Wednesday, September 16, 2009

"Flyboys" Post

"Flyboys" is a story filled with symbols. Identify one symbol you consider to be significant. Explain how and why you see it as a major symbol.

37 comments:

bartstile15 said...

I thought that family and friendship was a significant symbol in story because Freddy and his mom lost two people from their immediate family and they still are strong during the hard times and problems. They seem to keep going in life. Freddy's friends help him to keep living as if his brother and father are still there. the memories are still stuck in freddy's house like the drawings carved into the table, the stories tanker told, and all of the good times they spent together. I feel that his longing for the past somehow helps him and his mother to persevere through lifes challenges.

KJ said...

One of the symbols in flyboys is the drawing on the table at freddy's house. they are a symbol because the represent good times and good people. in specific Tanker this symbol ties in with another symbol, Tankers truck. this representsw himand the accedent. it represents love. love is shown because the family kept the truck the whole time it represents togetheness. an example is when everybody banded together to save the truck from the mud.Tanker seems to be a person that everyone loved. and example is when the faimly had a disscussion about how great he was and how much they mourned him when he died.

Louisa said...

One of the symbols in fly boys is Tanker's motorcycle jacket. When they talked about the jacket in the story i could really picture Tanker in his leather jacket telling stories and carving the table while Freddy, his mom, and dad all looked on. I also think it is symbolic that at the end of the story Freddy's mom lets the main boy wear Tanker's jacket. I think the fact that he's allowed to wear the jacket shows how close friends he and Freddy were. I also think having the main boy wear Tanker's jacket shows that the mom has moved on from Tanker's death. I don't doubt that she is still sad but i think she accepts the fact that he's never coming back and that Tanker and her husband would have wanted her to move on with her and Freddy's life.

S H Y guy N101 said...

I think the airplane that the narrator and Clark are making is one of the most obvious but important symbol. I think it symbolises teamwork because The main character (narrator) and Clark have to work together to make this. They re also really good friends so in a way this would be recognized as a symbol for friendship. It also symbolises freedom because it would allow them to fly and feel free.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely agree with Brandon, because Freddy's family is going through a lot. Freddy had a scary asthma attack, which could have killed him, and Tanker, being killed in a motorcycle accident has really set this family's mood to being very depressed, and they seem to not get over it.

I thought another significant symbol was Tanker's truck, which was one of their few things left of Tankers'."The truth is, the old gal just can't pull her weight anymore," a quote by Ivan after it gets stuck in the mud. Ivan is showing emotion and is about to cry, which I recall, Ivan wasn't a very emotional person.

Kelsey Barbosa said...

I think that the main simples were, friends, family, and memories. The narrator in the story was living off of friendship and it didn't seem like he was very close with his family. So friendship to him was exciting and kept him very occupied. Freddy was relying on friendship and memories to get him through life. He doesn't seem like he enjoys his home life to much, and for him the only way for him to get away from that was friendship and replaying his very memories in his head. Clark was different then the narrator and Freddy he was the friend that didn't have any problems or issues going on with him, he lived a regular life. But to them they are still trying to get through their struggles.

Vaughn said...

I think that friendship is an important symbol in the
story as a whole. Freddy has gone through some really tough times with his mother and himself. His brother was killed in what might have been a motorcycle accident and speaking of freddy's brother, his brothers leather jacket and truck also reminds Freddy of Tanker and how great of a brother he was. The fact that these two friends (narrator and Clark) came up with the idea of building an airplane shows their teamwork and care each other and how willing they are to work together.

eleanor mcgrath said...

i think that one of the main symbols is tanker's drawings on the table at Freddy's house. it is like each drawing is a memory of Tanker.i agree with brandon about how the memories are trapped inside freddy's house. however it also seems like freddy and his family are trapped inside the memories of tanker because of their raw grief for him. you can tell that they are still grieving for him because of the way that everyone is thinking about him and talking about him. it also seems like the grief is dying down but they keep talking about him to keep his memory alive.

bANAnas said...

