As Alexie himself recalls, this was truly the character -- or perhaps the concept, and the idea -- that truly germinated into the full novel. The author heard an interview with the flight instructor of one of the men responsible for the September 11th terrorist attacks, and the sense of personal betrayal that this real-life flight instructor felt was made palpable for Zits just as it was made perfectly clear and intriguing to Alexie (NPR 2007). Zits learns that no act of violence is complete in and of itself, and that it does not only make large statements, but instead that some of its most important and lasting effects are deeply personal and often unpredictable. Violence is inherently a lack of control, and so one cannot control its effects nor limit them simply to the people that the violence directly affects.
The last personality that Zits occupies is that of his own father. He does not realize this immediately; Zits has never met his father, and all he knows when the transformation occurs is that he is in the modern day, is drunk, and is sick. A young couple that finds him vomiting blood tries to help him, "But I can't control my emotions. My fears," Zits reflects, and he -- or the body that he occupies -- runs away (p. 135). It is his recognition of his own fear and his own inability to control himself that begins to make a final impression on Zits and lead him to the realization that he has been seeking a place to assign blame for his anger, and that he has viewed violence as a means of correcting the unfairness and imbalance in his life.
Conclusion
Zits begins his
After being transported back in time to the position of an FBI agent -- an assassin, really -- he begins to realize the fear that violence comes form, and the increased fear and violence that it leads to. Seeing through the eyes of a flight instructor who unwittingly provides a terrorist with the knowledge and skills he needs to inflict an even larger act of violence on others, Zits comes to realize the personal side of violence and the betrayal that such violence creates, as well as the impossibility of removing human connections from our actions. Finally, seeing through the eyes of his own dying father, Zits learns that anger and violence are often simply outgrowths of frustrations with ourselves, and that at some point personal responsibility must overtake fear in an individual's response to the world.
Through all of these lessons, Zits learns that violence is not isolated and cannot be negated or corrected by further violence. Ultimately, whether or not Zits has actually experienced everything that is contained in the novel and what his future holds is left somewhat ambiguous, but it is certain that he has been profoundly affected by his experiences whether real or imagined. he has matured, and has learned to look to himself and his connections to others for answers, and has also learned to acknowledge that these connections exist. We can all learn a valuable lesson in this -- no one is truly alone, no matter how much it seems that way, and this has both positive and negative consequences.
References
Alexie, S. (2007). Flight. New York: Grove Press.
NPR. (2007). "Author Sherman Alexie talks 'Flight.'" Accessed 22 November 2010.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9517855
Hook or Me This Time Ideological changes of a Pirate and a former Lost Boy in two narrative essays) Life is defined by the changes that take place during it. Our bodies change and we grow larger; time passes and we grow older; our philosophy and ideals change and we grow up. These metamorphoses compromise any coming of age story, whether the story be one of a small juvenile accomplishment or
Contemporary American travel literature illustrates convergences of time and space, creating a borderless and timeless mode of narration. Granted, American travel narratives do not offer the same sort of epic and sweeping scope that epitomize classic works like that of Ibn Battuta and Basho. Contemporary American travel literature is imbued with American mythos. Moreover, contemporary American travel literature demonstrates postmodern tropes and conventions including a strong sense of uncertainty and
The decision of the pilot to crush the plane in the city can have no valid motivation and is deeply painful for Jimmy who feels betrayed by his student. The pilot who decides to crash the plane is a further stereotype, an incarnation of the belief that people belonging to the same cultural space as him are most likely to engage in terrorist acts. Throughout his transformations, Zits realizes that
Aviation & Human Factor Aviation "The history of the development and progress of Human Factors in aviation, highlighting areas of significant change" Development in Aviation field is an essential element from defense prospective of any country. Advancement in assembly of an aircraft is always a result of some human error in handling. Error handling while pilot is operating an aircraft is an unrecoverable action in some cases. Human handling for safety of aircraft,
PARK The aim of my project was to create a short story, which combines the textual elements of fiction, plus illustrations ranging from digital photographs to illustrations. My goal was to be experimental and to satisfy a need that has not been done before. I was frustrated by the fact that there are hardly any fictional works that combine both text and picture and illustrations aimed at the adult audience. Currently,
Glimpse Into the Mind of a Genius Vladimir Nabokov wrote about the world in which he lived. His world was the first half of the twenty first century, and was filled with mistrust and double standards. His world was one of death and the darker side of human nature. It is this side of human nature that intrigued Nabokov and also something that his life had led him to experience first
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now