As a tour de force on core American values, Sherman Alexie’s Flight revisits the frontier and surveys several fictional microcosms of America’s past until today, filtering diverse constructions of violence through the eyes of an orphaned Native teenager in search of his identity. Treating topics such as systemic inadequacies of the welfare state, cultural norms and notions of masculinity that glorify violence as well as revenge and loneliness, Flight shows that the vicious circle of violence must be broken and that values of the frontier deeply ingrained in the American psyche must be re-envisioned to include a more inclusive and compassionate sense of communal spirit. While dealing both with trauma and the results of colonialism, the novel at the same time suggests that one must first come to terms with the past so that true healing and renewal can begin.