All authors have a unique way of writing; Sherman Alexie is no exception. Alexie is an American-Indian writer who focuses his work on just that, the experiences of being American-Indian. "Unfortunately, Sherman Alexie's ironic narrators know too much of Indian history" (Oates 1). Critics provide insight into Alexie's vision for the future of Indian writers, reflections on his writing, and experiences as an American-Indian writer.
             "'I've sort of been struggling with this idea, what does Indian literature mean? If Indian literature can't be read by the average 12-year-old kid living on the reservation, what the hell good is it?'" (Purdy 3). Sherman Alexie, born on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington, grew up loving literature; "learned to read by age three, and devoured novels, such as John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, by age five" (Official Sherman Alexie). While still a habitual reader, Alexie changed his career aspirations from being a doctor, after he "fainted three times in human anatomy class" at Washington State University (Official Sherman Alexie). He has since become a much respected author.
             When asked in an interview about how to "how to take them [students] back to the book, to the story itself" (Purdy 4), Alexie said this:
             "Most of our Indian literature is written by people whose lives are nothing like the Indians they're writing about. There's a lot of people pretending to be 'traditional,' all these academic professors living in university towns, who rarely spend time on a reservation, writing all these 'traditional' books." (Purdy 4)
             Alexie then, commenting on how he feels he writes, says "I'm not [traditional]" (Purdy 4). During the interview with Purdy, he was asked about if he puts insider jokes in his writing Alexie says: "Yeah, I load my books...