Character Development in Flight Darina Michelle Laviene

Throughout the book Flight by Sherman Alexie, the main character Zits is in search of where he belongs and why people have mistreated him throughout his life. In the midst of the action in the novel, Zits begins to experience character jumps, where he is trapped in the body of different characters. Each character jump that Zits has contributes to his growth into becoming more mature by allowing him to expand his perspectives and reflect on his own ideology. The most significant character jumps are into the bodies of the little Indian boy, Jimmy and his father. These jumps force Zits to develop his present ideas about revenge, violence, and forgiveness.

One of the first characters that Zits becomes is a little Indian boy. When first describing his experience as the boy, he is very critical and unhappy about the situation. He is nearly naked, hot, and surrounded by a lot of Indians who are speaking in a language he cannot understand. While this is true, he is comforted by the fact that he has a father who loves him. In the start of the novel, Zits talks about his father who has left him when he was born. He constantly attempts to understand this betrayal in the story. While he has a father in this section, one is able to identify...