Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie and Essay

Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie and "One Writer's Beginning" by Eudora Welty

These two stories compare modern writers' accounts of their childhood and how they learned to read. Sherman Alexie is a popular writer who has had an exceptional career. He is a preeminent Native American poet, novelist, performer and filmmaker. He has garnered high praise for his poems and short stories of contemporary Native American reservation life. Eudora Welty has also had an exceptional career for her short stories and novels about the American South that has resulted in countless awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Both of these authors developed an exceptional love of language early in life that later became their life's work. It is fascinating to read about their stories which provide insights as to how a natural talent can be further honed into a successful career that touches millions of lives.

Discussion

Sherman Alexie accounts for his learning to read through the use of a Superman comic book. "I learned to read with a Superman comic book. Simple enough, I suppose. I cannot recall which particular Superman comic book I read, nor can I remember which villain he fought in that issue" he mentions (Alexie).He remembers how he associated the pictures with trying to explain what Superman was doing in the frame. His desire to begin reading from an early age could be attributed to his genetics, his environment, or most likely a combination of both.

Alexie's father was an avid reader who would read books on a variety of different subjects. As he recalls about his father (Alexie):

"He bought his books by the pound at Dutch's Pawn Shop, Goodwill, Salvation Army and Value Village. When he had extra money, he bought new novels at supermarkets, convenience stores and hospital gift shops. Our house was filled with books. They were stacked in crazy piles in the bathroom, bedrooms and living room."

Eudora Welty had a similar environment in home as a child. She recalls that there were books nearly everywhere in the house (Welty):

"Besides the bookcase in the livingroom, which was always called "the library," there were the encyclopedia tables and dictionary stand under windows in our diningroom. Here to help us grow up arguing around the diningroom table were the Unabridged Webster, the Columbia Encyclopedia,….....