Sherman Alexie's Flight Character Analysis

In the novel, Flight written by Sherman Alexie, a teenage boy endures multiple scenarios involving Native American history. The main character is a half white, half Native American teenager, who wants to be called Zits. Zits was raised in the foster care system since his Indian father left him with his mother and then his mother died shortly after. The foster homes being new and sometimes a cruel environment lead to Zits’ decline in adequate behavior, diminishing his innocence and constructing his bad reputation. Zits’ mischievousness is a result of his past with his family and foster care, and his current situation that is constantly seeking attention.
The delinquent stage that Zits is encountering could be a result of how unfortunate his …show more content…
Growing up in a foster home can left out important qualities that Zits needed to excel and thrive throughout life. Yet again, the attention that may have changed Zits was absent. He categorized the foster parents into two groups, “There are only two kinds: the good but messy people who are trying to help kids or the absolute welfare vultures who like to cash government checks every month” (8). It was obvious to Zits that foster homes varied in how nice they were and could tell which type they were very easily, but some homes were deceiving. He tells of one specific home on a mountain near Seattle that seemed like a very nice place at first. The family bought him his first pair of brand new shoes, but then Zits reflects, “Then my new father took me into another dark room in the basement, one without any trains, and did evil things to me. Things that hurt. Thing that made me bleed” (75). The attention Zits received from his foster father were negative and cruel; this was not the attention Zits needed to better himself. Between his missing parents and his deplorable foster care system experience, Zits’ behavior can be accounted for his upbringing and the attention he is