Conceptualize Zits ( The Main

Conceptualize Zits ( the main character in FLIGHT 2007 novel) Experiences through his psych-Journey throughout the novel

The purpose of the present paper is to conceptualize Zits experiences through his psych journey . Zits is the main character in the book Flight: a novel (2007 ) written by Sherman Alexie. The readers see a troubled orphan teenage boy, half native American, half Irish undergo a trip of initiation under the form of a journey in time in which he takes up the identity of four different characters. Alexie wishes to make a strong point not only about the construction of personal identity, but also about the uselessness of violence."Zits's odyssey is actually a vision quest on which he learns that revenge is bloody painful." (Cummins, 2)

Zits passes through some very intense episodes which illustrate his transformation. At the beginning of the novel he is a confused boy who doesn't understand his own identity and who hates everyone. Throughout the novel we see him in the skin of four different people situated in various historical contexts. All the assumed identities provide him with an experience of extreme violence either physical or psychological. At the end of the book Zits is no longer a confused boy. He understands who he is, he is in peace with the world after having forgiven his father, he knows that violence is not a solution regardless of the case and he is ready for a new life. The characters whom he incarnates are in fact various depictions of the Native American figure: the Indian warrior, the activist who is involved in the fight for Indian rights and also the alcoholic Native American.

The psychological development of the character occurs through his journey in time. The life situations which he experiences transform him profoundly. After numerous episodes of abuse, Zits ( whose real name is Michael) wants to avenge himself for all the suffering and is convinced that violence is the right solution. His mother died and his father abandoned him, so the boy knows that he is half native American and half Irish, but he does not understand what that really means. Through the transformations of his character, the author does not only make a point about violence, but he underlines the manner in which the racial stereotypes affect the life of a person. The impersonated characters reflect the stereotypes which have been constructed by the white Americans in regard to the Native Americans and which are still dominating the American society.

The short stories about their lives, as well as the denouement of the novel demonstrate that these stereotypes are weak and ought to be eliminated. The story allows the reader to understand that the Native Americans had an important contribution to the historical development of the country.

From a certain point-of-view, the book can be considered a bildungs roman, that is a novel of becoming, since we assist at the profound psychological transformation of its main character. Nevertheless, Alexie underlines the difficulties that abandoned children face when growing up, and also the contradictions that the young contemporary Native Americans need to deal with (the reality of modernity and the heritage of tradition). Zits does not have anyone who loves him and who can teach him right from wrong. Jumping from one foster family to another, the boy lacks stability and can not adapt to the social environment (in fact we see him sanctioned for petty crime in numerous occasions).

The themes that the novel addresses include the difficulty to integrate in the social environment, anger, family, redemption, trust, violence, but also revenge, war, social stereotypes, power and also "Indianess." Asked what he feels about anger, Alexie declared " anger without hope, anger without love or anger without compassion are all-consuming. That's not my kind of anger. Mine is very specific and directed." (in McFarland, 27)

The five characters that Zits embodies through his psychological journey in time are: Hank Storm, an FBI agent, an Indian boy living in the times of Custer, an Indian tracker named Gus, a homeless Indian drunk who happens to be the boy's real father and a pilot called Jimmy. Each is different from a psychological point-of-view. Nevertheless, they are all related to some sort of violence. The result is that in the end, the boy will choose to break the violence cycle and seek for help. "He time-travels several more times, and each trip presents moral dilemmas. He becomes the linchpin for the slaughter of children, innocently befriends a suicide bomber and finally inhabits his own absentee father." (Cummins, 3)

Despite the fact that all abandoned children have a rough time in life and especially during their childhood and adolescence, many of them can become valid grown ups. The fact that Zits is so unstable and needs to deal with such a terrible inner crisis is perhaps a means through which the author suggests that abandoned children ought to be placed in families that have the same cultural background. This is valid especially in the case of people belonging to ethnic groups with powerful cultural identity. Taking into account the fact that the boy is half Irish and half native American we realize that such a task is rather challenging.

It is a known fact that native Americans are very attached to their cultural roots. Zits knows that he has these roots, but does not know what they actually mean as there is nobody who can teach him the cultural values associated with them. Both the native American adult who is homeless and a drunk and the Indian boy are stereotyped images that the white American has created and imposed in the imagination of the masses.

