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Profiling Of Flight Patterns, By Sherman Alexie

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The Profiling of “Flight Patterns” Profiling people can cause a brick wall to be built between one another, a wall that cannot be easily knocked down. The bricks come down as the person doing the profiling sees beyond physical appearance. When the wall comes down a transparent window forms with a beautiful view. There is more to a person than their exterior, just like there is more to a room than walls. When profiling someone, people do not see past the brick wall; they build it higher and higher. When someone takes the time to get to know someone else, the wall comes down; at that point, people get a clear view of who people are, which could be beautiful. Profiling causes people to become engulfed by other people 's perceptions of who they are, and it becomes a conflict between racial heritage and common humanity. Through the characters, setting, and tone of “Flight Patterns,” Sherman Alexie shows that profiling can lead to the misinterpretation of who someone is. Alexie shows a vivid picture of William, who is the main character of the story. He is a loving father, husband, and business person who cares about his appearance, which means he cares about what people think of him, and he knows people profile him based on his looks. His wife is a loving, carefree woman, which is entirely the opposite of William. She does not care what people think of her. In addition, William is Native Indian; he has dark skin and has long hair that he keeps in a lovely braid, which is a
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