Jake Bowen Prof Padgett ENGL 1101nglish 10/9/13 Title? What is success?

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, success has two definitions. The first definition is: the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame, and the second definition is: the correct or desired result of an attempt. What does this mean though? Those definitions could potentially mean two completely different things. You could be successful even if you're not wealthy it all depends on your personal definition of success. I believe success to be when you exceed all expectations. My definition of success is exactly what Sherman Alexie believes too. In his essay, The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me, it is obvious that Alexie believes that success is beating the odds and becoming something greater than what your background sets you up to be. One major example that shows Alexie's belief is the metaphor about superman breaking through the door. He directly compares himself to superman in that instance because Alexie is breaking through the expectations himself. He grew up in an Indian reservation and the educational system was terrible there. Basically nothing was expected of the students in a reservation so just about all the students would just give up on themselves. Even the teachers stopped caring and wouldnt try their best to inspire and teach the students. That is why it is so shocking that Alexie became a writer. Writing is a skill that requires so much creativity and it usually is not something you can teach yourself. It comes from a lot of practice and through trial and error. People learn most about writing when they have feedback from other peers and Alexie
Comment [AP3]: Good. I like the analysis of the metaphor here. Comment [AP2]: Okay, interesting. I like this specific argument here. Comment [AP1]: Whose expectations? Formatted: Centered

never got proper input on any of his writings. That is why it is so impressive that he still became a writer. It shows that no matter where you come from, if you work hard enough then you can be successful. In the second to last paragraph, Alexie included a series of short sentences to get his point across. In the sentences, he talked about how determined he was and how he got to where he is now. These sentences reinforced his moral of the essay because it showed how everyone is different. People go through life with a different attitude and belief than everyone else and that is what effects our future success comes from, not just our backgrounds. Alexie was proactive and read everything that he could and that is what made him become the writer he is today. He would get into arguments on a daily basis with his classmates because he was actually trying in school. They wanted him to stay quiet around non-Indian teachers because there was a big struggle between Indians and non-Indians at the time. To fit in with other Indians, the children would act really stupid around non-Indians and fail in school even though they weren't actually stupid. They were able to be fairly intelligent around Indians but would always hide it around nonIndians. That kind of background usually prevents success but Alexie was among the few that didn't let it affect his future. It is clear, throughout the essay, that Alexie believes himself to be a successful writer. He writes novels, short stories, poems, and he visits schools to teach creative writing classes when he never learned how to write any of that in the reservation school system. He attributes his success to the fact that he was so determined, he didn't let his surroundings control his future so he emerged on top. The definition of success, according to Alexie, is when someone defies all expectations and becomes something greater than who they are supposed to be. In this sense,
Comment [AP5]: How do you know? Can you be more specific? Comment [AP4]: I think using a direct quote here, as opposed to paraphrasing, is the best way to go since Im not sure exactly which part youre talking about.

Alexie was definitely successful when you look at what conditions he grew up in and what he became. Jake, I really like your thesis here. You redefine success in your own way and you spend the whole essay arguing for that particular thesis. I think, though, that you definition is a little limiting, though. Whose expectations are you exceeding? What if some one meets an expectation? Or what if the expectations are to be a wealthy businessman and then that person becomes a wealthy businessman? Would that hypothetical person be successful, according to your definition? I would like to see more specific analysis of the essay. I really like how you discuss the metaphor, but I need more discussion to adequately argue your point, but I need more of this kind of stuff. Use direct quotes as your evidence, otherwise I have trouble seeing exactly what you are attempting to interpret.