Preview

Sherman Alexie: A Hero's Identity?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
213 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sherman Alexie: A Hero's Identity?
In the Moyers interview of Sherman Alexie numerous things stood out to me, that I have never known about or never looked at in a certain way. The biggest of which is the signing of a paper ordering the death of 38 Indians by Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is widely known as one of the best presidents in the history of the U.S. and that he never did anything wrong. This impossible however for a human being, but his signature on the paper was contradicting what he was supporting to gain more rights for everyone. This was covered up from most Americans however because of the maybe damaging a hero's identity. The Natives never did not know about this, as Alexie says in the interview that they always knew about executions and were usually afraid of them.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Annie Sullivan and George Washington are both remarkable and incredible heroes. Annie and George are both considered being heroes because they are great people that help a lot of people. These heroes have the same traits, but they used them in different ways. They did this by leading and teaching people when they needed help. George Washington and Annie Sullivan are really fascinating individuals that help a lot of different people.…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not” (Dr.Seuss, The lorax). In The Fourth of July by Audre Lorde and The Joy of Reading and Writing : Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, both protagonists are treated as outcasts and have their unique selves suppressed by society, but continue to question why their identities are being taken away. Sherman Alexie and Audre Lorde both undergo the merciless cruelty that is racism, and discover they must actively fight against it, which presents the opportunity for change.…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sherman Alexie is a modern day warrior in the excerpt, “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie. Sherman Alexie is a warrior because he doesn't give up. He would have easily dropped out of high school but instead he endured the difficult process of acquiring a diploma while many of his classmates only got buy with a certificate of completion. Also, Sherman Alexie is a warrior because he always kept calm. There were plenty of opportunities for Sherman to retaliate and fight back when dealing with unfair and frustrating situations but he always kept his cool and never lashed out. This makes him a strong person with good values. Lastly, Sherman Alexie is a modern day warrior because he has good survival skills. He was able to adapt to they way things were and the way people behaved.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After reviewing the photographs of the tactics use by General Sherman throughout the Civil War, I have come to the conclusion that nowadays his approach can be seen as excessive and immoral; however, during a time of war, such tactics might have been necessary to culminate the conflict. Moreover, in my opinion, General Sherman conviction to end the war led him to employ a technique known as the “scorched earth tactics;” such strategy can be utilized to break the enemy’s economy and wage psychological warfare on the enemy’s population. By widespread of destruction of civilian infrastructure left behind by General Sherman and the consumption of supplies in South Carolina and Georgia was an effort to stop, demoralize and deplete the Confederate…

    • 143 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The relationship between the Americans and the Native Americans had been tumultuous for some time. The Americans insisted on recklessly encroaching on Indian land and the Indians were forced to defend it. The Rocky Mountain Fur Company’s fur traders were licensed to trade only to do trade with the Indians, but they set out to trap and hunt instead. What they didn’t realize was that two Indians had been killed just a few weeks prior in a skirmish with the Missouri Fur Company and the situation in the area was hostile. For years, the Indians had only known tense relationships with the white men and the death of two of their own created a tense environment for the new Rocky Mountain Fur Company. When General Ashley and his men arrived, they believed…

