The narrators of the two short nonfictional stories Sherman Alexie and Amy Tan describe similar situations regarding their upbringings, family, ethnicity, and most importantly, language. Given their backgrounds and aspirations, the two were bound to become extremely proficient in the English language as they show they are in the readings. In the reading Superman and Me, Alexie credits his adeptness and fascination with the English language and all the things accessible with a deep understanding of it to arrogance; arrogance that stemmed from being different and being outspoken about it. He is much more sympathetic to other Indian kids in school, as he once was a bright-eyed youngster that discovered his love of the language in a Superman issue. Tan, on the other hand, explores the communicative aspects of English, calling the different ways and manners in which she speaks to different people her “Englishes”. She also points out the implications of not being able to speak the language in an ordinary way, writing about her mother who was fluent in English in her own respect.
Automatically I can say I relate to Tan’s story much more than I can Alexie’s. My parents learned English after having to move here later in life, and don’t sound too convincing themselves. ‘Oh give it a break, what are they supposed to be, perfect, you miscreant son??’ No, no, no, at the very least they’re supposed to be able to talk to most people, which they can do just fine. And it’s not like there aren’t Korean communities, businesses, and churches all across New York, am I right? Speaking of which, coming from a Korean family, I might be expected to excel in my academics, with special attention towards STEM subjects; yet I always noticed I gravitated toward subjects such as history, music, English, and writing. Language’s ability to elicit different responses and emotions always intrigued me; and such curiosity led me to learn how to make people laugh, cry, sympathize, or how to piss people off or tease and flirt — you know, basic communication skills.