Zachary Borromeo
English 4 AP
Ms. Bottoms
Period 2

Reading and writing is one major necessity needed in life today. For Sherman Alexie, reading was something that would save his life. In his story, Alexie writes about his experiences as a poor Indian boy growing up in America with a fascination for literature. Later in his life as a successful writer, he goes on to teach kids that were just like him, trying to save their lives.
This conveys the theme of the story by portraying ones thirst for success and how it can affect others around them.
Sherman Alexie began his literary experience by picking his father's books, which at the time he could not understand. Although, he started to understand the concept of a paragraph and how they were related to his life. Alexie then went on to teach himself how to read.
Indian students had an expectation in society: "We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid". But that wasn't the case for him. He literally read everything he could, with one goal in his mind, to save his life. Hence, "I was trying to save my life". This quote shows Alexie's thirst for knowledge, his refusal to fail, and demonstrates what led to his success.
At an older age teaching creative writing to schools, he sees the strive for knowledge in the young Indian kids that he once had. "They are trying to save their lives", he writes. He can see it in their eyes. They write their own poems and stories, and read books. These kids will go far in life, unlike the others that have