Sherman Alexie

14 comments:

David A (Bennett) said...

I chose Sherman Alexie because he has a fairly modern style of writing that incorporates humor, sometimes crude in nature. Alexie writes about modern day Native Americans who commonly live on or near the Spokane Indian Reservation in Spokane, Washington. His literature is happy and funny, yet depressing and hopeless. The books I read by Sherman Alexie are Indian Killer, Ten Little Indians, and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Ten Little Indians and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven are collections of short stories, while Indian Killer is a novel. It was not difficult to see reoccurring themes that relate to each other in each of these books and the books were at a reasonable level of difficulty. Despite his humor, Alexie uses themes that are deep and thoughtful, which can especially be seen in Indian Killer. Other books by Sherman Alexie include Flight and Reservation Blues. I would definitely recommend Sherman Alexie as an author not just for this project but for free reading as well.

Jonah said...

Jonah (Brown)


I choose the Sherman Alexie because of his humorous, modern style of writing, which appealed to me at the time. His books are all about the struggle of Native Americans on the Spokane Indian reservation, which is located in Spokane, Washington. He also grew up on a reservation, which is where most of his stories come from. His writing is humorous and happy, with an underlying tone of despair and hopelessness, and these styles are all carried out through most all of his books. If you are interested in a dry sense of humor from your author I would not choose him. Although his books are repetitive and, at times, boring, this helps with the writing aspect of the paper and makes it much easier, which is why he is a good fit for this assignment.

I Read:
• Absolutely True Diaries of a Part Time Indian
• The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven
• Ten Little Indians

Tommy (Brown) said...

I chose Sherman Alexie because I read one his books, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian", and I loved it. He mixes modern, generally easy-to-read humor along with depressing Native American themes to create stories which are truly unique. His humor is what attracts people to his book, however, and his stories are certainly not for the faint of heart. There is a fair amount of vulgarity, but isn't that what makes life interesting? I certainly loved reading Alexie and I will recommend him to any down-to-earth person in a heartbeat. The one regret that I had throughout author thesis was that I only read short stories. Sure, there were wonderfully entertaining, hilarious, and unique, but when it came time to write pages upon pages connecting characters and themes, it was a challenge without having just one or two main characters to connect. I was forced to create an image of who Alexie was trying to portray throughout each story. I wasn't terribly hard, as a lot of his stories are similar, but it certainly was not easy. In the end, I loved reading Alexie, it was actually entertaining to read his novels, as I would almost always prefer to pick up one his books and just read a story than watch TV or play videogame, which can be hard these days. For that reason, I completely recommend Sherman Alexie for you author thesis.

Anonymous said...

Will (Dube)

I chose this author because i felt like he was the best person for me. his constant connections to current events make the paper fun to write. i also enjoyed his sense of humor although a little dark at some points. i reccomend reading flight because it was just exhilirating. if you like reading thrillers i also reccomend reading Indian Killer. i will caution you not to pick short stories because it is very stressful to cite each story individually and often difficult to keep track of them.
Sincerely,
Will Perry

Eunice Lee said...

Eunice (Dube)
I chose Sherman Alexie because his humorous style of writing and accessible languages. At the same time, his choice of words have deep meaning which you will find many quotes to analysis many different ideas. He writes about the lives of the Native Americans in the reservation. Many of the characters in his literature lives in poverty and devastating lives but he gives a message that they can improve their lives. If you want to balance yourself with short stories and novel, Alexie is the best author. I read The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Ten Little Indians, Indian Killer, and The Absolute True Diary of Part Time Indian. These short stories and novels have common theme that you will find easily. Hence, I strongly recommend Sherman Alexie for authore thesis but also for free reading.

Anonymous said...

Will V. (Cube)

Going in to the author thesis I thought that I was going to spend my whole spring writing. However, with help from my teacher, I was able to space everything out over the project well. I recommend starting as early as possible for your essay. For my author I choose Sherman Alexie based on a recommendation from another student. I read Indian Killer, Absolutley true diary of a part time Indian, Ten little Indians, and tonto and the Lone Ranger fistfight in heaven. I think Alexie is perfect for this project because it is relatively easy to find a reoccurring theme in his work, with plenty of supportive evidence. I definitely recommend Sherman Alexie , and I hope you well. Good luck

Anonymous said...

Brian Baker - Ms Dube
I chose Sherman Alexie because of his humorous books and connection to current issues. While researching authors, I saw that he wrote about Native Americans and saw that he was funny. I did not read any of his short stories, and recommend all of his novels. I do not recommend the book Reservation Blues. That book is very difficult to read and does not add too much to his message. I liked Indian Killer the best. If you want to read a very interesting book that is also a thriller, read Indian Killer. Writing an author thesis on Sherman Alexie was not too hard because of his recurring themes. While sometimes his stories can be depressing, others are very funny. If you are interested in modern Native Americans, Sherman Alexie is the perfect author because his stories were written very recently and they accurately portray many of the problems Native Americans face. I definitely recommend reading Sherman Alexie.

Kelly Min Crowley said...

I chose Sherman Alexie because his books are funny and pretty easy to read, but his characters are still complex. One of the difficulties of writing the paper is that a lot of his themes are clearly laid out, so it was difficult to choose an argument that did not use surface-level analysis. I read “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian”, “Reservation Blues”, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven”, and “Flight”. “Reservation Blues” was a little confusing at first because there’s a fair bit of magical realism but it ended up connecting really well with all of the others. Almost all the short stories and books I read followed the same themes, so it was really easy to find connections and evidence. Alexie also uses poignant phrases and beautiful lyricism, which is nice for close-reading quotes. I definitely recommend him.

