Flight: A Novel

Sherman Alexie has cited Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse-Five as part of his inspiration for Flight. In the opening chapter of Slaughterhouse-Five, the narrator says, “And I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep.” He concludes his opening chapter by saying, “People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore.” What is the role of the past in Flight? How does Zits’s time travel help develop the themes of the novel? Consider the following as you develop your ideas:

• How and why does Zits “look back,” even if it is not by choice?
• What is gained through Zits’s experiences at different significant historical moments? Why does Alexie choose these moments for Zits to visit?
• How does the novel grapple with the concept of time? How does it complicate the relationship between the past and the present?

Teaching Suggestion: Consider encouraging students to connect their observations about the past and time to the unit’s themes of Violence, Revenge, and Justice; Family: The Desire for Love and Stability; and/or Ancestry and Identity. It may help to ask students what they believe the author is trying to say about these topics, while small groups could determine how and where the author chooses to convey related messages in the text.