Superman and Me Summary
In the short story “Superman and Me”, Sherman Alexie narrates how he first learned to read. He was a Spokane Indian boy living in a middle-class family on the Spokane Indian Reservations in the eastern Washington state. Books were very accessible to him since his father was an enthusiast reader. His father got books from where ever he got his hands on. There were so many books at one point in his house that one could find books even in the bathroom of their house. When he first comes to learn about what a paragraph is, he turns it into a metaphor that he applies to every aspect of his life. Alexie explains that the first time he began to read something was when he held a Superman comic. He read the comic and as the pictures depicted some sort of action, he used his general knowledge as to what one would normally say when he/she is performing those actions and that’s how Sherman Alexie learned how to read. He was far ahead of the kids of his age. Perhaps, what annoyed Alexie the most and caused him to pursue a field in writing was because he wanted to change the norms of how Native Indians are perceived; most people think of them as stupid and backward in nature. As an effort to help to save the lives of the Indians, he made visits to the school at the reservation and helped children read and write.
Mother Tongue Summary
In the writing “Mother tongue,” Amy Tan talks about how the world perceives one differently if the language he/she uses is not understandable or, as she says, “broken.” Tan explains how the English she professionally use is so different than the English she grew up using at her house. Her mother was as Asian immigrant women who read all a variety of English readings daily, varying from scholarly articles to everyday magazines. But even then, her spoken English was considered “limited” or “fractured.” Most of her friends barely even understand a word Tan’s mother said. But what was astonishing to notice was that Tan understood her mother’s English. This is maybe because when you live with someone, you start to comprehend their “intent, passion, imagery, rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thought.” Anyways, apart from Tan, her mother’s English was not received welcomingly, in fact, most of the times she had to get involved and talk to the people on behalf of her. Tan refers to these instances as not only embarrassing but also detrimental to her learning of the English language. To break the norms that immigrants cannot be writers and to simplify the language used in literature, Tan decided to become a writer.
Response
Both of these readings are quite relatable to me as I am also an immigrant and face similar problems when it comes to distinguishing between the language spoken at home and outside. I also have to adjust to the stereotypes of the society where one is not served right or is looked down upon if he belongs to a non-English speaking country. And to make a resonating impact, I have to know what type of English I should use and where. More importantly, I have to learn the English that conforms to the conventions of the United States.