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    After reviewing Stratford Sherman Eight Steps toward Integrity, it has different components of business ethics that businesses can use as a basic guideline. The Eight Steps toward Integrity include: doing what we say we will do, doing the right thing, taking responsibility, supporting our own weight, holistic thinking, checking the mirror, defining the rules and values. The first step is doing what we say we will do which “includes keeping promises and meeting deadlines… —and often, tough negotiation—prior to making commitments.” (Stratford Sherman). Doing the right thing includes being aware of what’s right and performing the right actions. This also includes accepting the consequences. Taking responsibility is simply taking responsibility for your actions. Supporting your own weight “means functioning as a whole.” (Stratford Sherman). Holistic thinking is “an appreciation of wholeness in the world supports its practice.” (Stratford Sherman). Checking the mirror is taking the time to do an honest review of you or as Sherman said pause for reflection. Defining the rules and values is simply rules about the basics that can be applied to almost anything from couples to organizations.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Alarmed by the Ghost Dance Influence on Sioux reservations, Indian Bureau agents requested military assistance”(Infobase Learning). Their values and beliefs included practicing the Ghost Dance and not following the ways of the normal white man. When the government saw that this was happening they immediately sent over troops. “ On December 15, 1890, reservation police tried to arrest Sitting Bull who they believed was a Ghost Dancer, and ended up killing him , increasing the tension ,and anger at Pine Ridge” (Wounded Knee, History.com). The police were sent to do the job of arresting the leaders and instead they got the wrong guy ,and killed him. Arresting the Indian leader was bad enough because they had no reason to and instead he ended up dead. Even if this was on accident they still have a right to be angry. There was a battle between the two sides before this and the United States lost. At the time the Indian people were not doing anything that went directly towards the United States government or soldiers in a bad way. This was not fair because they simply took advantage over them like they were nothing and did not have the right for their own values and beliefs. They were sent there to decrease tension for themselves and the outcome was increasing the tension for the…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the author allows readers to create a vivid image of the lives of the Spokane Indians by using teen language, humor and irony because it allows the readers to face serious issues in an enjoyable way. Junior makes the readers understand the way he lives in his reservation full of poverty and alcoholism and goes to the outside world filled with people discriminating against him. Alexie, using Junior’s humor and teen language makes these tragedies seem less awful and to address the alcoholism surrounding him.…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One of the ironies of the Civil War era and the end of slavery in the United States has always been that the man who played the role of the Great Emancipator was so hugely mistrusted and so energetically vilified by the party of abolition. Abraham Lincoln, whatever his larger reputation as the liberator of two million black slaves, has never entirely shaken off the imputation that he was something of a half-heart about it. "There is a counter-legend of Lincoln," acknowledges historian Stephen B. Oates, "one shared ironically enough by many white southerners and certain black Americans of our time" who are convinced that Lincoln never intended to abolish slavery--that he "was a bigot...a white racist who championed segregation, opposed civil and political rights for black people" and "wanted them all thrown out of the country." That reputation is still linked to the 19th-century denunciations of Lincoln issued by the abolitionist vanguard.…

    • 5760 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    If a Native American wanted to stop to bury a friend or relative along the journey, they would be shot by a soldier. The soldier’s had a total disregard for the proper treatment of the Native Americans and only had one motive, to keep them moving to the designated “Indian Territory.” The General that was in charge of the Trail of Tears was Winfield…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Knowing that we are getting our history from either the white man or the remains of a person of that time period to one is a shame, it makes one feel that these cultures must have had something perfect that scared the white man, because they didn’t waste much time getting rid of anybody that had knowledge about the land prior to the invasion. They also didn’t mind teaching the young Indians to what they believed was the proper way to live. Of course this was only possibly if the Indians were captured and left over after a big battle.…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “I loved those books, but I also knew that love had only one purpose. I was trying to save my life” –S. Alexie. Faced with an alcoholic father, fears of being rejected, and instability, Sherman found his happiness in reading books. At an early age he watched as his father collected multiple books and literature he could get his hands on just so he could read. Alexie quickly adapted to what his father was doing and eventually started reading as well. “My father loved books, and since I loved my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well.”…

    • 552 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States has definitely succeeded in tarnishing and corrupting the Native American culture, as evident in Sherman Alexie’s poem, “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel”. One researcher records that, “The poem is a painful reminder of how the United States has at one and the same time decimated native peoples and their culture while exploiting those people and that culture for its own gain.” I most definitely agree with this statement. Alexie’s poem, “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel” demonstrates the degradation and abuse of his culture and people through stereotyping.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Century of Dishonor

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Helen Hunt Jackson was a woman who became an activist who stood up for Native Americans and their rights. She displayed her concerns by writing novels and short stories. A Century of Dishonor is one of Jackson’s most well knows articles. This document seems as though its intention was to question the government s’ rules and regulations that concerned Native Americans. She challenged polices that were created and promises that were made by the government. She also provided documents such as birth and death certificates to prove the allegations that she made.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As John Burnett once said, “The trail of the exiles was a trail of death”. This perfectly describes the Trail of Tears- a journey in which 15,000 Cherokees were forced to walk about 1,000 miles in the harsh cold winter. The Trail of Tears was a horrifying event- full of hunger, diseases, exhaustion, and death. The seventh president of the United States of America, Andrew Jackson, was the cause of this brutal and heartbreaking journey. He forcibly transferred the Cherokees from their home on the Trail of Tears, was prejudiced and discriminated against the Native Americans, and was responsible for inhumane acts that caused suffering. Due to the events leading up to and during the Trail of Tears, Andrew Jackson is guilty of committing crimes…

    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays