Ochieze 1 Jefter Ochieze Catanlina Bartlett English 104-501 25 Janurary 2012 "Superman and Me"

The article "Superman and Me" tells the story of The author, Sherman Alexie, as a child growing up in a poor Indian reservation. In the first paragraph, Sherman Alexie expresses the gravity of the poverty in the reservation by juxtaposing of standard of living of Indians and the average american. "We were poor by most standards, but one of my parents usually managed to find some minimum-wage job or another, which made us middle class by reservation standards". This quote shows how econmically inferiority is enforced my the status quo and expected by the Indian themselves. Because Sherman Alexie's family was "middle class", alot of things that a kid would want will grow up was left on the store shelfs. Luckily, through his father's passion, books were plentiful in his household. A superman comic book taught Sherman Alexie how to read. He learns how to read by "assum[ing]
it tells [h]e that "Superman is breaking down the door." Aloud, [he] pretend to read the words and say, "Superman is breaking down the door." He fell in love with reading just like his father and by Kindergarden he was reading Grapes of Wrath. He was a Genius hidden by stererotypes that his fellow Indian classmates wanted to keep going. Sherman was jeered for showing his intellect during classes which was taught by a white person. The other Indian tought by acting dumb in

class it would show loyalty to their race. Sherman didn't fall for that fallacy. Sherman realized that such acting was prevent the Indian people from exceeding intellectual as a people. Acting dumb was actually making the dumb. Sherman used his intellect and arogance to fight against the status quo with the only weapons he had, books. When he grew up, he became an successful writer and he would travel to reservation and pass on the love of books that his father passed on the him. Some kids where eagar to learn while other still try to enforce the poisonous stereotype. Sherman's response the later, he " throw [his] weight against their locked doors. The door holds." His trying to break down that steretypical door.

"I Kent" The poem "I Kent", written by Bryan Dietrich, portrays Clark Kent, the secret identity of superman, in a different light than the comic book writers have done in the past. First off, Clark Kent in the poem comes right off with an alienated statement "it isn't even my planet. I just work here". Superman in the comic is known for giving blood, sweat and tears to protect the planet Earth. This statement however shows that superman is doing this only because Clark Kent feels like he has to. "[He] kent" return home to his real planet becasue it was destroyed. He could just go to another foster planet but he realized that it might not be home but atleast I can make a living. In the comic, it express superman almost like some sort of deity but in this poem Clark Kent points out very humanistic characteristic that dims the former image of superman. "[N]erves of less than steel... [he] get[s] sleepapnia, hemorrhoids, runs in [his] tights". This reveals that even without the aid of Kryptonite, his weakness, phyiscally and mentually, are apparent as if any other human being. In the t.v. shows the show superman as a ever motivated agent against any form of tyranny. Like the energizer bunny, he keeps going

and going and going and going... Dietrich tells us that it gets old. "

Thermonuclear trust funds, Greenpeace for guns, heavy metal milk lobbyists None of it gets me wet the way it used to." Doing the same thing over and over again would make the coolest thing dull even to the point making "Gillgan's Island and late night horro flick medleys" more engaging. Some that reads this article my put a damper on the former image of superman they hold dear as a child, im the exception. I read this article and shows me how heroic and human superman is. How some day he just wants to "curl up in my cape [w]ith an old comic, an orange soda, a little Vivald" but he still goes out and saves the day so everybody can live. He said this isn't his home cuz he not human but he proved that humanity is by nuture not nature.