I was a controversial figure on my reservation when I was a kid. I was mouthy and opinionated and arrogant. Nothing has changed.
Interpretation
Sherman Alexie reflects on his unapologetic nature and the controversy it created during his childhood, suggesting that such traits are intrinsic to his identity.
This quote from Sherman Alexie reveals his self-awareness regarding his personality traits and the way they were perceived by others in his community. He candidly admits to being a 'controversial figure,' highlighting characteristics such as being 'mouthy,' 'opinionated,' and 'arrogant,' which he has not outgrown. This implies that these traits are not just part of his past but are fundamental aspects of who he is, illustrating a theme of authenticity and the complexities of personal identity in the face of societal expectations.
In practice
During a panel discussion on diverse identities, this quote could illustrate the importance of being true to oneself despite external judgments.
Gordie, the white boy genius, gave me this book by a Russian dude named Tolstoy, who wrote, 'Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.' Well, I hate to argue with a Russian genius, but Tolstoy didn't know Indians, and he didn't know that all Indian families are unhappy for the same exact reasons: the frikkin' booze.
My wife was the first romantic partner who understood both American and native parts of me - not so much the positive stuff, but the damage.
I draw because words are too unpredictable. I draw because words are too limited. If you speak and write in English, or Spanish, or Chinese, or any other language, then only a certain percentage of human beings will get your meaning. But when you draw a picture everybody can understand it. If I draw a cartoon of a flower, then every man, woman, and child in the world can look at it and say, "That's a flower.
We all have to find our own ways to say good-bye.
I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing everyday and epic dangers. I don't write to protect them. It's far too late for that. I write to give them weapons-in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed.
A lot of people have no idea that right now Y.A. (young adult). is the Garden of Eden of literature.
The good traveler has the gift of surprise.
Just as King Midas turned everything to gold, Stalin turned everything to mediocrity.
Time is not a thing, thus nothing which is, and yet it remains constant in its passing away without being something temporal like the beings in time.
We cannot let our angels go; we do not see that they only go out that archangels may come in.
The Christian - the biblical - concept of mercy toward wrongdoers only exists in relation to justice. Showing mercy, in relation to wrongdoing, means treating someone better than they deserve.
At the bottom no one in life can help anyone else in life; this one experiences over and over in every conflict and every perplexity: that one is alone. That isn't as bad as it may first appear; and again it is the best thing in life that each should have everything in himself; his fate, his future, his whole expanse and world.
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