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Yari Hernandez

Mr. Newman

English 101: Rhetoric

28 October 2013

What is Your Culture Identity?

The United States is known to be the Melting Pot of cultures and races, but with all that

melting it’s sure not hard to get lost in it. Yet, with all the different kinds of cultures and races

coming together, the United States still has some customs and traditions that many of us have

adapted to. With everyone trying to feel as though they belong, many have left their old customs

and traded them in for the American ways. “Flight Patterns” by Sherman Alexie, demonstrates

the post colonial view on a Native American, William, who has adapted so much to the

American cultural and is unaware of how disconnected he is with traditional Native American.

Even though William identifies himself as Native American, the story unfolds how William

connects more with the culture of a 21st century white American man.

It seems like as generations pass they take away some of the traditions and customs along

with them. Land, resources, and traditions that were once seen as sacred in the view of their

parents are taken for granted by their children. In the beginning of the story William says that,”

who cares about fishing and hunting rights? Who cares about uranium mines and nuclear-waste-

dump sites on sacred land? Who cares about the recovery of tribal languages? Give me Freddy

Fender singing “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” in English and Spanish to 206 Spokane Indians,

William thought, and I will be a happy man”(49). Alexie demonstrates to the readers how

William does not value the Native Americans way of life. On the other hand, Alexie focus on

how William is more concerned with what benefits him, much like the mindsets of Americans

today, whose only focus is to succeed in life.

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Sherman Alexie continues with post colonial view by mentions how Americans reacted

towards 9/11. Alexie references how the event changed the mindsets of how Americans view on

brown guys in airports. In “Flight Patterns” William jobs involves him being on airplanes

constantly, in the story it talks about how William looks for brown guys when he is in airports or

on the plane. Furthermore, the story mentions,” William himself was a little brown guy, so other

travelers were always sniffing around him, but he smelled only of Dove soap, Mennen

deodorant, and sarcasm. Still he understood why people were afraid of him, a brown-skinned

man with dark hair and eyes” (52). Even though William is Indian, he is prejudice towards other

color races, even his own, due to the culture influence of 9/11. Moreover William clarifies why

he doesn’t mind when other passengers question him, and mentions,” I am a Native American

and therefore have ten thousand more reasons to terrorize the U.S. than any of those Taliban jerk

offs, but I have chosen instead to become a civic American citizen” (54). In other words,

William being Native American has reasons to terrorize the United States, yet he has instead

adapted to the American culture and has become a “civic American Citizen”.

It’s normal to see a white man have a successful life; I mean we have learned about it

throughout our lives. In the Sherman Alexie short story “Flight Patterns” the main character,

William, is not your typical Native American. Instead of portraying William as a typical Casino

owner, or living in a tribe, William is an educated businessman who makes a living off designing

equipments and investing his money. In the story William mentions how unusual it was for him,

as a Native American, to have such economic success. Moreover the story mentions that,” For

thousands of years, Spokane Indians had lived subsistence lives, using every last part of the

salmon and deer because they’d die without every last part, but William only ordered salmon

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from menus and saw deer on television” (57). To put it in other words, William has assimilated

toward the lifestyle of an American and has forgotten the roots of his Native culture.

The United States is full of different customs, religion, and races. Yet with all of us

coming from different paths, we have traded in the old customs to conform to the American

ways. In “Flight Patterns” Sherman Alexie focuses on the post colonial view of how William has

adjusted so well to American culture and has forgotten about his heritage. The story ends with

the cab driver saying,” Good-bye, William American” (61), which supports the idea that in the

eyes of strangers William is more American than Native American. Even though William does

identify himself as a Native American, the story demonstrates William’s character as being more

relatable to a common white American and less relatable to the average Native American.

Rubric for Literary Analysis

Purpose (33):

Successful (A+ thru B):

Demonstrates a superior understanding of “Flight Patterns” in that you analyze and not just summarize the story

Shows a complex understanding of the Critical Lens/ Lit Device/Moment concept/Area of Interest

Genre (33):

Successful (A+ thru B):

Contains a thesis in the last sentence of the intro that effectively captures your argument

Includes well-chosen support from throughout the text that supplements the thesis

Analysis is academic in nature

Design/Layout (20):

Successful (A+ thru B):

Uses MLA format to skillfully weave quotes and paraphrases into the text

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Uses a 12-point, Times New Roman font with a double-spaced page

Includes a creative title, appropriately placed headers, heading, and page numbers

Includes a Works Cited page that accurately lists the text(s) used

Audience (25):

Successful (A+ thru B):

Uses vocabulary appropriate for a college audience

Assumes a level of intelligence and sophistication for the audience

Grammar/spelling/punctuation should be appropriate for a college freshman

Stance (14):

Successful (A+ thru B):

Offers a convincing argument

Includes a consistent tone that presents your perspective appropriately