Kopchak 1 Corey Kopchak Mr.

Newman English 101: Rhetoric 5 November 2013 Soaring Minds In the short story, Flight Plans by Sherman Alexie, William, a Native American, fears that if he ever loses his wife, who represents his Native American roots, he would lose his heritage. Throughout the story William is fighting a battle in his mind. William is attempting to assimilate into American society, but his heritage and prejudices keep him from being a true American. The story begins with William waking up, and gives us the first incite in to Williams mind. William is wondering what happened to the woman singing on the radio, Donna Fargo, then this curiosity leads to an exploration into the unusual things he knows: Donna Fargos birth name, the names of all nine of Elizabeth Taylors husbands, and William could quote the entire Declaration of Independence. These realizations slightly embarrass William, be he reassures himself this information is necessary for assimilation: He was the Bemused and S lightly embarrassed owner of a twenty-first-century American mind(49). The information overload makes William feel more American and drives his assimilation. William soon begins mocking the foolishness of many Native Americans. He rants, Who cares about all the defamation the Native Americans endured, as long as America entertains the Native Americans now(49). Williams conflict is further developed when he says that he is happy as long as he is entertained.

Kopchak 2 He switches from his American side to his Native American side. A drastic, sudden change shows the reader that as much as William wants to be American, criticizing the Native Americans, he is still a Native American and cannot simply forget his heritage. Marie is the Symbol of Williams Native American side. Marie is described as a stereotypical Native American: small and dark with long, black, often unkempt hair. She does not worry about her appearance either. Her appearance, described as wild and renegade, is symbolic of her personality. This stereotypical appearance and her personality are the most apparent symbols that keep William in touch with his Native American culture. Maries wild side is opposite to Williams strides for assimilation. As much as he wants to assimilate William knows he cannot live without his wifes freedom. William often worries that he is not Native American enough and his wife has dreams about a different man who is a Native American warrior. William loves his wife so much that even this nonsense, pessimistic thought keeps him embracing his Native American heritage. William also says, Im supposed to be some electric aboriginal warrior (52). This goes back to Williams obsession with the imagined notion that he is not Native American enough for his wife. William is pessimistic about his family. He feels like he is never doing enough for them because he is not always with them. William travels often for his job, and while on his business trips, he conceives many incidents in his dreams that involve the brutal death of his family. The longer he is away from his family, the more gruesome his families deaths become. These are damaging to Williams psyche in two ways. First, the obvious one, he has many dreams about his family dying. These dreams make leaving his family an even more difficult task. The second damaging effect of Williams nightmares is his wife represents his Native American half. Alexie includes many graphic, intimate encounters between William and Marie. Although the nature of

Kopchak 3 these encounters seems unnecessary, they illustrate how close William and Marie are. This extra detail solidifies that Marie is Williams other half, more specifically, she represents Williams Native American half. Therefore, her death represents William losing his Native American heritage. This half of William may be losing the assimilation battle, but he cannot live without it. His mind cannot comprehend life without the battle because it has been a part of him for so long. William wants to be at one with American society, but he always comes back to the realization that he is still a Native American. William has a conflict inside his mind. He is attempting to assimilate into American society, but He cannot lose his Native American heritage. Williams wife, Marie, represents his Native American heritage, and when he contemplates her death he is also imagining losing his Native American Heritage. William journey in this story helps him realize that his wife truly is his other half.

Kopchak 4 Works Cited Alexie, Sherman. "Flight Patterns." 2003. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. 9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2005. 49-61. Print.