Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 4

Thomas Janke Mr.

Newman Rhetoric 101 3 Novermber 2013 The Travelling Hypocrite Sherman Alexies Flight Patterns presents a true-to-life situation in which the main character, William, is an assimilated Native American male. The story itself follows William through a simple trip to the airport, however, Alexies usage of pop culture references and cleverly disguised stereotypes present a different picture from the simplistic story it may be first interpreted as. In fact, within the span of Williams preparation to leave for the airport to the time he arrives, weve already discovered that William has repressed much of what he feels Native American culture should embody in favor of blending in with white culture. We also discover that William harbors a rather deep-seeded hatred for those who he believes participate actively in stereotyping. Yet, throughout the story, William himself has stereotyped people, just as they have stereotyped him. In essence, William is the embodiment of a hypocrite who has repressed his culture to assimilate into another, while silently cursing those who stereotype him because of his nationality. Though William looks down on these people, he actively participates in his own thinly-veiled stereotyping, and in this regard presents himself as a hypocrite. William presents an interesting caricature of the male gender. Alexie does an extremely proficient job of layering William as a character, presenting one stereotype that overlaps another. As we are introduced to William, our first look at his stereotypical archetype is not one of Native American origin. Instead, we are presented with Williams internal struggle over whether to leave on business, or stay home and have sex with his wife. Here, we are presented with Alexies

first usage of layered stereotyping. William here represents a greater embodiment of the male misogynist. Though this view is obviously presented, what is interesting to note is the way that Alexie has portrayed Williams wife, Marie. Alexie presents Marie in a way that corresponds to a helpless woman who relies on her husband entirely, even sexually, though the premise of sex seems ultimately to be a ploy to get William to stay home. Alexie plays on the cultural stereotype of a helpless woman relying solely on a masculine figure, even going so far as to acknowledge through Williams dialogue the stereotypes being presented, saying Perhaps it was wrong (and unavoidable) to objectify female strangers, but shouldnt every husband seek to objectify his wife at least once a day? (51). The impression that the reader gets is not initially one that relates directly to racial stereotypes, as happens later in the story. Instead, Alexie opts to present the misogynistic stereotype to show Williams hypocrisy in the cultural sense. In continuation of the previous stereotypes, William continues to present himself as a hypocrite in the racial sense. Williams interaction with the cab driver, Fekadu, is Alexies biggest example of this. William first meets Fekadu at his home, having called a cab for transportation to the airport. Fekadu, an African man, presents the platform for Williams thoughts of racial difference and with those thoughts, racial stereotypes. As William rides to the airport, he and Fekadu enter into conversation about their racial differences, Fekadu even asking if William was Jewish. William and Fekadu, in these conversations, often refer to other races in offensive ways, such as William referring to Indians as Jewel-on-the-forehead Indians (56). The contrasting races between Fekadu and William are the focal point of the story, with Alexie presenting both characters as equal opposites. Both are racially profiled, subjected to discrimination, and stereotyped. Despite this, both actively engage in discrimination and stereotyping of their own. Although both men have lived with similar cultural constraints, they

have led entirely different lives, as we discover from Fekadus story. William, throughout, is staunchly racist and stereotypical. This in turn paints the total picture of William as a character, that of a hypocritical man who views the world in a cynical manner, and actively engages in the racism and profiling that he so vehemently detests. In summation, Flight Patterns represents a much larger picture than what one may first take it at face value for, and this is deliberate. Alexie presents William as a hypocritical, cynical man who, despite his own discrimination and stereotyping, actively and readily engages in his own racial discrimination and stereotyping. In fact, William does not even try to hide this, often realizing his racist or sexist remarks and thinking bad of himself for them, yet never changing. He represents more than simply the racial side of hypocrisy, but also the cultural side of hypocrisy. William is as actively sexist as he is racist and stereotypical, and though he does love his family very much, he also objectifies them on a regular basis. William struggles internally with the lifestyle he has chosen, and often wonders how his life would have played out had he made different choices. All of these characteristics layer William such that it is difficult for readers to understand and interpret his actions and beliefs the first time. Though he presents himself in a manner that would suggest he is open-minded, in reality, he is as prejudiced and stereotypical as the people he hates, and embodies the classic hypocrite to the bitter end.

Works Cited Alexie, Sherman. Flight Patterns. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Rubric for Literary Analysis Purpose (33): Successful (A+ thru B): Demonstrates a superior understanding of Flight Patterns in that you analyze and not just summarize the story Shows a complex understanding of the Critical Lens/ Lit Device/Moment concept/Area of Interest

Genre (33): Successful (A+ thru B): Contains a thesis in the last sentence of the intro that effectively captures your argument Includes well-chosen support from throughout the text that supplements the thesis Analysis is academic in nature

Design/Layout (20): Successful (A+ thru B): Uses MLA format to skillfully weave quotes and paraphrases into the text Uses a 12-point, Times New Roman font with a double-spaced page Includes a creative title, appropriately placed headers, heading, and page numbers Includes a Works Cited page that accurately lists the text(s) used

Audience (25): Successful (A+ thru B): Uses vocabulary appropriate for a college audience Assumes a level of intelligence and sophistication for the audience Grammar/spelling/punctuation should be appropriate for a college freshman

Stance (14): Successful (A+ thru B): Offers a convincing argument Includes a consistent tone that presents your perspective appropriately

Вам также может понравиться