Flight Patterns

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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 problem. This pushes him to his tipping point, and when the ride is over, he becomes uneasy and cares only to hear his family’s voice, not about his job, or the fears that had previously been driving forces. Alexie is trying to show that temporary concerns should never come before a thing like family, something that will remain permanent.

When William wakes at 5:05 A.M., the reader is formally introduced to his mind. All the random bits of information he free associates are there simply becausedf he wants them to be. Information comes at such a cheap cost he’s able to know The Declaration of Independence by heart and not have to choose between his favorite bands, instead, he only has to decide which to listen to first. While this wealth of information may seem like a benefit to some, it uses up space that could be utilized for things more important. And because it’s not being properly used, William is full of fear and conflicts. This is sprinkled throughout the story. The word fear is mentioned five times, afraid and terrorist are both mentioned six times, and terror is mentioned three. William doesn’t want to leave his wife, “but he love[s] his work” (pg 428). He’s not sure if he’s a good father. While he’s gone his daughter draws p...

... middle of paper ...

...worried that his wife and daughter were harmed, were lying dead on the floor, but then Marie answered.

“Hello, William,” she said.

“I’m here,” he said (page 438).

William was finally able to see clearly what was important. It wasn’t his job that allowed him to think creatively or knowing the Declaration of Independence by heart. He no longer cared about the labels that were cast upon him, people could call him terrorist for all he cares. The thing in which he feared in the past, were now his ammunition to get exactly what he wanted: a straight shot to a payphone to hear his family’s voice, a chance to fix the physics of his daughter’s pictures, and to let his wife know that she came before his work. Alexi successfully showed us how to shed the weight of frivolous problems, enabling us to move more quickly to the things that we need most.

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