Brandon Hauser said...

I chose Sherman Alexie because his books were humorous as well as fast-paced. The books I read were "Indian Killer", "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian", "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven", and Ten Little Indians". The book I found most interesting was "Ten Little Indians", which is a novel made from short stories. When it came to writing the paper, all of his stories connected very well, which was helpful, but books like "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" and "Indian Killer" all had very repetitive themes. Alexie does not exactly hide his themes and subjects, making writing the paper often sound like I was repeating exactly what Alexie said. However, the books connected very well, with some of the stories even having the same characters in them. Even though it felt slightly repetitive, it was easy to find evidence and connections among them. If I was doing the Author Thesis again, I would not chose Sherman Alexie again, just because I found that his themes were too on-surface, and it was difficult for me to go into in-depth analysis.

Anonymous said...

Ryon Yu
For the purposes of this paper, Sherman Alexie is for the most part, a pretty good choice. His style of writing is unique, and while it may be hard to recognize at first, it becomes apparent once you know what to look for. His books mainly address the current position of Native Americans in modern society, which most definitely draw from his own experiences, and some of the things he addresses in the book are vulgar subjects. Alexie addresses disturbing topics (rape, murder, mutilation, etc.), which is something you should consider when choosing this author. Nevertheless, others before who have read this say that Alexie's writing is funny, and I would certainly agree. If you choose this author, there's a certain humor Alexie writes with that you must pay attention to. The books I read were "Indian Killer", "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian", "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" and "Ten Little Indians". I would have to say, "Indian Killer" is a must read, not only because it was the most interesting (to me) in storyline, but because his themes are clearly shown in this book. Starting with this book is an excellent way to learn what reading Alexie's books means in terms of content as well as what his message is. The last thing I can say about the reading section is to choose his books carefully. Many of his books are collections of short stories, and they may be hard to connect, since they tackle so many themes. In terms of the writing, because Sherman Alexie presents a very clear message in his books, there are two things to consider. 1) As others have noted before, it's hard to go beyond the "surface-level analysis" because his messages are so apparent. 2) If during the writing process one manages to go beyond the obvious messages and decipher something new, the writing comes naturally from there. All in all, Sherman Alexie is an excellent choice for this paper.

Anonymous said...

Kendra Wagner (McCarthy)
I chose Sherman Alexie because his writing style really applied to me. He wrote with fairly straightforward language and incorporated humor and seriousness into his stories. I wasn't looking to read a huge book the size of Harry Potter but I also wasn't looking for a super short story also. Alexis books were less then 200 pages and they were a challenging yet entertaining read. He does an amazing job of encore rating historical facts about Native Americans and at the some time he adds something new to their image. Instead of him just writing a book of facts about the native people, he took their stories and their culture and talked about the real issues that a lot of their people face. I especially admired how honest the readings were. The characters could be funny and witty at times but also sad and lonely at others. I strongly recommend these books to people who are interested in diving into other people's culture and, through the eyes of native people, getting to see how they live and what they have to deal with as a community. Alexie leaves you with a lot of material to use in your essay as well. Finding quotes and breaking down the relationships and characters are fairly easy if you we paying attention. I really enjoyed sherman Alexis books and I would recommend him as a great author to follow for your paper.

Anonymous said...

I chose Sherman Alexie because I had read "An Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian" and loved it. It is my favorite book. I liked it because it gave me a sense of what it was like for Sherman Alexie to grow up on an Indian reservation. When I saw him on the list of authors we could do, I did some research on him. I found out that a lot of his books are located in the Spokane Indian Reservation and they mostly follow different characters that all grow up there. So I thought that his other books must be a lot like "An Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian". I read "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" and "Flight". Both books followed Native Americans throughout struggles in their lives. I was very pleased because I find those categories very interesting. I thought it was good to read because it gave me a perspective on some peoples struggles with money and alcoholism. Many similar themes show up in his books which makes it a lot easier to write the essay. I would definitely suggest Sherman Alexie for an author.

Jeannie Ruffley said...

I chose Sherman Alexie because I was interested in learning about American Indian culture from a modern perspective. I enjoyed reading and writing about Alexie immensely, as all of his books provide insights into American Indian culture in the modern day. I read Ten Little Indians, Indian Killer, Tonto and the Lone Ranger Fistfight in Heaven, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I thought all of my books connected very well. The themes that spanned the books are very apparent and made writing the paper interesting. All of his novels feature a Spokane Indian who must deal with their heritage in the present day. Much of Alexie’s writing very honest and raw, which I found to be portrayed very beautifully. Students should be sure to pick an author whose novels they would enjoy reading and writing about, and I hope that they will consider Sherman Alexie.

Unknown said...

Max Hano (Masterangelo)

I chose Sherman Alexie because I heard many recommendations to choose him. The people that recommended him to me were completely right. His style of writing made it easy to read and understand while keeping it interesting. Alexie uses humor, cultural stereotypes, and other themes involved. The two books that I read were "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" and "Reservation Blues". His books were interesting and showed the struggle of being a Native American throughout the stories. Alexie really focused on how Native Americans are viewed as lesser in society, and how they aren't given the same amount of opportunity. I enjoyed reading his books, felt very comfortable writing about them, and I recommend Sherman Alexie.

American Author Thesis

Now that you have written your essay, we ask that you reflect on the reading portion of the experience and write 100-150 words about your author.

Think of what you write as advice for someone next year and beyond, someone who (like you were doing last fall) is thinking about choosing your author - and maybe even the same three books - to read for the assignment.