Superman and Me Sherman Alexie 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. I cannot remember the plot, nor the means by which I obtained the comic book. What I can remember is this: I was 3 years old, a Spokane Indian boy living with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern Washington state. 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. I had a brother and three sisters. We lived on a combination of irregular paychecks, hope, fear and government surplus food. My father, who is one of the few Indians who went to Catholic school on purpose, was an avid reader of westerns, spy thrillers, murder mysteries, gangster epics, basketball player biographies and anything else he could find. 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. In a fit of unemployment-inspired creative energy, my father built a set of bookshelves and soon filled them with a random assortment of books about the Kennedy assassination, Watergate, the Vietnam War and the entire 23-book series of the Apache westerns. My father loved books, and since I loved my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well. I can remember picking up my father's books before I could read. The words themselves were mostly foreign, but I still remember the exact moment when I first understood, with a sudden clarity, the purpose of a paragraph. I didn't have the vocabulary to say "paragraph," but I realized that a paragraph was a fence that held words. The words inside a paragraph worked together for a common purpose. They had some specific reason for being inside the same fence. This knowledge delighted me. I began to think of everything in terms of paragraphs. Our reservation was a small paragraph within the United States. My family's house was a paragraph, distinct from the other paragraphs of the LeBrets to the north, the Fords to our south and the Tribal School to the west. Inside our house, each family member existed as a separate paragraph but still had genetics and common experiences to link us. 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. At the same time I was seeing the world in paragraphs, I also picked up that Superman comic book. Each panel, complete with picture, dialogue and narrative was a three-dimensional p.

1. Superman and Me
Sherman Alexie
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. I cannot remember the plot, nor
the means by which I
obtained the comic book. What I can remember is this: I was 3
years old, a Spokane
Indian boy living with his family on the Spokane Indian
Reservation in eastern
Washington state. 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. I had a brother and three sisters. We lived
on a combination of
irregular paychecks, hope, fear and government surplus food.
My father, who is one of the few Indians who went to Catholic
school on purpose,

2. was an avid reader of westerns, spy thrillers, murder mysteries,
gangster epics,
basketball player biographies and anything else he could find.
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. In a fit of
unemployment-inspired creative
energy, my father built a set of bookshelves and soon filled
them with a random
assortment of books about the Kennedy assassination,
Watergate, the Vietnam War and
the entire 23-book series of the Apache westerns. My father
loved books, and since I
loved my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love
books as well.
I can remember picking up my father's books before I could
read. The words
themselves were mostly foreign, but I still remember the exact
moment when I first

3. understood, with a sudden clarity, the purpose of a paragraph. I
didn't have the
vocabulary to say "paragraph," but I realized that a paragraph
was a fence that held
words. The words inside a paragraph worked together for a
common purpose. They had
some specific reason for being inside the same fence. This
knowledge delighted me. I
began to think of everything in terms of paragraphs. Our
reservation was a small
paragraph within the United States. My family's house was a
paragraph, distinct from the
other paragraphs of the LeBrets to the north, the Fords to our
south and the Tribal
School to the west. Inside our house, each family member
existed as a separate
paragraph but still had genetics and common experiences to link
us. 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.

4. At the same time I was seeing the world in paragraphs, I also
picked up that
Superman comic book. Each panel, complete with picture,
dialogue and narrative was a
three-dimensional paragraph. In one panel, Superman breaks
through a door. His suit is
red, blue and yellow. The brown door shatters into many pieces.
I look at the narrative
above the picture. I cannot read the words, but I assume it tells
me that "Superman is
breaking down the door." Aloud, I pretend to read the words and
say, "Superman is
breaking down the door." Words, dialogue, also float out of
Superman's mouth. Because
he is breaking down the door, I assume he says, "I am breaking
down the door." Once
again, I pretend to read the words and say aloud, "I am breaking
down the door" In this
way, I learned to read.
This might be an interesting story all by itself. A little Indian
boy teaches himself
to read at an early age and advances quickly. He reads "Grapes
of Wrath" in
kindergarten when other children are struggling through "Dick

5. and Jane." If he'd been
anything but an Indian boy living on the reservation, he might
have been called a
prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is
simply an oddity. He
grows into a man who often speaks of his childhood in the
third-person, as if it will
somehow dull the pain and make him sound more modest about
his talents.
A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and
ridiculed by Indians and
non-Indians alike. I fought with my classmates on a daily basis.
They wanted me to stay
quiet when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers, for
volunteers, for help. We were
Indian children who were expected to be stupid. Most lived up
to those expectations
inside the classroom but subverted them on the outside. They
struggled with basic
reading in school but could remember how to sing a few dozen
powwow songs. They
were monosyllabic in front of their non-Indian teachers but
could tell complicated stories
and jokes at the dinner table. They submissively ducked their

