Flight Patterns By Sherman Alexie - 1527 Words

In the short story Flight Patterns, Sherman Alexie describes how the protagonist, William, a Spokane Indian, struggles every day to escape the all too common stereotypes society places him under. This story takes place in Washington D.C. during the year after 9/11, which most likely justifies why racial profiling and stereotyping was extremely commonplace in the story around this time. It can be seen that Americans were brought closer together by this tragedy because they were banded by a common enemy who was not in fact American or even part of their culture at all, which made many, if not all Americans judgmental and paranoid against those who they considered to be of foreign descent or a threat to their safety. It is evident that throughout Flight Patterns, Alexie employs a variety of different scenarios to ultimately show his readers that racial profiling and stereotyping is way too common in our society although it shouldn’t be, and if people really took the time to get t o know one another, they d see that other people have substance and a story as well, and they re not just what they simply appear to be. Whether we like it or not, people stereotype and racially profile others every day without knowledge of who they are or what their background is, and this is part of the message Alexie was trying to get across in Flight Patterns. He wants his readers to know that this world isn t perfect, and that it can be seen that it is extremely commonplace in our societyShow MoreRelatedFlight Patterns By Sherman Alexie858 Words   |  4 PagesThe story â€Å"Flight Patterns† is a short story in which Sherman Alexie, the author, presents Native American literature which is new around this time in age. William Cline, the main character represents your stereotype native American. This story takes place post 9/11; therefore, the level of security has been increased greatly along with the amount of hostility towards darker skinned people. William describes how he feels out of place because he has all the traits of a native American but he feelsRead MoreAnalysis Of Flight Patterns By Sherman Alexie899 Words   |  4 Pagesas ethnic minorities. The quest for a reconciliation of multiple identities is at the heart of Sherman Alexie s short story, â€Å"Flight Patterns.† William Loman is a man struggling with his identity not only as a husband and father, but also as a member of the Spokane Nation, the American Nation, and greater humanity. In the New York Times article â€Å"Without Reservation,† Jess Row writes that Sherman Alexie â€Å"peoples his fiction with characters who refuse to disguise or compromise their Indianness,Read MoreProfiling Of Flight Patterns, By Sherman Alexie1518 Words   |  7 PagesThe Profiling of â€Å"Flight Patterns† Profiling people can cause a brick wall to be built between one another, a wall that cannot be easily knocked down. The bricks come down as the person doing the profiling sees beyond physical appearance. When the wall comes down a transparent window forms with a beautiful view. There is more to a person than their exterior, just like there is more to a room than walls. When profiling someone, people do not see past the brick wall; they build it higher and higherRead MoreProfiling By Sherman Alexie s Flight Patterns1458 Words   |  6 PagesProfiling causes people to become engulfed by other people s perceptions of who they are and becomes a conflict between racial heritage and human nature. Through the characters, setting, and tone of â€Å"Flight Patterns,† Sherman Alexie shows that profiling can lead to the misinterpretation of who someone is. Alexie shows a vivid picture of William, who is the main character of the story, he is a loving father, husband, and businessman who cares about his appearance; which means he cares about what peopleRead MoreIn-Depth Study and Comparison: Sherman Alexie’s Flight Pattern and Breaking and Entering864 Words   |  4 PagesIn-Depth Study and Comparison: Sherman Alexie’s â€Å"Flight Pattern† and â€Å"Breaking and Entering† Sherman Alexie is very well known for his takes on Native Americans in modern American society. His books and stories most often are inside thoughts of situations that are occurring or have already occurred. Two of his shorter stories highlight two very different situations but in a sense connect with another. â€Å"Flight Plan† and â€Å"Breaking and Entering,† although confronting Native American characters, revealRead MoreThe Impacts of the Taxi Drivers Story in Sherman Alexie’s Flight Patterns579 Words   |  2 Pagesstories were true. If Fekadu wasn’t describing his own pain and loneliness, then he might have been accidentally describing the pain of a real and lonely man†(65). This excerpt was pulled from Sherman Alexie’s â€Å"Flight Patterns†. Alexie, a Native American, is best known for his novels and short stories. â€Å"Flight Patterns† is one of Alexie’s more popular pieces. William, the main character, leads the restless life of an assiduous business man. Although he loves his family dearly, he is unable to spend sufficientRead MoreDo We See The Same Way That We Think?1312 Words   |  6 PagesI was inside anything. It was really something.† The narrator now understands that the blind man does not get the opportunity to ever see anything, so he figures he ought to try it out, overall truly amazing himself. Going further, Flight Patterns by Sherman Alexie brings out the pacing of the story to show the outer views, as well as the inner mind thoughts of humans. To be more specific, William, husband of Marie, and father to Grace is frequently away from home due to his busy job and hard-workingRead MoreThe Theme Of Revenge In Flight By Sherman Alexie1542 Words   |  7 PagesDo two wrongs ever make a right? Or as Zits, the main character of the novel Flight contemplates, â€Å"Is revenge a circle inside a circle inside a circle?† (77). In Flight, written by Sherman Alexie, the main character, a troubled Native American teenager named Zits travels through time and different bodies while learning about revenge, trauma, violence, forgiveness, family, and betrayal. All of these things pertain directly to Zits, and he uses these lessons to understand his life better. A scene inRead MoreThe Native American Spirit Quest Of A Half Indian Foster Child By Sherman Alexie896 Words   |  4 P agesSherman Alexie’s novel Flight explores the Native American spirit quest of a half Indian foster child. Alexie brilliantly invites readers into the mind of a cynical fifteen-year-old who calls himself Zits. Zits uses humor, violence, and shock value to cope with how he has been treated by his absent father and the foster system. Zits’ uses his vocabulary as a defense mechanism which reveals how comfortable he feels in various situations. The following paragraphs analyze how Zits’ speech patterns provideRead MoreFlight Patterns Essay1056 Words   |  5 Pages Sherman Alexie’s Flight Patterns tries to tackle a challenging subject. It probes the underbelly of modern life, sifting through the cloudy American mind that’s full of seemingly useless information, in search of what’s truly important in life. This happens through the stories two main scenes. The first depicts William’s relationship with his daughter and wife, and conflicts in life. The second engages William in a taxi-cab conversation that shuffles his priorities and forces him to confront his