Superman and Me

     "Superman and Me" is a somewhat biographical essay about a young Indian boy who learned to read earlier than the expected age of a child. His teachers stereotyped him and did not expect much from a boy of his race. Others were truly amazed when he showed off his reading talents.
     The subject of this essay is the stereotyping of an Indian boy who teaches himself how to read. The occasion of the essay was in 1998 where it was published in the Los Angeles Times. The audience of the essay are schoolteachers and readers of the Los Angeles Times. The purpose of the essay is to inform. The speaker is Sherman Alexie. The tone of the essay is confident, encouraging, supportive, and positive.
     Using the SOAPST, the audience learns about the roots of the essay. The reader realizes what the purpose of the essay is. Alexie wrote this essay expecting to bring up a personal experience about stereotyping. Stereotyping is common among not only schoolteachers toward their students, but to people all around the world. Alexie presented how he broke that stereotype and encouraged other young Indians to do the same.
     The piece of literature is effective for the intended audience because it demonstrates how unnecessary stereotyping is not only to students, but people of all kinds. Stereotyping can be offensive to a race. One would not like to be called dumb simply because of their race. One would not like to be called hairy because they are of a specific race. This essay shows how the author broke stereotyping and encouraged his students to do the same.