6. heads when confronted by
a non-Indian adult but would slug it out with the Indian bully
who was 10 years older. As
Indian children, we were expected to fail in the non-Indian
world. Those who failed were
ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied
by non-Indians.
I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky. I
read books late into
the night, until I could barely keep my eyes open. I read books
at recess, then during
lunch, and in the few minutes left after I had finished my
classroom assignments. I read
books in the car when my family traveled to powwows or
basketball games. In shopping
malls, I ran to the bookstores and read bits and pieces of as
many books as I could. I
read the books my father brought home from the pawnshops and
secondhand. I read the
books I borrowed from the library. I read the backs of cereal
boxes. I read the
newspaper. I read the bulletins posted on the walls of the
school, the clinic, the tribal

7. offices, the post office. I read junk mail. I read auto-repair
manuals. I read magazines. I
read anything that had words and paragraphs. I read with equal
parts joy and
desperation. I loved those books, but I also knew that love had
only one purpose. I was
trying to save my life.
Despite all the books I read, I am still surprised I became a
writer. I was going to
be a pediatrician. These days, I write novels, short stories, and
poems. I visit schools
and teach creative writing to Indian kids. In all my years in the
reservation school
system, I was never taught how to write poetry, short stories or
novels. I was certainly
never taught that Indians wrote poetry, short stories and novels.
Writing was something
beyond Indians. I cannot recall a single time that a guest teacher
visited the reservation.
There must have been visiting teachers. Who were they? Where
are they now? Do they
exist? I visit the schools as often as possible. The Indian kids
crowd the classroom.

8. Many are writing their own poems, short stories and novels.
They have read my books.
They have read many other books. They look at me with bright
eyes and arrogant
wonder. They are trying to save their lives. Then there are the
sullen and already
defeated Indian kids who sit in the back rows and ignore me
with theatrical precision.
The pages of their notebooks are empty. They carry neither
pencil nor pen. They stare
out the window. They refuse and resist. "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.
4
English 1020: Freshman Composition
Research Paper: Researching a Trend or an Issue in your Major
or Minor
General Information
· Due Date: Last official day of class Saturday, Nov. 30 @
11:59pm due in dropbox by 11:59pm. I will not accept late
assignments (see below). Plan accordingly.
· Research Requirements: Five (5) sources, three (3) of which

9. must be scholarly and peer-reviewed. See below.
· Length:at least 1000 words and no more than 1200 words. Yes,
shorter and longer papers will be penalized! Please adhere to
the word count.
· Questions: Please email me or post to the Discussion Café
area.
· Follow MLA. No works cited page=loss of at least a letter
grade
· This assignment worth 200 points. See syllabus.
Directions
Research and evaluate a current trend or issue in your projected
profession. (If you are undecided, use “college student” as your
profession.)
What does this trend or issues tell you about the state of your
profession? What contributions need to be made to the field to
improve it? Who is affected by this? How does this determine
your job outlook? Do you know anyone in the profession
already? What made you pick this major? What have you
learned about your major thus far?
Example of a trend: A few years ago, in the field of English it
was a trend to specialize in Rhetoric/Comp. Many people
declared it as a specialty, which caused the job market to
change. As a result, there were too many Ph.D.s graduating with
this specialty and not enough jobs; therefore, many recent Ph.D.
graduates were finding themselves teaching part time, which
offered little pay, no benefits, and having to work at several
colleges/universities just to make ends meet.
Example of an issue: The field of social work has a high burn-
out rate. Why is that? What makes/causes people burn out? Are
there any solutions (both short-term and long-term)? What have
professionals who are working in the field tried to do to avoid
burnout? How do college courses address this issue when
preparing future social workers?
Make sure that you can clearly distinguish between a trend and
an issue. Your introduction to your paper should establish this
point, so your reader knows exactly what you are going to

