The Narrative and How I Compare.

Sherman Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He grew up with his father, who loved to read. Since Alexie was a little boy his father would bring stacks of books home to read. Since his father loved books Alexie decided to love books too. He soon realized that most little Indian boys don’t teach themselves how to read and excel as an advanced reader as fast as he did. He started with superman comics at a young age and soon, over the years, he was reading novels. He knew that a smart Indian is a dangerous person. After many years of reading he became a writer. Despite all the books he read he was still surprised to become a writer. Alexie quoted “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky.” As a writer he writes mostly novels, short stories, and poems.  He still returns back to Indian villages and gives back by teaching creative writing to the children. Something that Alexie always stated through his journey of life was “I am trying to save our lives.”

I personally agree with everything that Alexie did. He was not forced to do what he did. Nearly all of the other Indian children were not on the same level as he was throughout his childhood. He chose his own path and decided on his own that he would excel as a reader and writer. With great determination he did what he set out to do from the day he started to read. I believe that this narrative compares to my life because in the process of becoming literate, much like Alexie had his father, I had my mother to help me from day one. She started me off on the right path from teaching me how to read and then told me the importance to being literate. My mother also set an example for me by going to college and pursuing a degree this relates to the narrative because Alexie’s dad sets an example for Alexie by bringing books home all the time. Overall, I compare to this narrative in many ways but none more than the pure example of determination.