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Today, we will review our knowledge of claims by reading a great essay called, “Superman and Me” (http://www.umsl.edu/~alexanderjm/SupermanandMebyAlexie.pdf) by Sherman Alexie. This essay is filled with humor and powerful language that resonate with you as the reader. The rhetoric of the essay is particularly strong. It is important to understand rhetoric and how it is used to persuade us, as well as how we can use it to make our arguments stronger. When reading this essay, analyze key sections of the text and make connections to the overall claim. Afterward, you will participate in a group discussion and will discuss your own claims in an Inner and Outer Circle Discussion. Your English 11B Instructor will schedule a group discussion with you.
ASSIGNMENT 15: Prior to participating in the discussion, prepare yourself by completing the following:
Using the three-column chart below, (1) identify the main claims made throughout the essay and the order in which they appear; (2) identify specific phrases, sentences, or paragraphs that develop the claim of each section; and (3) identify the connections made between the claims of each section. Pay attention to the different subjects (reservation life, treatment of American Indians, and reading and writing). Determine a central idea of “Superman and Me” and assess whether Alexie’s evidence is relevant and sufficiently supports his claim. (RI.9-10.2, RI.9-10.8)
ASSIGNMENT 16: Inner and Outer Circle Discussion. In your discussion, reflect on these Alexie quotations from the essay to prompt your own views of growing up:
o “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.”
o “We lived on a combination of irregular paychecks, hope, fear, and government surplus food.”
o “My father loved books, and since I loved my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well.”
o “I didn’t have the vocabulary to say ‘paragraph,’ but I realized that a paragraph was a fence that held words.”
o “Now, using this logic, I can see my changed family as an essay of seven paragraphs: mother, father, older brother, the deceased sister, my younger twin sisters and our adopted little brother.”
o “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike.”
o “They look at me with bright eyes and arrogant wonder. They are trying to save their lives.”
o “Then there are the sullen and already defeated Indian kids who sit in the back rows and ignore me with theatrical precision.”
o “‘Books,’ I say to them. ‘Books,’ I say. I throw my weight against their locked doors. The door holds. I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I am trying to save our lives.”
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