10. address in the body of your paper. While you could use a
dictionary to define the words trend and/or issue, it will not
count as one of your sources; however, you must include it on
your works cited page.
Research Requirements:
You must use at least five outside sources. These five sources
must consist of:
· Two sources. These can be web sites, on-line databases, CD-
ROMs, etc., but can also be interviews with a professional
colleague, pamphlets, press releases, etc. They may also be
books, journal articles, newspaper articles, magazine articles, or
any other print source.
· At least three peer-reviewed sources. "Peer-reviewed" means
written and vetted by scholars and professionals, usually in the
field to which the journal is dedicated. These will probably
coincide with your print sources. Many databases allow you to
limit your search to peer-reviewed sources. Each source must
be cited at least one time in your paper. I will be looking for
that. I will also look closely at your Works Cited page to make
sure you followed MLA and properly cited your sources.
· Since I will be looking at your sources (both in-text
documentation and your Works Cited page), I expect to see your
in-text documentation match what’s on your Works Cited page.
If they don’t match, then you risk receiving a low grade for this
assignment, which can cause you to fail the assignment. If you
list a source on your Works Cited page, then you should have it
cited somewhere in your paper. If you cite a source in your
paper, then you should have an entry for it on your Works Cited
page. To emphasize: I will be checking for this.
Papers that do not fulfill the research requirements will be
penalized severely and may result in a failing grade for the
assignment and/or the class.
Things to Remember as You Write:
1. Do your own work! Plagiarized papers will receive a ZERO.

11. Papers that merely cut and paste work from your sources, but
are correctly documented (including citations, quotation marks,
and a works cited page), will receive an "F." Papers that
paraphrase badly will receive an “F” if correctly documented
(including citations, quotation marks, and works cited) and will
receive a ZERO if not correctly documented.
2. If you did a similar assignment for another class, you cannot
reuse it. You should consider using your minor for this paper if
you already wrote one on your major. Doing so is self-
plagiarism and you will fail this assignment, which can (and
probably will) result in failing this course. See me if you have
any questions or concerns. If you would like to use the research
you cited for a previous assignment, see me and we will discuss
it.
3. Focus! Have a thesis and build around it. The purpose of the
paper is to make an argument about a trend or issue, not merely
to report on it.
4. Use your research to support your thesis. Papers that simply
summarize sources will receive an "F." Use the research to back
up your own arguments and conclusions, not to fill space.
Padding your paper will earn a low grade. You must cite from
your sources. You have to use each source at least one time.
5. Organize your thoughts. The paper should not be a random
collection of news about your profession. Make sense of the
information. Connect it to your thesis, and organize your
research and argument accordingly. For example: In the field of
social work, there is an issue of a high burnout out rate which
can be attributed to extended work weeks with few days off,
hospitals being under staffed, and the number of cases an
individual is assigned increases their daily workload. After that
sentence (the last sentence in your introduction), then your body
paragraphs will support your points.
6. The assignment asks you to evaluate an issue in your
profession. Why you want to pursue the profession is irrelevant.
However, you may want to include a brief (and I mean brief)
narrative in your introduction that offers the reader some insight

12. as to why you’ve chosen this profession.
7. Give evidence to support your arguments. Use the research.
Do more research if necessary and narrow it down to just 5
sources! And always, always, tell your readers what the
evidence means!
8. Document your sources properly. One of the goals of this
assignment is to teach you to do proper academic citation.
Papers which don't cite properly will be penalized heavily and /
or receive an "F." You can use a citation engine such as
Easybib.com but you still must know how to use it correctly. It
will help you cite your sources, but you must know what type of
source you have. See me for questions.
9. Revise your work! It won't come out right the first time. I
guarantee it, so plan accordingly.
10. Use proper grammar and spelling. You’re graded on that,
too. See the reminders for papers handout under content.
11. Proofread! Proofread! Proofread! Proofreading mistakes can
make your writing difficult to understand and give the
impression that the writer is unprofessional.
12. I suggest making an appointment with the Writing Center
(see syllabus for information) and/or submitting your paper to
Tutor Me via eLearn for suggestions.
13. Although you are using sources for this paper, make sure
you don’t over use the sources. I do not want to see papers with
90% source material and 10% original material. Your paper
should be 90% of your own words/thoughts and 10% from
sources. Having too much source material will significantly
effect your final grade for this paper.
14. Remember that even if you paraphrase or summarize your
source material, you still must cite it.
Submitting Your Paper
1. Electronic copies must be submitted in Word format (.doc or

