Alexie and Baca Analysis
Both articles “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie and “Coming into Language” by Jimmy Santiago Baca explore the importance of language and knowledge by writing firsthand accounts of how it aided them in life. The articles use rhetoric devices such as pathos, logos, purpose and audience to enhance their story and make it more understandable for the reader. To begin, the narrative “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie describes how he, an Indian child, lived on the Spokane Indian Reservation and how he taught himself how to read. Teaching himself to read ultimately led him to saving his life and trying to save other Indian kids lives as well. The purpose of the narrative is to inform others that learning how to read helped the author fight his way out of the stereotype of being “stupid” just because he was an Indian boy. For example, in the text it states, “They wanted me to stay quiet when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers, for volunteer, for help. We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid” (Alexie 2). This detail directly shows that Indian kids were looked down upon and were seen as inferior to non-Indians.
In addition, the audience are individuals the writer is trying to reach or speak to. The audience of “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie are Indians living on a reservation. Along with, the middle class and individuals who were looked upon as an “oddity”. These individuals are held back by or held to a standard from a social norm. Social norms dictate the behavior of certain members in the society. For example, this is addressed in Sherman Alexie’s narrative, when some Indian students lived up to the expectations inside the classroom as being “stupid”. Furthermore, the narrative used pathos which is an appeal to emotion. The emotion the narrative appeals to is determination and hope. For instance, the article states, “I refuse to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky.” These emotions are derived from the diction used throughout the narrative and from the actions of the writer himself. The writers need to break away from the social norm and to not conform to the society’s rules expresses determination throughout the narrative. Sherman Alexie found a way to break free and that was by learning how to read.
The next narrative, “Coming into Language” by Jimmy Santiago Baca, has rhetorical devices such as purpose, logos and pathos. The purpose of the narrative was to inform readers of the importance in learning language and how it personally brought him back to life, when he was going through a life altering situation. For example, in the text it states, “Writing bridged my divided life of prisoner and free man,” which directly supports the fact that learning how to write is what helped keep him sane while he was an imprisoned man. The knowledge the writer gained helped him express himself in ways he only dreamt of. It made everything much more realistic for him as he was no longer feeling “humiliated from being unable to express” himself. The narrative also used logos as another rhetoric device. Logos is appeal to credibility. The author is a credible source to write about his reflections from the Albuquerque County Jail and Arizona State Prison since he had a firsthand experience. Lastly, the author appealed to emotion though pathos. The emotion that he appealed to was emptiness and hope. The author endured many hardships which were life altering, “I had stepped over that line where a human being has lost more than he can bear, where the pain is too intense, and he knows he is changed forever…I was empty”. Jimmy Santiago Baca relied on poetry and language to tell his story and to save himself from being lost forever.
Both of these essays resonated with me due to the intensity of both writers’ situations and the resolution of learning language. Learning how to read is what saved both of the authors and it demonstrates the importance of language overall. The lost, humiliating feeling Jimmy Santiago Baca faced when he didn’t know how to express himself to others, rightfully depicts how an individual may feel if they didn’t know language. The passion Sherman Alexie had resonated with me personally. Sherman Alexie knew his only way out of the stereotype of being inferior to non-Indians, was by learning how to read. He was then able to stand up for himself through the use of knowledge. He accepted his challenges, found a solution and now that he is older, he is trying to help free others that were just like him. He is trying to free other Indian kids who live on reservations and are trapped. A memorable quote for me has to be from “Coming into Language” by Jimmy Santiago Baca, when it states, “And for the first time, the child in me who had witnessed and endured unspeakable terrors cried out not just in impotent despair, but with the power of language.” This quote is the most memorable to me because it demonstrates the reality that language has power. It makes me appreciate being able to express my thoughts and feelings. Since, this is a writing and language course, this quote has much significance to the class and the work I will be doing because it focuses on the influence and capacity individuals have if they know and understand language.
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