1. This sentence is an example of an asyndeton. It gives the effect of explaining a complicated matter in a short list form to create irony.
2. Sherman Alexie paints his father as an educated knowledge hungry man. The typical stereotype of an Indian is a person who is lazy and helplessly dumb; this is the opposite of his father and paints him as a role model for Alexie.
3. This analogy shows his very keen intellect at such a young age. I cannot recall learning what a paragraph was till at least 2nd grade. The fact that he was able to pick up on this gives the reader insight into what a smart child he was.
4. It shows the reader what a hard childhood he had. It couldn’t have been easy to be an Indian, and poor, and smart in a world that told him to be stupid.
5. He is making his life sound matter of fact and not an amazing tale. As if it was just something that happened to him.
6. This essay is divided into two parts to give the reader a chance to understand his situation more fully. He tells the circumstances then his story. By understanding the circumstances a reader is better able to understand his story.
7. He is giving the reader information so that they can understand where he is coming from. Both paragraphs use short choppy sentences to get their points across.
8. I believe the audience is different groups. Fist it is directed towards white people, by reading this they are able to understand where he is coming from and also understand the ways they suppressed Indians. I also believe it for children, and not just Indian children. It inspires them that no matter their situation they came make something of themselves and get out of the poverty hole they are in.
Discussion Questions 1&2
- I disagree with Francine’s statement. I believe passion for reading is traditionally established at a younger age when the parents read with their children. I do believe however that love for reading is lost in High school. The dry pieces that are required reading for High School Students can make reading seem mundane and completely obsolete.
- She is explaining how surfacely the teachers are presenting the books. They should be focusing on the book and now on the discussions on how experiences in the book have related to a students life.
Questions on Rhetoric and Style 1-3 6-9
- Prose uses four different personas to establish her ethos in this piece. The first is that of a parent of High School Children. From this role she takes on concern and interest into her child’s education. The second is a High School student, having been through many of these books and experiences she is able to relate to a student reader. The third is a researcher. She compiled and went through multiple reading lists and asked students about their experiences to get a grasp on the scale of her topic. Finally she established ethos through her jobs as an educator. She herself has taught college courses and has seen the loss of reading in her student’s lives
- I believe she starts out with this kind of language to make her opinion clear on the subject. I also sets the tone for this essay. I believe that a reasonable reader would keep on reading to fully understand her view even if they didn’t agree with her.
- She assumes that the students are willing to read and that they want to make an effort to read good literary works. She also assumes that they will make a difference in their lives and outlook. This is not always true some kids gain nothing from education and simply see it as something their parents make them do. Only a truly motivated teen will gain anything from these books.
- I do agree. The use of badly written works is hypocritical to the purpose of the teaching literature. If teaching proper English was the purpose using poorly written materials is a bad way of teaching.
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