch if you’re just going to throw it up,’ I said to those girls once.” Although bulimia is a very serious action especially for eighth grade girls, Alexie tries to make the situation funny by avoiding the severity. He focusing on how he doesn’t have the commodities but yet white girls can waste their food and force vomit to become skinny.
3) Furthermore, I noticed from a young age Sherman Alexie was exposed to very difficult topics. Starting in the first grade he became bullied as well as in second grade he was discriminated against by his missionary teacher, Betty Towle. Also, in third grade his first portrait was confiscated proving he wasn’t given the right of freedom expression. In seventh grade he later learnt that the white girl he kissed was raped by her foster-parent father. In addition, in eighth grade white girls were bulimic as well as anorexic and he dealt with his father’s hangovers constantly. Alexie was also stereotyped in ninth grade and in tenth grade Wally Jim Killed himself. This proves that throughout his experiences the author had to deal with very serious topics.
Two Questions:
1) Why did Sherman Alexie state “It’s a good day to die, it’s a good day to die”?
2) Why did he kiss the white girl if in the end he knew it would go against the morals of his tribe?
One Opinion:
1) I thought Sherman Alexie did an outstanding job making the reader pounder. Although as an author his statements are rather subtle I enjoyed reading his responses because it made me think what he was trying to get across to the reader. I found myself looking forward to reading the last line of each paragraph because that’s where his creative writing is most easily seen. I am also excited to read his novel because I truly enjoy figuring out the deeper meaning behind his writing.
3 observations:
ReplyDelete-Alexie back in first grade was bullied by other Indian boys. They pushed him down and made his life a living hell until Alexie stood up for himself and whacked Frenchy in the face.
-In second grade, Alexie had a teacher by the name of Betty Towle. She had red hair and was so ugly according to Alexie
-In seventh grade he kissed a white girl in the basement of a HUD house. The Indian people didn't speak with him after in disgust to what he did.
2 Questions:
Why was the white girl on the reservation anyways?
why in first grade did the other Indian boys pick on him?
1 Opinion:
I like Alexie's form of writing. To me its a different type that i haven't seen before and reading it today in class gets me excited to read more articles,passages,short stories about him.
Three Observations:
ReplyDelete1) Sherman Alexie likes to end each section with one main statement that really drive his point home and leaves the reader thinking.
2) He uses humor when talking about his struggles and the hardships he faced growing up rather than trying to make people feel bad for Native Americans. He just wants to tell his story not pity his culture.
3) He likes to use contrast in his writing and jump around which keeps his writing from being repetative or from losing the readers interest.
Two Questions:
1) Do people in the U.S. still discriminate Native Americans as much as they did in the past?
2) Why has the U.S. continued to grow and change so much while conditions on the reservations have stayed the same?
One Opinion:
1) I believe that the way Sherman Alexie shares his story is admirable. He tells it in a way that shows strength instead of making Native Americans seem weak and helpless. His style of writing shows that no matter what you've been through, you'll make it as long as you have a positive outlook.
3 Observations:
ReplyDelete-I noticed how he goes about mentioning different events and characteristics of him and such from his past. I find it interesting how he mentions one thing and then goes on to the next without even explaining the story behind it. I'm guessing that the author wants us to interpret the story behind the things he mentions so then we, as readers, can keep our minds thinking and focused in on his past so we continue to want to read more of the past.
-I noticed how Alexi mentions a lot of negatives to a past, more than positives and doesn't defend himself. He gives a statement of what happened but gives a lack of context to that statement.
-I also noticed how he went about using figurative language when he mentioned time. When he mentions "after that, no one spoke to me for another five hundred years later," I find it interesting how he mentions such a wide time period longer than anybody's lifespan, normally it's a figure of speech to show exaggeration but it seemed placed in their a little too suddenly.
2 Questions:
-Why did he get into a relationship with someone outside of his culture, "white girl," as the author puts it, especially if he knew it wouldn't be culturally and morally right to his people or family?
-I noticed how he writes some of the grades in the present tense like they are happening as he's writing the story even though he's talking about the past, why does he do that, is that his writing style?
1 Opinion:
-I liked this short story. His past was quite interesting, though I feel really bad for the way he and his culture have been treated. I find it awful that the Native Americans were treated so poorly and differently than the whites which I find unfair. I like how he wrote the story and how in some grades he mentions dialog that he remembers or paraphrases and in other grades he mentions bits and pieces of events that took place. The way he organized his writing per grade I find unique and interesting.
3 Observations:
ReplyDelete1-The vocabulary he uses is very deep and meaningful towards his memories. He tells the story of how it happened.
2-He also uses contrasting details in his writing.
3-Reading the article, I realized that he didn't write as much about happy memories and more about sad or hurtful memories.
2 Questions:
1-Why was a white girl on the reservation?
