Comments by Nathaniel Belshan Most recent public comments by Nathaniel Belshan https://nowcomment.com/users/43525 What if Alexie had been white instead of Indian? Would that have changed how things played out in his narrative? Would he have been motivated without his struggles? Do you think that is was a good thing that he was ridiculed? https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077141 https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077141 Tue, 04 Sep 2018 09:55:14 -0400 What Alexie says https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077114 https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077114 In this paragraph Alexie is simply constructing a narrative of an Indian boy who taught himself to read, and how he was far ahead of even the non-Indians in the class. He talks about how it should have been incredible, and then reveals that it's simply a strange anomaly. He then closes the narrative by revealing that the little Indian boy is just himself, creating an auto-biographical story. Tue, 04 Sep 2018 09:52:12 -0400 Alexie's purpose of the paragraph https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077100 https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077100 Throughout the entire paragraph, Alexie is attempting to create an argument through his narrative. This argument being that because he is not white, he is not important. This is accomplished through the use of the word "might" at the beginning, setting up that something is wrong. He then repeats twice the idea that he is a "little Indain boy", and then in sentences three and four of this paragraph, he directly addresses this might, pointing out that he is an oddity. The modesty found throughout the paragraph also supports this idea that he's not important. Tue, 04 Sep 2018 09:49:47 -0400 The entire paragraph has a voice of pained modesty. From the purposely vague details, like his age, to the element of third person. This modesty all comes to a head at the end of the paragraph, where he directly addresses it, as it dulls his pain. https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077081 https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077081 Tue, 04 Sep 2018 09:45:15 -0400 Within this sentence the paragraph suddenly becomes an auto Biography. Looking at this paragraph in a vacuum, it's almost as if he's telling a story unrelated to him, because of the third person narrative. It creates an impact, and shows he is pained. https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077066 https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077066 Tue, 04 Sep 2018 09:41:49 -0400 The use of the word "might" in this paragraph sets up the conflict that is to be addressed, the word could also be replaced with "Should" However, because of the idea of modesty within the paragraph, he chooses the word "might", as it's less impactful. https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077053 https://nowcomment.com/documents/109226?scroll_to=1077053 Tue, 04 Sep 2018 09:39:18 -0400