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The Role Of Betrayal In Sherman Alexie's Flight

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Betrayal can take many forms, but in Sherman Alexie’s novel Flight, it is the ultimate act of disloyalty that sets the story in motion. Zits is a troubled and emotionally fragile fifteen-year-old boy who struggles with his identity as a mixed-race Native American. Through inhabiting the bodies of different people, Zits gains a deeper understanding of himself and the world around him, ultimately emerging as a more aware individual. In Sherman Alexie’s novel Flight, the protagonist Zits undergoes a transformative journey through time-travel and inhabiting different bodies, which enables him to confront and reflect upon the devastating impact of betrayal. Specifically, as he becomes Jimmy the Pilot and embodies his father, Zits gains a deeper …show more content…

His time as Jimmy the Pilot is a crucial turning point in his journey, as it allows him to witness firsthand the devastating impact of betrayal and how it can not only affect himself, but the people around him. Zits is experiencing a moment of intense anger and frustration towards his father, who he feels has betrayed him and everyone else who has ever loved him. "I was suddenly sick of my father, his lies, of his betrayals. He had betrayed my mother, he had betrayed me, and he had betrayed every other person who had ever loved him. I wanted to stay in this plane and watch him die a thousand times. I wanted to watch him fall from the sky over and over again" (132). Through his time-traveling experiences as Jimmy the Pilot, Zits is able to witness the impact of betrayal and reflect on how it has affected his own life. In this particular moment in the book, Zits becomes aware of the ways in which his dad’s betrayal not only hurt him but also hit his mother and other loved ones. Zit's anger and desire for his father to die represent the devastating impact of betrayal, all because of his father’s actions. Zits experiences with Jimmy the Pilot offer a strong example of betrayal, and though awful events occur, Zits realizes how betrayal doesn't always just affect him. Zits has returned to the present day from Jimmy the Pilot and is struck by the reality of the ongoing struggles of betrayal, and how difficult it is to overcome. "I realized that my people had been betrayed again, that we had been lied to, that we had been used and discarded like so much garbage" (Alexie 128). Zit's transformative experience with Jimmy the Pilot allows him to come to a deeper understanding of the devastating impact of betrayal, both on himself and everyone

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