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Sandra Robles

Mr. Newman

English 101: Rhetoric

5 November 2013

Stop the Prejudice

“Flight Patterns” by Sherman Alexie focuses on the main character, William, a healthy,

ritualistic Spokane Indian living in Seattle, Washington, who knows a wide variety of American

trivia. Alexie places an emphasis on William’s interest in American culture to show his want to

feel as though he is a true American. He is a businessman that loves his job, but hates to leave his

family, travels often but has a fear of flying, and is always a victim of prejudice, yet is guilty of

doing so to others. Throughout “Flight Patterns,” readers learn that people as a society are quick

to stereotype others and, if given the chance, the ones who are stereotyped could add growth to

and better your character.

Every day, people unnoticeably profile others, whether it is someone off the street or

someone they see every day. When William first got into the taxi cab, he disregarded the cab

driver, Fekadu, but then when William actually studied his features, William thought of him as

being "a black man with a violent history” because of the scar of the back of his neck (55). Even

though William knew nothing about this man or the truth behind the scar on his neck, William

stereotyped him like another person would: an African American who lives a malicious life.

William is no stranger to prejudice, especially since September 11th

, but even then he is still

human and does the same mistake himself. Alexie states, “William didn’t want to insult

anybody; he wanted the world to be a fair and decent place,” which goes to prove that from what

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William has experienced, he does not want to be offensive towards others by doing the exact

same thing that is done to him and that he wishes for people to do the same (53).

When people are profiled, the normalities that other people expect them to be a part of

are—more likely than not—much further from the truth. As Fekadu is telling William that in

England he studied physics at Oxford, William suspects whether Fekadu is lying or not because

no one could ever think of an Oxford man turning out to be a taxi cab driver (56). When Fekadu

realizes this, he states, “Aha, you do think I’m lying. You ask yourself questions about me. How

could a physicist drive a taxi? Well, in the United Sates, I am a cabdriver, but in Ethiopia, I was a

jet-fighter pilot,” which demonstrates that there is always more than meets the eye with people

(56). Another example of ignorant profiling would be when William was walking out of his gym

and a big phallic pickup came up to him and the person inside told William, “’Go back to your

own country!’”, thinking that William was a terrorist involved with September 11th

because of

his physical features alone (57). If that person would not have been profiling William on his

features, then that person would have discovered that William is in fact a Spokane Indian who

has nothing to do with what happened on September 11th

.

As the story concludes, William is able to learn that people should not be so quick to

judge others because there is so much that they do not know about them that would change their

whole outlook on that person. Alexie writes, “William was surprised to discover that he didn’t

want this journey to end so soon. He wondered if he should invite Fekadu for coffee and a

sandwich, for a slice of pie, for brotherhood. William wanted to hear more of this man’s stories

and learn from them, whether they were true or not,” (59, 60). By being told about Fekadu’s past

life in Ethiopia, William is able to change his perspective from thinking that Fekadu is “a black

man with a violent history” to Fekadu is a father who has made life altering decisions for himself

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and his family. Just before William leaves the taxi cab, he tells Fekadu, “Your stories…I want to

believe you,” to which Fekadu replies, “Then believe me,” (61). This goes to show that by the

end of the story, William has become more receptive when it comes to learning about a person’s

life and not be so focused on their stereotypes.

Throughout “Flight Patterns,” readers learn that people as a society are quick to

stereotype others and, if given the chance, the ones who are stereotyped could add growth to and

better your character. William was able to steer away from the status quo of what African

American taxi cab drivers are supposed to be like and begin to be impartial of how their lives

could truly be. If society was to become unprejudiced and there were no stereotypes, then the

world would be a better place for everyone because no one would be profiled for who they aren’t

and everyone could learn from one another of what they have overcome.

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Work Cited

Alexie, Sherman. "Flight Patterns." 2003. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Alison

Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. 9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton and

Company, 2005. 49-61. Print.