ipl-logo

Flight Patterns Summary

778 Words4 Pages

The paradox on discrimination in Flight Patterns It goes without saying racism is one of the most significant issues in the united states. Considering the upsetting event of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, the impression became widespread. Security measures increased, people took precautions on air travel, and racial stereotyping became more rampant than ever. Sherman Alexie illustrates this internal fear society all has. He outlines this truth about racism and calling out on stereotypes. "Flight Patterns" details on equally the social and ethical issues in which people face within the 21st Century. It reveals how racial prejudice became more prevalent after the severe events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The story introduces William, a Compulsive Workaholic with an extensive knowledge of American Trivia. He is a Native American Businessman with a Wife and Daughter living in Seattle, Washington. Often a frequent traveler, he seems to have a fear of flying on airplanes. The story’s events take place with William off on another one of his Business trips. He is on his way to the airport, to where he is introduced to a Taxi Driver named Frekadu, also a man of color. On the drive to his destination, two of the men began to get into a conversation about racial stereotyping …show more content…

Not only this, but the overlooked contradiction about how minorities are labeling and stereotyping people even though they are victims of prejudice themselves. “Flight Patterns” addresses the ongoing issue about racial labeling and calling out on stereotypes. The story highlights on the issues people are facing throughout modern society, and the 9/11 terrorist attack is evidence to this point. Racism still exists to this day, and often people overlook the dispute about how the victims of oppression are just as capable for racial prejudice than the

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of 13th By Av Duvernay

    727 Words  | 3 Pages

    Forman then tackles the issue of racial profiling which he sees as a major thing in the 1990s. At the end of the day, when someone saw a black man, there were still false assumptions being made regarding their field of work. Forman establishes this connection using class

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Whispers On The Borderline By Fine And Ellis

    1563 Words  | 7 Pages

    The authors argue that a “rumor is a means of understanding what many see as a new, potentially risky, and poorly understood social reality” (Fine and Ellis, 2010, p. 204). Many rumors, however, stem from ignorance, prejudice and racism, especially those that emerge in times of crisis, as many of the racially fueled 9/11 rumors did. They create scapegoats, but Fine and Ellis (2010) argue that they create a means of making sense of a confusing, sudden event. They argue that this manifestation of rumors is usually what can be considered a premature stage in its development as it will still merge and evolve as it comes into contact with other rumors that are trying to make sense of the same situation. It must, however, be taken into account that many of these rumors never meet the appropriate rumors to dissolve the racist and ignorant undertones.

    Read More

  • Comparison Between White Privilege In Crash And 7 Seconds In The Bronx

    588 Words  | 3 Pages

    When examining “Crash” and “7 Seconds in the Bronx” we observe the injustice the injustice individuals face resulting in unforgivable offenses. When examining both stories it becomes apparent that between stereotypes, authoritative discrimination, and economic hierarchy, it is tough to be of a minority background. Stereotypes are an unfair representation that has been developed about a person or a race. In “Crash” we see the struggle of being a minority. We see this in the beginning of the story when Anthony and Peter, both young adults of colour, could see Jean clenched onto her husband and purse when passing them in the streets as she pre disclosed the assumption they

    Read More

  • Stereotypes By Brent Staples

    193 Words  | 1 Pages

    The main idea of this entry is about the stereotypes that come along with racism. Also, Brent Staples wants his readers to realize how much colored people sacrifice from their normality in order to fit in with society, in hopes of not being attacked or offended. The author proves this in his entry by mentioning ‘innocent’ behaviors, such as singing Beethoven, that he did in public in order to relief those surrounding him from danger. Moreover, the author compared hikers to the country’s bears in order to provide readers with a valid connection between black and colored people. In addition to that, Brent Staples uses flashback as one of his techniques when sharing with us his encounters with white people, this gives readers an idea of how

    Read More

  • Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria Summary

    765 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the first chapter of Beverly Tatum’s, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”, And Other Conversations About Race, the author immediately clarifies that racism is not a thing of the past. People in today’s society are merely raised with racial concepts at such a young age that they do not realize the injustice going on around them. She reinforces her statement by showing an example of a group of preschoolers who were told to draw a picture of a Native American. Most of the children didn’t even know what a Native American was, but after being told to draw an Indian, complied. Recurring elements in all of their drawings were feathers, along with a violent weapon, such as a knife.

    Read More

  • Case Study: Ligua's Social Beliefs In Society

    728 Words  | 3 Pages

    Michael is a college graduate with a decent job. However, his day-to-day living encounters with racial profiling in his community where he lived have been his ordeal. As an African-American decent, it is typical to get stereotype. Michael’s color defines him as distrustful person, it is a shame that this is how people perceived a black person. He is being judge accordingly being a black man in his community.

