Cover Letter

Professor Albertson,
In writing this letter I would like to share with you the Rhetorical
Analysis I wrote on the story, Indian Education by Sherman Alexie. I was very
confused at the beginning of this writing assignment but I feel that after
researching what rhetorical meant, I was able to complete my essay. As with
my Summary and Response Analysis, my thesis needed to be stronger in this
essay as well. Taking the advice from one of my peer responses I rewrote the
thesis giving it more strength and meaning. I also took the same persons
advice and removed some of the back story about Sherman Alexie. The
response stated it was unneeded information. The part I kept was moved
towards the end of the paragraph so the main topic of my essay does not get
lost. Another peer response suggested that I look closely at the quotes I
used and make sure they were effective. In paragraph two I moved the
quote from McFarland to the beginning of the paragraph because it was
something that happened to Alexie as a baby. Since the story begins with
Alexie in the first grade it didnt make sense to put the quote after he had
already begun school. I felt though that each of my quotes pertained to what
I was writing about so I did not remove them or change them. The last thing
I did was take your advice and make my conclusion stronger so it doesnt just
end. I tried to give the reader a lasting impression about how adversities
make life hard but it is possible to overcome them. Hopefully my corrections
and changes help you enjoy reading my essay at an easier flow.

Sincerely,
Sheila Mace

Mace 1
Sheila A. Mace
Professor Shelly Albertson
English Composition ENGL111
07 October 2015
Rhetorical Analysis
Indian Education by Sherman Alexie
Author Sherman Alexie faced many adversities throughout his life as a
young Native American. Because the story Indian Education is about him and
what he overcame, I dont feel the story would have been as effective if told
by someone else. Sherman Alexie grew up on a Spokane Indian reservation
in Wellpinit, Washington. The reservation is also where he attended
elementary and middle school only to receive a subpar education. It wasnt
until Alexie decided to attend a white public high school that his education
chances improved. Alexie writes Indian Education from total life experience
and in a way that we can see it as if it were an inner body experience. Alexie
does not come right out and use words like discrimination, poverty, bullying,
suicide and eating disorder. He instead writes with the intention of making us
think about what he is saying and how it relates to adversity. The story is
written showing two issues; Sherman Alexies adversities and how the Native

American community as a whole, have faced the same adversities

throughout history. With this analysis I want to explain the reasoning and
purpose that Alexi chose to write this story in his voice and through his eyes.
I want to show through this essay how analyzing the authors writing style,
helps us as the reader clearly see his vision.

Mace 2
Author Sherman Alexies adversities actually started as just a new born
baby. He was born with hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and at six months
old he went through surgery
that was feared to have placed him at risk of mental retardation, Alexie
however survived to become a voracious reader early on. (McFarland, par.3).
Sherman Alexie in writing his short story Indian Education was able to catch
the readers attention by starting the very first paragraph through the eyes
of a first grader. For any child, their first days of school are the scariest and
to add bullying on top of that seemed unimaginable. Just from the very first
sentence All that first winter in school, the other Indian boys chased me
from one corner of the playground to the other, (Alexie, 1) we want to read
more to find out what the outcome is. Alexie proceeds with his story about
the education he received as a Native American on the reservation past first
grade and gives us an insight into each adversity at each grade. During

grades second through fourth Alexie shows us the struggles he faced with
discrimination by his teachers but also makes us aware that the struggle
continues even now, I stood alone in the corner, faced the wall, and waited
for the punishment to end. Im still waiting. (Alexie, 2). In grades fifth and
sixth he uses very descriptive words that almost makes it possible for the
reader to actually feel the same things he went through. The first time Alexie
ever picked up a basketball and shot for a basket he missed, yet he shows us
it was more than just about the sport, That ball in my hands, all those
possibilities and angles. It was mathematics geometry. It was beautiful.
(Alexie, 2).

Mace 3
At first glance of the title Indian Education, a reader would think it is
just about the authors education. While it is a short story, it succeeds at
giving readers a clear picture of the experiences he faced beyond the
education. Alexie shares with us in such vivid color it makes us as readers
want to keep reading even more. Unfortunately in life we are faced with loss
either through the tragedy of death or in other ways. Alexie is able gives us
two different cases in which he faced loss. He makes the reader very aware
of how it affected him alone but also how the Native American Indians are
constantly reminded of loss on a daily basis. In tenth grade he loses a friend

to suicide and while he didnt understand the reason his friend chose death,
he does understand the loss his people face continuously, When we look in
the mirror, see the history of our tribe in our eyes, taste the failure in the tap
water, and shake with old tears, we
understand completely. (Alexie, 5). In eleventh grade the second loss comes
during a basketball game because Alexie missed two free throws that could
have won the game. While the teams nickname was the Indians, Alexie
was the only Indian to play on the team. A newspaper article is released the
next day stating, INDIANS LOSE AGAIN (Alexie, 5) and by putting those
words in all capitols, it makes the reader be alert that just those three words
have a different meaning to Alexie, Go ahead and tell me none of this is
supposed to hurt me very much. (Alexie, 5).
This story is able to portray the hardships Alexie faced and overcame
but at the same time we are able to understand that the Native Americans
still yet continue to face these hardships in our todays world. Alexie takes
such great efforts to show the reader that although he was faced with
adversities in his life, he got back up time after time and was able to achieve

Mace 4
many accomplishments. When graduating high school Alexie states I walk
down the aisle, valedictorian of this farm town high school. I stand as the
school-board chairman recites my awards, accomplishments, and

scholarships. (Alexie, 5). Sherman Alexie has went even farther in life with
his writing abilities. Some readers prefer his poetry over his short stories and
novels. He has had several books of poetry published, including the limited
edition Dangerous Astronomy (2005). Alexie has also written screenplays for
two films drawn from his literary
work, Smoke Signals (1998) and The Business of Fancydancing (2002).
(McFarland, par.2). In 1991 James Kincaid hailed Alexie as one of the major
lyric voices of our time. (McFarland, par.3). Part of what makes Sherman
Alexie so popular and well known with his academic audiences and readers,
is his intertwining of pop culture elements with historical and literary illusion.
(McFarland, par.6). This is what I meant earlier when I stated in the first
paragraph, it was almost like an inner body experience.
Alexies way of bringing a reader through the different experiences and
adversities in this story is a very fine technique of keeping us as the readers,
interested and coming back for more to finish the entire story. The story
Indian Education shows that even though it is short and written in narrative
form, it can still have an intensive effect on us as the reader. Many of us for
whatever reason have been through our own adversities in life. Some of us
achieved success at overcoming them while others are still struggling. Alexie
makes it quite clear that throughout history and even in todays society,
unfortunately the same has to be said for the Native Americans. Sherman
Alexie is a prime example however of what life after adversity can be like.

Mace 5

Work Cited
McFarland, Ron. "Sherman Alexie." (n.d.): n. pag. Salem Press, June 2010.
Web.

Alexie, Sherman. "Indian Education." Atlantic Monthly Press

1993: 171-80. Web.