2-Why are Native Americans treated so badly? What did they do to deserve the bad treatment?
1 Observation:
I liked how into his writing he got. It was really interesting and really pulled the reader in to read more. The little blurps about his memories were very interesting and were never boring. So far, I really like his writing.
Observations:
ReplyDelete1. He uses lines at the end of the paragraphs that have a deep meaning.
2.He uses simple writing. The words that he uses can be understood easily.
3. In his writings he always writes about the bad, not about the good.
2 Questions:
1. Why were Native Americans mistreated?
2. Did the Native Americans talk to the government about the mistreatment of Natives?
1 Opinion: I like the way he writes. When I read I don't like reading giant masses of things they call paragraphs. I like to read something that is short, simple, and to the point.
3 Observations
ReplyDeleteI noticed that Sherman Alexie writes different than a lot of other readers that I have read from.
-One is if he is saying something that he believes is important for the reader to know especially about what it means to be an Indian, he puts it into italics.
-Another observation I made is that in all of his memories from each grade, the majority of them are either him being sad or extremely mad over something, typically about discrimination.
-The last observation is that he takes pride in his culture and race but wants people to stop with the hate and even the little things such as naming a team the “Indians”
2 Questions
-Did Indians have the option and chance to live in a better environment, instead of in the reservations ghettos?
-Were there any all Indian schools that he could have gone to?
1 Opinion
-I think that what he had to go through was upsetting and unfair, but there is worse bullying and discrimination that goes on. He should be able to have any belief that he wants and no teacher should hold a kid against that. I believe what he grew up through made him into what he is today.
3 Observations
ReplyDelete1. I observed that, Sherman Alexie gets straight to the point in his writing. In Indian Education, Alexie writes about specific events that occur during each of the years he attends school.
2. I observed that, a lot of the time at the end of most of the paragraphs (at the end of talking about each grade) Alexie would write a thoughtful, memorable statement that kept you thinking about what he really meant by it.
3. I observed that, during most of the grades Alexie wrote about he was being made fun of some sort of way, whether it was by other Native American boys, or by an offensive school mascot.
2 Questions
1. I have pretty much the same questions as most of my peers; why did Alexie get kicked off the reservation for kissing the white girl, who also lived on the reservation? Why was the white girl living on the reservation with the Native Americans? Since it was HUD housing that meant that anyone could live there correct?
2. Why was the missionary teacher teaching on the reservation? Could she not get a job anywhere else? Also what was her problems with Native Americans, why was she so disrespectful to them?
1 Opinion
1. I liked this reading (short story?) by Sherman Alexie. I thought it was nice to get a view of someone else going up in a different environment and attending school. Even though Alexie had many negative experiences in school it was inspiring to hear how even though he didn’t have a positive educational experience, he still is successful.
Technical
Observations:
ReplyDelete1. He uses simple writing and doesn't really employ advance vocabulary or complex diction.
2. He adds a lot of humor to his writing even during dramatical moments.
3. Most of the time he describes how weak he was compared to everybody else, and the many times he got picked on by other kids.
Questions:
1. Why are Native Americans stereotyped to be violent alcoholics or drug addicts?
2. In the beginning of early colonization there was a large population of Native Americans, why is it that now they only make 3% of the US population?
Opinion:
The book so far is very good and comical and I'm enjoying reading it. The book has some weird pictures and lots of funny moments making the story fun to read. Though comical the book is also able to maintain the malevolent mood of the reservation camps, which embraces the true point of the story. The story has two very opposing tones, but Alexie is somehow able to conjoin the two to a good story. So overall the book is an interesting read.
3 observations:
ReplyDelete-Sherman Alexie used a lot of comedy to cover the serious undertones of issues like drug abuse and racism. For example, he contrasted his basketball future with his cousin’s drug abuse problems. He never elaborates on this issue because he wants the readers to make their own assumptions and interpretation of that text.
--I thought that he simply stated a lot of issues and sort of strung them together so that the reader could have to decipher the point of his reading. He talks about a lot of his memories in quick flashes with no explanation but a lot of the themes such as poverty and racism continue to be seen throughout each story.
-Sherman Alexie states his vocabulary in ways that are easy to read and the text isn’t that difficult to understand, but paying attention to the subtext is essential in getting a true understanding of the story.
2 questions:
-Why is it that the Native Americans in his reservation are so poor?
-Pertaining to Native American poverty, I had always thought that Native Americans got free college tuitions, so why is it that so few seem to go?
1 opinion
I thought this reading was intriguing because it had a lot of insights on Native Americans in the present day. I am familiar with reading about Native American discrimination in the 17th century but knowing that it exists today is terrible. I am interested in seeing what Sherman Alexie does to overcome these stereotypes and get away from the poor life of his reservation.