Essay Summary
The essay, titled “Superman and Me”, is a narrative account of the author’s early struggles with reading and how he eventually conquered the challenge. Consequently, it can be argued that the author depends on the narrative to push the agenda of the essay forward.
The main argument of the essay, it seems, is to demonstrate the impact of reading on one’s comprehension in writing later on in life.
The author seems to underline the argument that early exposure to reading is good for children as it assists them in not only understanding English but also developing a deep interest and commitment to harness further skills that can lead to a career in writing.
From the reading, it is clear that the author uses historical experiences to develop the main argument. In one of the paragraphs, the author says that “my father loved books, and since I loved my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well.”
This sentence, in my view, demonstrates how early experiences can shape an individual’s desire to read and comprehend the English language.
Lastly, the author supports the central argument of the essay by relying on narrative accounts of his exposure to books before he could even read, and of his experiences with Superman comic book and other reading materials to develop a deep interest in reading.
In yet another sentence, the author suggests that “I can remember picking my father’s books before I could read. The words themselves were mostly foreign, but I still remember the exact moment when I first understood with sudden clarity, the purpose of a paragraph.”
The author also appreciably demonstrates how resilience and a good measure of arrogance assisted him to overcome the stereotypes associated with American Indians; that they could not read.
Response Section
This essay is an eye-opener for children and adult learners who may want to develop their reading expertise and comprehension of the English language.
The bottom-line in this particular essay, in my view, is that early exposure to books and other reading materials assists children to not only develop an interest in reading but also sharpen their skills in the English language.
It can be argued that the supporting content used by the author is effective to the extent that it demonstrates how the author was exposed to reading materials early in life, and how this exposure assisted him to understand the basic tenets of the English language (e.g., sentence and paragraph construction) and reading.
The author was initially drawn into books by his love for his father, who happened to enjoy reading books. Upon exposure, the author developed a deep interest in books and struggled to comprehend the structuring using Superman comic books until he could read and relate to issues.
The author also avidly demonstrates how interest and commitment can assist individuals to learn and polish their skills in English.
The points presented in the essay are valid. In one of the supporting sentences, the author says: “I read books late into the night until I could barely keep my eyes open. I read books at recess, then during lunch and in the few minutes left after I had finished my classroom assignments.”
This assertion illustrates that those who have passion, commitment and exposure to reading content are more likely to have mastery of the subject than those who don’t have these attributes.
The attributes, in my view, assisted the author to reach and surpass expectations that an Indian boy can have mastery of the English language and even become a writer.
It is agreeable that the mentioned attributes (early exposure, passion, commitment, interest, resiliency and a good measure of arrogance) can assist individuals to learn English even though the subject may not be native to them.
The inverse is also correct – that those who fail to develop the mentioned attributes (e.g., author’s classmates of Indian origin who believed they were destined to fail) may never have the opportunity to develop mastery of the subject.
Undeniably, the arguments advanced in the essay are relevant to modern social phenomena. Most students who go to study in the United States, for example, are not natives and hence may have difficulties using the English language.
However, upon exposure to reading content and materials, those with a deep interest and are committed to learning the language will definitely overcome the challenge and learn to read and write in English. This may not be the case for those with no interest, passion or commitment.
Lastly, it can be said that the content of this particular essay relates directly to my own quest to learn English and other foreign languages.
Since English is not my native language, I have continued to expose myself to a multiplicity of content to develop superior understanding of the subject, and also to nurture my writing skills.
When I wanted to learn some foreign languages, I came to realize that content exposure, passion, commitment, interest development, and resiliency were critical success factors.