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Lauren Johnson Mr. Newman English 101: Rhetoric 30 October 2013 A Woman in a Mans World Marie had left her job as a corporate accountant to be a full-time mother to Grace (53). A seemingly random quote from Sherman Alexies Flight Patterns, unfolds a more complex plot portraying the unspoken gender roles of men and women, and also how American society has put these gender roles into place. In American society, we have come to understand gender roles as the basis our culture, to maintain the status quo, we have collectively decided that the stereotypical roles of men are protecting and providing and nurturing is the main goal of women. William expresses masculinity by being the only one working in his household, providing money and security for his wife and daughter, as his wife Marie expresses femininity by staying home to take care of their daughter Grace, and to carry out other typical women roles such as homemaking and cooking. Flight Patterns elaborates on the themes of masculinity and femininity indirectly by giving William and Marie certain jobs they must fulfill to maintain the status quo of gender roles. American culture and society has affected the treatment of men and women since the beginning of this nation. From television sitcoms showing working men coming home to a caring wife with a kiss and a home cooked meal, to our childhood welcoming girls with Barbies and boys with trucks, proper ways for each gender to act have been exemplified to us in many more ways than one. In Flight Patterns could be seen as switched, but William and Marie both

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maintain the status quo by fulfilling their gender role in society. By William playing the working man that is the only one providing income for his family as well as protection, and Marie playing the care giver, and begging her husband to stay instead of going on his business venture, nothing has changed in the interpretation of gender roles. To convey the theme of masculinity, early in Flight Patterns, it is understood that William is leaving to go on another business trip, leaving his daughter and wife he loves so dearly behind. After readying himself for his trip, he says his goodbyes to his wife Marie, who begs him to come back to bed with her. Enforcing his masculinity role, he leaves his wife behind, not succumbing into her tactics of snuggling before he leaves, but he leaves her there, and she falls back asleep feeling unfulfilled. In addition to Marie, their child Grace lies teary eyed and wide awake, sadly awaiting her fathers departure. William leaves Grace with, I love you and Im going to miss you (51), and Grace responds with a heart-felt hug as more tears brim her eyes, and without hesitation, William leaves the security of his home to the brisk morning air of Seattle waiting for his taxi. But, William is forced to leave because he has made it so that he is the only one providing for his family, Marie must stay home to take care of Grace because she quit her job to do so. Williams masculine role is even more apparent here because there is no choice of him leaving, though his family want him to stay, he has created a demand for his love within his family because he isnt around much and his family has to deal with things without him. Also, William speaks about the nightmares he has when hes away from his family, he always thinks that someone will break into his home and murder his family, however this could further portray the masculine theme because William believes that without him his family is feeble and desperately needs his attention. When he traveled, he had nightmares about strangers breaking into the house and killing and raping Marie and Grace (53), these vividly brutal

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nightmares set the idea that Flight Patterns conveys the theme of masculinity through the worries and actions of William. In addition, femininity has been shown sparingly but effectively in Flight Patterns through the actions of Marie. Marie is first depicted being sleepy and begging to William to come back to bed with her instead of him going on his business venture, which she knows he must attend. Marie states, Take off your clothes and get in bed and William replies with, I cant do that, theyre counting on me (50). Marie begging William to stay with her in bed elaborates on femininity by her dependence on William to remind her that she is a woman. Though Marie has a very small role in the brief touch of femininity that Flight Patterns delivers, Marie conveys the idea of weakness and the dependence on a man. Marie also expresses her weakness as a woman when she is still begging William to stay home with her, She wrapped her arms and legs around him and tried to wrestle him into bed (50), at this point Marie results to the most basic of ways to win over a man, temptation. William exerts his masculinity by telling Marie he must leave makes her give a desperate plea to make him stay, but the trick Marie plays fails as William still leaves. In closing, American society has affected the gender roles in Alexies Flight Patterns by William expressing masculinity and Marie expressing femininity. This short story is reflecting on the ways of modern day society to inform the audience that gender roles helps maintain the status quo between men and women.

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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 Includes a consistent tone that presents your perspective appropriately