81 pages • 2 hours read
Sherman AlexieFlight: A Novel
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
What is Zits’ relationship to music? Why do you suppose that he thinks of the Blood, Sweat & Tears song when he wakes up in a new foster home? Why do you think that he hears the song again when he wakes up in Robert and Mary’s home?
Why do you think that Alexie chose to make Zits a biracial character? What, if any, is the significance of Justice’s role in helping Zits understand his identity as both indigenous and white?
What is the purpose of teleporting Zits throughout history? What might Alexie be trying to communicate to the reader about the role of history in one’s present life?
What lessons does Zits learn about family and ancestry from each of his teleportation experiences?
Why do you think that Zits takes more of an interest in learning about and connecting to his indigenous history and culture than he does with his Irish history and culture?
Why does Zits rename himself? What is the importance of the ritual of naming in the novel? Why do you think that he reverts back to his given name?
While standing in the bank, watching the beloved blond boy with his mother, Zits finds that he cannot transport himself into this boy’s body. Given the very disparate experiences he has when he is teleported, why is he unable to assume the boy’s experiences? How might the little boy be a projection of Zits’ understanding of himself at the boy’s age?
Why do you think that Zits defines himself as “a betrayer” (160)? What might this mean in the context of finally finding a sense of family with Robert and Mary?
Why might it be significant, given Zits’ difficult relationship with authority figures, that he ends up in the care of civil servants?
Zits, both in his teleportation experiences and in his actual life, seems to identify most with small children; this is a motif throughout the novel. Why do you think that he identifies with small children? How might this relate to his feelings of wishing to be brand-new?
Related Titles
By Sherman Alexie
