Summary Of Flight By Sherman Alexie

The novel Flight, by Sherman Alexie, tells the story of a troubled Native American teen who gets defeated in life. Years of abuse take a toll on the life of Zits, Alexie's protagonist. But Zits is no average good human being. He’s an arsonist, a drunk, a runaway, and a fighter. He is amazingly flawed, but there's always hope for the hopeless. Brainwashed into shooting up a bank full of innocent civilians, Zits travels through time periods oozing with violence. In each of the bodies Zits inhabits, he chooses not to fight back against the violence. He's trapped to endure and feel that pain and cannot distance himself to numb the pain. He wants it to stop. He wants to be rid of the violence, but it doesn't happen until he understands the pain he has caused through his own violence. In particular, two of the bodies Zits travels in, the little Indian boy and Gus, he gains great insight into the revenge and violence that we humans tend to experience.

Zits is a 15-year-old boy with Indian blood running in his veins. He observes himself and thinks maybe his acne is caused by being lonely his whole life. After his father abandoned him at birth and his white mother left him

He opens the book: “Call me Zits. Everybody calls me Zits. That’s not my real name, of course. My real name isn’t important.” (1). Throughout the book it is revealed that Zits journey shapes him to realize his true identity and define him as a new person with new beginnings and views of life. These first few lines structure not only the start of Zits journey but also the understanding at the end of the novel. He has the power to define himself: “Michael, I say. My real name is Michael. Please call me Michael” (181). Rather than be defined by how he believes he looks to others, he now has accepted himself for who he was and who he will