I think the main symbols are friendship, memories, and Tanker's old clothes. You could tell that the narrator of the story did not have a very close relationship with his family. He rarely talked about his family and he would often stay at Clark's house. This could mean that he did not enjoy being around his family. He really relied on friendship then because his family was probably not always there for him. Freddy also needed someone as a friend to help him get through Tanker's death.

After Tanker died, Freddy and his family kept his clothes and memories. This shows that they still love and care for him even though he is not with them. When Freddy's mom lets the narrator wear Tanker's jacket, it shows that she also knows he is not there. She still loves him though but it is good that she is not very attached still.

Thamyr.D said...

I think that family, friends, the airplane, and memories in this story. Family is a symbol in Freddy's life because he's family was close before the death of Tanker. Friends is a symbol because Freddy was a big part of the narrators life and still was when him and Freddy didn't talk. And when all three of them are at Freddy's house Clark isn't really liking how things are going because he wanted to see the canopie, but Freddy and the narrator were doing what they did when they were close frinds. The plane is what brings Freddy and the narattor become friends again. And at the ending the narrator has to chosse if he wants to let Freddy join in the planes on the plane. Memories were shown when they talked about the drawings on the table, and the way that the narrator and Freddy talked to each other.

kira said...

I think the canopy is a major symbol.Though it does not appear much, it is basically the reason Clark brings the main character to Freddy's house in the first place. The canopy is almost a guide to Freddy's. Clark and the main character come there, for a canopy, but other memories of the main character's friendship with Freddy appear.
However, this could also mean the major symbol is memory. He almost relives the memories while he is at Freddy's house. The main character talks about when Freddy had gone to the hospital because of an asthma attack, and narrator did not visit him at the hospital. He also talks about memories of playing basketball with Freddy, and the memories of Tanker. I guess the major symbol could either be memory or the canopy. it really depends on what part of the story you are reading.

isaac97 said...

I think on of the most important symbols was at the end of the book when Clark and the narrator were discussing weather or not to let Freddy join them in making the airplane, they would have to redesign the whole air plane so it could fit all three of them. This representation was weather or not they would add another seat and weather or not they would add Freddy.

MaiteCaballero said...

I believe that the main symbol in "Flyboys" is memories. Freddy's family keeps Tanker's old clothing and automobile in memory of him, but his mom still lets Tobias wear his leather jacket acknowledging that he's gone. The carvings on their table remain as a shadow of what Tanker left behind, and his good times telling stories to his family and Tobias.

Another form of memories is when Tobias is at Freddy's house. They fall back into their old patterns of horror stories and sayings that Clark is unfamiliar with. Spending time with Freddy after their last exchange in which Tobias ran away helped him remember all the good time they had together, but when Clark inquired wether Freddy could help with the plane Tobias declined.

katherina said...

In Flyboys there were obviously many symbols. I agree with Nico I think that the plane is the main symbol. Through out the beginning of the story Clark and the narrator were always trying to change each others designs for the plane. Then they started to actually accept each others changes. Then they heard about the canopy. So they went to freddy's house. They ended up learning more about freddy's life. When his stepfather got the truck stuck in the mud they all helped to try and get it out. It took a awhile but they finally got it out using team work and combining each others strategies and ideas. They finally matured and used each others ideas with there own. They also became close friends with Freddy. In a way they were rewarded for working together by getting the canopy from Freddy for there friendship.The plane represents a fresh start, friends, and togetherness.
Tankers truck was also a symbol. They all helped to try to get the truck out from the mud, but could not. This represents struggle. Freddy and his family go through a lot. They lost Tanker, they aren't stable financially, and they aren't very happy. Once they started to work together they got out of the mud; accomplishment. They felt great. The truck mainly represents struggle and happiness.

guitarherofingers said...

In this story I think the main symbols are teamwork and friendship, without which the airplane would have never been completed and Freddy would've never mad it through Tanker's passing.
I think Brandon has a good point that without his friends and family he would've never persevered through the loss. Whenever there is loss you need to focus on the ones who are still with you in order to be resilient and think about those from the past. When there is loss in my family or in the families of those close to me I use these people as support.
A physical symbol would be either Tanker's jacket or the airplane itself. Tanker's jacket is the core of remembrance that Freddy uses to think about Tanker. Also the airplane just symbolizes goals and what happens along the way to them. The story could only end with a completion of the plane or there would be no closure.