    Read More

  • The Cincinnati Race Riots In The 1800's

    771 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cincinnati had race riots going on since the 1800’s. A riot is a public outbreak of fights and violence between two racial groups in a community. One outbreak started in 1829 between Irish immigrants and African Americans for jobs in Cincinnati. Their goal was to get rid of the Black African Americans. They were wanting the African Americans to move to Canada or get out of Cincinnati period.

    Read More

  • The Green Book In The 1930's

    268 Words  | 2 Pages

    Green’s book was horrifyingly necessary for African-American motorists, business travelers, and vacationers (Matthews). In one edition the cover had a ominous warning telling people they should carry the book with you because you may need it. Green repeats

    Read More

  • Race: Social Construct Of Social Identity

    1601 Words  | 7 Pages

    Race is the social construct of social identities. We distinguish the uniqueness of individuals in such ways that our genotype and phenotype are closely associated to classifying these individuals into a particular race. Our culture, physical characteristics, and ethnicity separates us into five different categories of race: Black/African American, Yellow/Asian (including Pacific Islanders), Red/Native Americans, Brown/Hispanic/Latino, and White/Caucasian. Throughout history, darker complexions were often looked down upon. White skin becomes more favorable and are seen to be more superior than the other colors, creating this ideology that justifies inequality.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Resegregation Of Jefferson County

    780 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the article, The Resegregation of Jefferson County, a wide variety of different sociological aspects are portrayed under the fight to separate the school, Gardendale, from the rest of the Jefferson County school system. Multiple different inequalities are discussed in different forms throughout this article specifically including income, institutional racism, and neo-racism. All of these forms of social stratification are still alive today. Social stratification is described as “inequalities among individuals and groups within human societies. (Giddens, Duneier, Applebaum, Carr, p. 194)”

    Read More

  • How Does Jason Reynolds And Kendi Use Flashbacks In Stamped

    295 Words  | 2 Pages

    History has shown why racial inequities continue to harm America, yet, activist movements like the BLM can help fix those inequities. Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi's use of flashbacks and tone emphasize how hatred can ruin someone’s life throughout the novel Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You. The author conveys the theme of hate through the use of flashbacks.

    Read More

  • Flight Patterns Sherman Alexie

    474 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story "Flight Patterns" by Sherman Alexie, William is the main character of the story. William is a wealthy Native American business man. The story is taking place a year after the World Trade Centers fell under attack. William scans the airports and airlines for little brown guys who reek of fundamentalism. William is no different than the White Americans who give him dirty looks at the airports or the security guards that search him 75 percent of the time.

    Read More

  • Short Story Flight Patterns By Sherman Alexie

    274 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story “Flight Patterns” by Sherman Alexie, William, a man of Native American descent, gets a better understanding of himslef through Fekadu’s story of his life. William has a wife named Marie and a daughter named Grace who he both loves very dearly. He is a business man who often travels for his jobThis story takes place around a year after the world trade centers were hit on September 11. While taking a taxi to the airport he meets an African American man named Fekadu. Fekadu tells him his life story and William is hesitant to believe it because generally black taxi drivers do not hold degrees from Harvard; however, William is intruiged by Fekadu’s story and listens on with interest.

    Read More

  • Racial Stereotypes In The Movie Crash

    850 Words  | 4 Pages

    Feeling threatened and frustrated that a Middle Eastern looking man and his daughter are speaking in a different language than his own, a Caucasian gun store owner tells him, “Yo Osama plan a jihad on your own time.” Another example of minority on minority stereotyping is when Fahrad’s store is vandalized. Fahrad automatically assumes the Hispanic locksmith that had been there the day before had committed this heinous act and dishonored his family. Fahrad stereotyped the Latino man as a cheat and a criminal without honor. Haggis made it his mission to paint a scene of diverse characters in Crash to depict the universal concept of stereotyping in

    Read More

  • Racism And Violence In Richard Wright's Black Boy

    671 Words  | 3 Pages

    The story represents the culmination of Wright’s passionate desire to observe and reflect upon the racist world around him. Racism is so insidious that it prevents Richard from interacting normally, even with the whites who do treat him with a semblance of respect or with fellow blacks. For Richard, the true problem of racism is not simply that it exists, but that its roots in American culture are so deep it is doubtful whether these roots can be destroyed without destroying the culture itself. “It might have been that my tardiness in learning to sense white people as "white" people came from the fact that many of my relatives were "white"-looking people. My grandmother, who was white as any "white" person, had never looked "white" to me” (Wright 23).

    Read More

More about Flight Patterns Summary

Open Document