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Heather Israel Mr. Newman English 101: Rhetoric 1 November 2013

Feminism Meets Alexie From a young age, children are molded to fit gender roles that have been predefined by society. Every Christmas morning children wake up to open gifts with certain toys based on this preplanned image. Toys for girls consist of Betty Crocker sets and Barbie dolls, while boys generally receive trucks and tools. Even though toys are just meant to bring entertainment for children, people often overlook the stereotype in which these lead. As children reach adulthood, men have taken on the role of the provider and tend to dominate both mentally and physically, while women are supposed to be submissive and act as the primary care takers. The relationship between men and women is no longer centered on love, but more so around sexual pleasure. Men have taken on an image of being sexually dominant and depicted to treat their women as objects. In Sherman Alexies Flight Patterns, the author artistically switches up these gender roles; Alexie portrays William to be a provider while showing overwhelming emotion, Williams wife Maria to be sexually dominant, and introduces their daughter Grace to have a sense of being gender neutral. Society has built up an image of men as mentally strong providers that lack strong emotion. Strong emotions were left on the side to be implanted in the personality of the

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concerned and loving wife. If this is the image that society has spent years building, then readers would expect Maria to be overwhelmingly concerned about William traveling and constantly worry about his well-being. Maria does care about his well-being, however, it is William that is constantly worrying and pondering endless and terrible situations in which his family could find themselves in without him home. The text states, He had nightmares about strangers breaking into the house and killing and raping Maria and Grace and He dreamed about mutilating the rapists and eating them alive (53-54). William displays an overpowering sense of fear when he is away from home and almost mirrors the emotion and fear a concerned wife should have. Since William has taken on the role of the concerned and emotional housewife, then Maria is the strong and sexually dominant partner. As Maria is introduced to the story, the author only uses details of past sexual experiences to describe Maria: She wrapped her arms and legs around him and tried to wrestle him into bed (50). Williams wife continuously tries to lure her husband into bed by seducing him and reminding him of previous interactions. Being sexually dominant is a trait typical of a grown male. Since the primary household characters reverse roles, readers can expect that their daughter Grace, would display an abnormal personality as well. The first image that society has of a young girl usually consists of beauty, innocence, and long flowing hair; hair seems to be one of many priorities for women. Women often obsess about how they keep their hair and the overall appearance. Young girls can often want to put their hair up in ponytails and add a cute little flower as decoration. Even at this early age, girls still seem to care and fixate over how people will see them. Grace on the other hand, is very unique and differs in mindset from usual children. She claims that I dont want long hair, I dont want short hair and I dont want to be a girl or a boy (51); Grace is taking on a gender neutral role. Grace desiring a neutral stand point is a complex thought that line up with the rest of the story.

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William experiences overwhelming emotions that consume his thoughts as would a typical women. Maria then makes up for Williams lack of being a provider by providing a sense of support and fills his shoes in terms of being sexually dominant. Since both parents experience strong roles, readers arent let down when they are introduced to an even bigger picture of being gender neutral. Alexie creatively switches and molds the typical gender roles society has developed. In his short story, Flight Patterns, men are no longer seen has having sexual dominance, as this trait has been taken over by the once submissive housewife. Instead, William displays an overwhelming sense of emotion and paranoia. Altering the roles of this adult parents, readers can only guess what personality trait their young daughter will have inherited. The author takes the simple idea of changing two main roles, men and women, and leaves his readers pondering a more complex idea of being gender neutral.

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Works 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.

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 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

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Includes a consistent tone that presents your perspective appropriately