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Alexie’s use of a series of short, simple sentences was very effective. Each simple sentence gives you a different insight to his personality and beliefs, and all of the simple sentences flow and create a stronger and stronger point at you read on.

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It blew my mind away when I was able to realize the parallelism between his life and the superman comic book. It introduced me to a form of writing that I have not encountered before.

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I loved Alexie’s use of repetition with the phrase “I read” in the 7th paragraph. By doing this, the author is able to delineate the different types of texts that influenced his life and establish ethos as a great reader. It also opens up the range of the audience who will relate to his writing as Alexis lists all sorts of genres of texts and sources of reading opportunities.

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I really thought it hit hard when Alexie stared,” I loved those books, but I also knew that love had only one purpose: I was trying to save my life.” (Second to last paragraph)

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I think Alexie’s most powerful rhetoric was his repetition of the words “I read” in paragraph 7. This was effective because it shows how passionate Alexie was about reading by emphasizing how much of it he did.

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In the seventh paragraph, I thought it was very interesting how the author utilized the phrase “I read” 13 times throughout this section of the text. The use of these two words repetitively really put an emphasis on how the author would read all the time, regardless of where or what time it is.

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Using the “door” as a way to compare himself to Superman
Using repetition in the 7th paragraph to emphasize his love for books and in the future, contrast it to how books can save other peoples’ lives

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One of the most interesting things Alexie did was using paragraphs to describe life. He wrote that after he started reading and understand the content he saw how everything could be seen as paragraphs. This shows readers that not only did he see that paragraphs were chunks of content in books, but they could be used to look at life. Each person is their own paragraph with their own details of their life. I shows how reading was so important to Alexie that integral pieces of books also bled into life. Everything he did was related to reading in some way.

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The most effective diction Alexie used was the first and secondary mentions of “breaking down the door”. This connects his resistance to the low expectations of the reservation children and their literacy with his current work to educate Native American children. As he taught himself to read, it is implied that he began to think of himself as superman. “I pretend to read the words and say aloud, ‘I am breaking down the door’.” He thinks of himself as a somewhat exceptional child. After describing his current career as a writer and working to teach Native American children, he states, “I throw my weight against their locked doors,” thus reiterating the idea of a “door” or obstacles in the way of making progress.

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Alexie expertly used repetition in the latter part of the writing. His large emphasis on reading books as a way to differentiate himself also created a contrast between his past self and the kids in his reservation that were too insecure about the Native American stereotypes

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The author effectively uses parallels throughout his writing. Such as, the superman breaking through the door example, which effectively reconnects his story to his message in the text.

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Alexie's utilization of circular storytelling is effective. He introduces at th beginning of his piece the scene with Superman breaking down a door. When we're reading that paragraph, we just view it as Alexie describing to the reader how he learned to read. However, at the end of the piece, Alexie calls our attention to the apathetic behaviour of students towards reading and how he's trying to break down their door and expose them to the importance of literature. When we reach that point of the piece, "breaking down the door" is elevated from the shallow meaning we inferred it to have earlier in the piece. Alexie has symnbolized himself as Superman breaking down the door and saving these apathetic students. What he introduces at the beginning is revitalized at the end, providing a new meaning to a simple phrase.

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Alexie using the metaphor to compare the will to learn to the door was a clever stylistic choice. I overlooked the meaning of the door when I first read the personal essay, but as I was answering the questions, the door became a significant detail to Alexie’s call to action to teach.

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I liked how his story is told through many paragraphs. Giving that contrast and imagery of how he sees things in life as a paragraph. One part of his life was explained then on to another paragraph showing how things go and come. Change and change.

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The most powerful use of rhetoric is Alexie’s listing technique in paragraph 7. By restating the verb “read” 14 times, Alexie shows that he was deeply consumed by reading as a child. As stated, Alexie read everything from novels to cereal boxes.This contrast strongly emphasizes his love for all types of literature.

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I really enjoyed how alexis put a bold contrast between paragraph 7 and 8 but was also able to relate them together. (I vs. They)

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I thought that he parallel structure that he used was a very strong rhetoric. As well as how the words “I read” in the second to last paragraph put emphasis about his passion for reading and show how strong his will to learn is.

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To me, the most effective rhetoric Alexie used was the parallel structure at the end of the last two paragraphs. Alexie states, “I was trying to save my life... I am trying to save our lives.” Not only does his use of parallelism show that the author is caring for himself and others, but it builds up pathos as he’s trying to motivate these children to not conform to the Indian’s classic status quo. These two sentences are extremely impactful because they truly show how much books/literature changed Alexie’s life and how he’s fully committed to aiding future generations. Sherman Alexie is his own superman to these children.

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His most effective rhetoric came from his imagery and his emphasis. He covers all the bases of the environment where he was raised and then goes more in-depth on the life-defining hobby of reading, describing how media permeated through his house and life.
His emphasis and repetition makes it easy to see the purpose of each paragraph, as he goes from growing up to books to his endeavors. He is always enforcing his points with everything he says in each paragraph, strengthening the rhetoric.

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The rhetoric I thought was the most effective was the parallel to superman towards the end of the last paragraph. Alexie learned to read by seeing superman break down doors in the comics, and now he is trying to be superman to his kids by breaking down their resistance to reading i.e their door.

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The repetition in the seventh paragraph really emphasizes the effect that reading had on Alexie’s life. By repeating “I read...” in the beginning of each sentence, he showed that he really did read everything and that without doing so, he would not be the same individual he is today. He also emphasizes how reading saves his life by giving him the ability to think and understand, which was something most of the Native Americans around him did not have. In this paragraph, he also shows how he depended on books for enjoyment and life, referring to his reading as “...equal parts joy and desperation.”

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Alexie’s most effective technique in his writing was using similar sentences with a few different words when talking about saving people. By initially stating that, “I was trying to save my life,” he was able to show the influence that reading had on his life and how it helped him survive in the emotionally suffocating environment that he lived in. Later, when he changes a few words and says, “I am trying to save our lives,” he is able to show the readers that reading not only impacted his life but can impact others’ lives as well. By doing this, he expands the importance of reading.

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I really enjoyed how he would emphasize himself first and then move that focus onto the little Native American boy because throughout the article, I began forgetting that he was really Native American. With the change in voice, it was good to see how much he wants the audience to break free from societal standards of race and become what you want to be.

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I loved the fact that throughout the first page, Alexie goes from a first person perspective to a third person point of view in the last paragraph on the first page. It’s almost as if he’s trying to grasp a wider audience by using “he,” showing that we’re all susceptible to being afraid to stand out on some level.

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Alexie’s Most effective writing technique was his use of reoccurring themes such as the parallel with Superman in the beginning and conclusion and the metaphor of the closed door. By incorporating this rhetoric style, Alexis is able to bring together his essay into a well incorporated piece.