Flight Patterns

I would recommend the short story, Flight Patterns, by Sherman Alexie. I found the story to be very interesting and unique from what I am used to reading. One of the things I thought was interesting was how the view point played such a big role in the story. It was written in third person limited, so the reader gained lots of insight of Williams’s thoughts and feeling. His thoughts were sometimes familiar but a lot of the times grotesque but interesting at the same time. The way the story was written at times made it seem that for a moment everything that was happening was paused while the reader explored the narrator’s inner most feelings. Some which at times you could relate and at other times seem outlandish. I thought the view point Alexie choose added a lot of depth to the story. I also found the motifs to be very thought provoking. The writer explored topics such as sexism, racism, rage, and terrorism. What made all of these so familiar and real was that it was written about events such as September 11th, which was not very long ago. I was shocked when I read… “but shouldn’t every husband seek to objectify his wife at least once a day?” I thought that’s kind of sexist, but at the same time it makes you think. William’s thoughts and insight along with the motifs explored make this a short story I would recommend.