Finding Power Through Words: Lessons from Sherman Alexie

When I first read Sherman Alexie’s “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” I didn’t expect a story about a childhood comic book to carry so much weight. At first glance, it’s about learning to read. But the essay is really about something deeper. It's how literacy gave Alexie a way to resist the expectations others placed on him. It matters because it shows that reading and writing can be acts of agency, identity, and liberation.

Reading to listen means tuning in to how Alexie tells his story. Not just what he says. His identity as a Native American writer underlies much of the narrative. He isn’t merely describing a learning journey, he’s pushing back against a stereotype, speaking against the notion that “Indian children” are destined to fail. When Alexie writes, “I was trying to save my life,” he’s using strong, deliberate language. His choice of phrasing reveals urgency, struggle, and hope. There’s an implicit message: reading was more than a skill, it was survival.

What stands out is how Alexie turns reading into something powerful, more than just sitting down with a book. For HIM, literacy wasn’t just about learning; it was about survival, finding who he was, and changing his world. Reading that made me think about my own experiences, when writing or reading felt like more than an assignment, it felt like a way to speak up and take back my voice.

Sherman Alexie’s “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” reminds us that reading is not neutral. It can be a mirror, a hammer, or a shield. Through personal storytelling, metaphor, and rhythm, Alexie transforms a childhood memory into a call: that words have power, identity matters, and education is never just academic. In my own life, I want to treat reading and writing not just as tasks, but as ways to explore, resist, and define who I am.