13. .docx) or in Rich Text Format (.rtf).
1. See the syllabus for policies about submitting your work and
penalties for late papers.
1. Since this assignment is due on the last official day of class,
no late papers will be accepted. No exceptions. I am strict about
this deadline because I have to get this assignment graded in a
timely manner. Please plan accordingly and use your time
wisely.
1. Don’t wait until the day before it is due to reach out to me
with questions because there may not be time for me to get you
an answer. Plan accordingly.
1. If you have any questions, email me.
Argument Analysis Prompt:
The argument analysis will be written on one of the following
essays:
1) The White Album (excerpt).
2) Superman and Me
3) Write Till You Drop
4) Poetry and Consciousness (PDF)
5) Lost in Translation
6) Coming to an Awareness of Language
7) Psychoanalysis and Politics (PDF)
8) Reflections on Racism (PDF)
9) Fictions of the Soul [Only with advance permission] (PDF)
If an essay is used that is not listed above, your essay will
automatically receive a 0; so, pay attention
to the list above and do not deviate from it. Do not use the same

14. essay you wrote your argument
description on. Do not replicate or otherwise reproduce the
same idea we talk about in class; your
idea may be similar, but your essay should not feel like it was
taken from class conversation alone.
Form:
Introduction—
Begin your essay with a thesis statement that identifies a
central concern or central concerns
you have regarding the essay's argument. (For example: By
arguing ____, the author, ___, of ___,
creates the illusion that ____ is the case; this illusion, however,
is founded on such ambiguous
assumptions as ____, ____, ____, and ____.)1 Use stasis theory
(page 8 from the UNT section of
the textbook) to introduce the author's argument and the ethical
problem around which it centers.
Following, what should be, an incisive and thorough
contemplation on the argument's and ethical
problem's foundation, you will introduce a specific solution you
are proposing for the ethical
problem; this solution may be an extension or counterpoint to
the author's original idea. Do not,
however, simply borrow their idea and make a slight
adjustment—such will be seen as intellectual
laziness. The solution must be your own idea.
Body paragraphs—
c sentence that makes a
claim. Spend time ensuring the
claim is able to produce a paragraph with the possibility of
profound ideas (ones that
have depth to explore). This will prevent you from rambling or

15. repeating an
ineffective concept in different words throughout the
paragraph.
—a new
claim equals a new paragraph.
with each other to elicit a
feeling of moving deeper into an ideologic pool.
analyzing
1 Note, this is not an official or required formula. I am merely
providing it for you to reflect on a possible way to
structure you thesis or reflect on the text in relation to your
assignment.
your topics sentence
makes. Topic sentence claims should also keep your essay's
thesis in mind.
possible countervails to your claim, when
appropriate, then interact with
them.

16. concluding sentence of
your paragraph.
Conclusion—
The conclusion will be the place where you restate and expand
upon your proposed solution
for the ethical problem. This paragraph should be a detailed
reflection on the solution you propose.
I do not want to see offhanded or easily retrieved ideas for your
solution. Take time to think
critically about what you have learned by writing the rest of the
essay and use those discoveries to
develop an effective and incisive solution. Do not use the
conclusion to restate the ideas you have
already presented. Every sentence in an essay should be
introducing novel ideas, not
regurgitating/recycling what has already been introduced. You
may wish to consider applying some
of the techniques from stasis theory when developing your
solution, namely: definition and quality.
Some elements to remember/consider when writing:
• I will be grading this essay more rigorously than I graded the
argument description. To help you,
I have provided a much more thorough formula for writing
successfully. The rest is up to you.
• (If you forget what an ethical problem is, refer to UNT 6-7.)
• I urge you to make use of the Writing Center while drafting
this. Please begin writing soon—this
assignment is worth a significant portion of your final grade. I
do not want any of you to be
negatively impacted because you procrastinated. Even writing a

17. few sentences a day is a good
idea.
• After revision of global concerns, please proofread.
• Do not use the word "you" when writing this essay. I am
expecting you will adhere to formal
academic conventions when writing this essay. If you do not
know what these are, please see me
or the Writing Center. You may sparingly make use of "I," but it
should be for a reason.
• Do not use external sources. You should only engage with the
text you are analyzing.
For submission, parameters:
o Typed, double-spaced, proper MLA header, 12-point font
(Garamond or Times New
Roman).
o Staple your printed copy when submitting.
o Have an informative title. Do not use "Argument Analysis" or
the title of the essay you are
analyzing.
o Minimum word count: 1,300; maximum word count: 1,500. Do
not write outside of this
range.
o Have a thesis.
o Focus on the ethical problem at hand in the essay you are
analyzing. Do not write
tangentially.
o Submit a digital copy before class and a physical copy at the

18. beginning of class. Late
submissions, which include those that only submit one medium,
will lose one letter grade
each day the essay is late—this included the day it is due, if I
do not receive the essay by the
beginning of our class period.