Sherman Alexie's Personal Experience of Racism

Categories: Sherman Alexie

While in high school Sherman Alexie said he "dated a white girl whose father was really racist". The father once told her, "you shouldn't go on the rez if you're white because Indians have a lot of anger in their heart". This is constantly how Alexie was treated growing up. Alexie went through hard things in his life, including a rough childhood and a disorder called hydrocephalus. But, he is still a successful and very well known "writer, performer, and filmmaker".

Alexie was born October 7, 1966 in Spokane, Washington. He went through many challenging things as a young boy through teen years. Alexie grew up with an alcoholic father and an "emotionally distant" mother who was "especially hard on Alexie". Alexie had the worst of the worst.

In the article "Sherman Alexie" it says, "all the dark marks of reservation life were part of Alexie's childhood." Not only in his personal life but at school Alexie would be constantly made fun of because of the typical Indian stereotype at the school he went to.

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He lived with troubles and racism everyday. But, not only did Alexie go through these things daily he also lived with a disorder called hydrocephalus.Hydrocephalus is a disorder where a person has "too much fluid in the brain". This causes many things to happen to your body and your appearance, and Alexie had to live with this everyday. Alexie experienced "seizures until the age of seven". He also had a"stutter and a lisp" that caused him to be "an object of ridicule from other children.

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" His life at school definitely wasn't the best, as he was not only Indian in an extremely racist environment but his hydrocephalus caused him to have "a large head circumference." But, Alexie didn't have the symptom of "slow development." He was a genius yet was absolutely hated because of this. He said, "had my nose broken five times after school for being the smart kid." No matter how smart or how nice Alexie was to others he never got treated well.

Alexie survived all of these horrible things as a young child and adult and now has accomplished so much.Alexie has gone to college, won many awards, written and produced many movies and books, and has done and will do so many more things in his life. He attended Gonzaga University and Washington State University where he began to study writing and write. From these colleges and degrees he has written books like "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian" and co-produced the movie "Smoke Signals" along with many other things. Both these pieces and the other ones he has done have had a huge impact on the world. He also has spoken in many places and won many awards which have also had an impact on people's lives. Even through all his trial in his childhood and even adult he accomplished and done so many great things.No matter who it was, even if they didn't know him, Alexie was constantly being bullied or made fun of. But, despite growing up with a hard life, poverty, racism, and living with a disorder, Alexie has been extremely successful and accomplished many things in his life. Sherman Alexie has taught the world lessons about racism, stereotypes, and much more through the things he has done and accomplished.

Updated: Feb 22, 2024
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Sherman Alexie's Personal Experience of Racism. (2024, Feb 23). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/sherman-alexies-personal-experience-of-racism-essay

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