Violence In The Flight Novel English Literature Essay

In the current essay I would like to describe the violence, reflected in the novel by Sherman Alexie – “Flight”. it should be noted that violence – is an effect without consent in respect of an individual or a group. As a rule, the degree of violence is measured by the severity of the damage caused to the victim. There are different kinds of violence, among them are: inter- or intra-racial hostility, political violence, terrorism, war, child abuse, or sexual assault. There are numerous classifications of violence depending on the trait, among them are:

By the principle of action: physical, psychological, emotional, sexual, etc.

On social grounds: political, religious, domestic, gender, violence against minors, animal abuse, etc.

On the number of victims: the massive, group, individual.

On the shape of the damage: the threat of terrorism, extortion, rape, attacks on property or territory, the promotion of violence through the media, etc.

Thesis statement: violence is considered one of the cruelest expressions of physical force against people. The novel describes different situations that reflect violence from different sides, showing hatred, pain and suffering of people, which is the consequence of violence. As a matter of fact, any form of violence is unacceptable. The novel is written in first person, from the perspective of Native American teen who calls himself spots, “travel back in time mass murderer”.

The novel describes the life of Zit, who is a foster child, and who has spent most of his life, who has faced different negative experiences. It can be said that in the novel Zit enters a new way of thinking, and the thoughts considering the commitment of various kinds of violence. During the one of these incidents, Zit “represents” the body of a stranger, who will be the first of many such incidents. History confronts feelings of Zit’s “vulnerability, understood as a teenager, orphaned children, as well as Native American people, as described in Sherman Alexie discusses Flight, his first novel in a decade.

For me, there were several aspects that influenced my perception of the violence, first of all it was different transformation of the main character: FBI Agent Hank Storm, Indian boy, Indian tracker, pilot Jimmy, Zit’s father. In the “Flight” are present different themes: adolescence, morality, native American, and violence. Theme violence describes: “I get into arguments and fights with everyone. I am so angry that I was going blind and deaf and dumb”, as stated in Time-Traveling Lessons for a Teenager on the Verge. Zit’s starts off as very angry and violent man. He is so violent, that he expresses his hatred and anger on anyone around him. The boy also became a witness of violence, when he experienced transformations. By going through the events that he can not change anything, he realizes that the violence was severe consequences. And, understanding the way the violence affects people who surround him, he decides that he is living wrong, and he has to change something.

As a matter of fact, the origins of violence and destruction in the novel refer to the issues of morality, perception of life and racism. As well, the novel reflects the life of minorities, their views on life and ethnic groups. Also, problems in society can be the origin of violence. This can lead to the serious consequences and sometimes even murder. Considering the Native American issue, the author describes the racism and also stigma that refer to a Native American. He also understands the influence of minority views on life, depending on the background. As a fact, Zit understood that all people have different views and ideals. Zit learned a lot about “his own people”, when he found out that “his own story” lied to him. As a fact, there are always different sides of the story.

In my opinion this thesis is proved by such quote: “My father was an Indian. From this or that tribe. From this or that reservation. I never knew him… I’m Irish and Indian, which would be the coolest blend in the world if my parents were around to teach me how to be Irish and Indian. But they’re not here and haven’t been for years. So, I’m not really Irish or Indian. I’m a blank sky, a human solar eclipse”, as stated in Flight: A Novel.

As a rule, readers state that “the novel explores vengeance, against both enemies and strangers, and some of the scenes are disturbing”, according to Sherman Alexie discusses Flight, his first novel in a decade. As well, in the book there are described the causes of violence. The positive moment is that there is a protagonist’s refusal to continue participation in violence.

According to the Sherman Alexie, there was following motive to write this novel: “So that sense of personal betrayal, when compared to the epic crime, that combination just hit me. So I started writing about that, but then I started thinking about other moments of incredible violence in United States history and what story hadn’t been told about that particular act of violence. And so I started writing about other eras”, according to Time-Traveling Lessons for a Teenager on the Verge.

To sum it up, I would like to say that violence has to be prevented, especially gender, youth and targeted violence. Violence in the modern world leads to self-destructive behavior of people, such as drinking or running away from family or society. Also, violence leads to conflict’s escalation and also major problems in humanity.