A Search for Justice Sook-Hee Evans 12th Grade

Zits’s many “awakenings” throughout Sherman Alexie’s Flight help him see the world through a new lens with each body and time he inhabits. In each of these bodies, he learns a little bit more about the way the world is unfair to everyone, rather than just him and the other homeless and drunk Indians. When Zits inhabits the mute Indian boy, he sees how justice often gets warped depending on the context, especially when he compares it to his previous awakenings as Hank Storm, the supposed poster-man for justice. Zits initially sees justice as revenge, but through each awakening, he quickly realizes that justice has a different definition from each perspective it is examined and is unsuccessful in his search because there is no clear meaning of justice or fine line between good and evil people.

Zits initially thinks the entire world is an injustice to him and his people and questions whether true justice even exists. However, when he meets Justice the character, Justice convinces him that by seeking revenge, he can bring justice to himself and his people. Zits’ initial understanding of justice is essentially that there is a set amount of it in the world and that perhaps by doing something evil to avenge the injustices brought upon...