From the former one, the boy will understand that being a native American does not necessarily mean being a social outcast. Despite the existing prejudice, one can still be the master of his own destiny. From the latter he understands that even the Indians were capable of cruelty. In this episode he sees himself slashing the vocal cords of a white boy in an act of revenge. Zits applies the violence he admired so much, yet the result is not the one that he expected.

It is safe to say that at the beginning of the novel Zits is rather ashamed of who he is (perhaps an issue that many contemporary young Native Americans have). His physical appearance and the typical teenage facial acne do not help his self-esteem. Therefore, in his first transformation, he is very proud of his perfect identity in the shoes of an FBI agent. The shift is made from an abandoned boy that society regards with prejudice to being a grown up with no social issues who has an important job (the opposition that could be made is an anti-hero vs. hero like). Unfortunately the manner in which the situation develops will show the boy that there is more than meets the eye and that one must never judge by appearance.

The boy often mentions the name of god throughout the story. We understand that the experiences which he undergoes make him perfectly understand the difference between good and evil. At one point he even asks himself if one killing can be better than another considering the motivation that lies behind it. Naturally the answer is no and even if as an Indian hunter he helps save some people, he realizes that he was actually not saving many other people. He learns that not intervening when injustice is made makes one be on the bad side even if he is not the one directly doing the evil. The Indian hunter is a means through which Alexie suggests the historical injustice that was done to the Native Americans.

The concept of justice is directly connected with the one of violence. It is not casual that Zits meets a boy called "Justice" who introduces him to the world of guns and teaches him that violence is the best solution in order to have justice done. Helping to perform crimes or simply watching them, Zits will eventually understand that revenge and justice are not the same thing and that violence is never the proper solution.

At the beginning of his psychological journey the boy is convinced that performing acts of violence can help him and the world in general acquire the lost balance. At the end of the journey, Zits asks himself in a sad tone why must people be so mean and cruel to each other, when the solution to all the problems is peace and collaboration. Alexie makes it clear that war is a part of our reality, but that it does not lead to any positive results despite the winner that an armed conflict might have.

The episodes in which the conflict between native Americans and Americans are described show that people belonging to both of the parties were suffering even when they were winning against the opposing party. Cutting the throat of another boy respected the law that says "an eye for an eye," but it had nothing moral or human about it. The decision of the pilot to crush the plane in the city can have no valid motivation and is deeply painful for Jimmy who feels betrayed by his student. The pilot who decides to crash the plane is a further stereotype, an incarnation of the belief that people belonging to the same cultural space as him are most likely to engage in terrorist acts.

Throughout his transformations, Zits realizes that he has done many mistakes in the past. In fact, he interprets the negative situations in which he is cast as a sort of divine punishment for his bad behavior in the past. He feels as if the violence episodes are supposed to make him learn from his mistakes- a task which he successfully performs.

Looking at the episodes in which Zits plays the main role, the reader realizes that Alexie is actually describing the history of the American people. Regard of the period there is always a conflict. If in the past we had general Custer burn the villages of the native Americans and slaughter them in battle, the evolution of society and its morals did not make thing better. Achieving a certain social status is not a guarantee of a moral standard as well and Zits learns this as an FBI agent who helps kill radical Indian actvists. After having being the attacker for a long period of time, the American nation is portrayed at the end as being the attacked party. As the Muslim pilot crashes down in the city, there is no winner party -- as the terrorist is killed by his deed.

The first incarnation has Zits believe that he is a hero. However, his actions make him understand that he is not. From being an FBI agent whose actions are directed against the Indians Zits moves on to an Indian boy. If he failed to be a hero as an adult, he gets the chance to become one in the second incarnation. The circumstances allow him to manifest his anger and to avenge himself for both the previous episode and his real life. It is here that the main character of the novel understands that justice and revenge are not synonyms and that violence does not solve anything. The consequence of his act of violence is cruel, yet that cruelty does not solve the initial problem (the boy remains mute) and instead of improving the situation, it only brings about more pain and hate, contributing to the conflict being maintained.

It seems that finally ad an Indian tracker Zits gets the opportunity to do the right thing and he saves the ones he ought to be taking to death. Unfortunately, despite of the noble and moral character of his deed, he realizes that it is not enough. He learns that walking around with killers makes one a killer even if he does not actually perform crime. Indifference and lack of action / reaction are crimes and the boy learns a very important lesson about what justice and morality mean. Incarnating his own father, Zits gets to understand the motives for which he had abandoned him and he forgives him. This helps him cure his hatred towards his parent.