This is Pablo


Baseballnyc is Jack

Bartstile15 is Brandon

J dog said...

I think that the canopy was a big symbol in the story. The airplane was the huge symbol and the canopy was a sub symbol that turn out to be the most important part of the book. The very interesting thing is that there are many important sub symbols that all go back to the main symbol. Two sub symbols are friendship and family. The canopy brought those two sub symbols in to the story. The sub symbols talked about an old friendship and the chance to renew it. Also when the narrator went to Freddy's house, it was like he was their long lost son who they had not seen in a year. This was a great story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is james tommy pickles

eminem said...

id have to say that friends and family were the greatest symbols of "Flyboys." it seems as though in flyboy friends and family represent everything. friends keep him happy and give him some sort of purpose. family are always people you can rely on, in his family many events have taken place that have made his life worse. memories of freddies past is pratically haunting him. his brother and father are still there but he has to believe that they are there for family and friends is all he has.

Janet.O said...

Like many, I believe that friendship is one of the major symbols in "Flyboys". The story begins with these two boys bound together by friendship, but also by the plane that they are building. Later on in the story, they are looking for a canopy for their plane, and the only place where they could find one was at the house of an old friend of the narrator’s. And even though I believe this story was greatly about the power of friendship, it is also about the possibility of renewing a friendship as well. I say this mainly because the narrator’s old friend, Freddy, had grown very distant from him since he had suffered from an asthma attack. And by the end of the story the narrator and Freddy are friends once more. So in a way the friendships can also be reunited which is part of the main powers or abilities of friendships in general. Also, it was evident that both Freddy and the narrator were extremely pleased that they were in one another’s company once more. I believe that friendship is an ever present symbol in the story “flyboys”.
-Janet

Unknown said...

A symbol in Flyboys is their sense of independence. After they got the truck out the mud, Ivan drove away. Freddy and Clark were both exausted after pushing. The narrator had offered help to Freddy. Freddy was panting and could have died of exuastion, dehydration, or any other kind of illness from heat exposure or lack of energy. This was significant as it shows the toll of struggle. They worked together to defeat the problem. However they separate immeadiately after into their own personalities. Freddy also struggled from his family's unstable finance and other problems from that. It shows how he had to provide for himself most of the time and shows the independence in this symbol.

Summer said...

I think the main symbol in Flyboys is friendship. When Freddy loses tanker he needs a friend to help him get through it. He did not seem to talk about his family much so he obviously was not very close with them, so he needed someone other then family to rely on.

Quitze said...

I also think that the plane is one of the most important symbols in the story. The fact that it’s a very difficult plan represents the common dream that friends share. That common dream actually may be what’s holding up the friendship. It also represents youth because of the hope that they can conquer the challenge and the challenge shows how much time it has ahead of them. The fact that it’s a challenge shows a lot of wish for adventure. It can be a symbol of success because the main character puts so much desire into it. I can go on and on about everything it symbolizes because that symbol is the story itself.

kabanzzz said...

I think that a main symbol in this story is Tankers old jacket and drawing in the table. I find these two things very important in the story because those are two things left behind by tanker. they are like his spirit left behind and his memories are carved into the house. I agree with ana that friendship is another main symbol. Because the narrorator never spoke much of his family and relied on his friendship mabye because he is not close to his family or his family was not always there to support and guide him.

Mayo* said...

I think that two of the main symbols in "Flyboys" are friendship and abandonment. Friendship is reminded throughout the whole story and is significant to the book because in Flyboys there are two different friendships described to us. both of them show unique sides and ways of friendship. One friendship that the narrator described in the book was his friendship with Clark which was more new. He seemed to have a power over him to direct him to do things his way and they didn't have much in common but seemed to have a fun time creating things together. In the story the narrator also had a friendship with Freddy but for a longer time. They seem to have had more in common and were more like the friends who would always have a good time together. During the story they're going through an awkward silent stage and and it was interesting to read about that and to see how they act to each other.

djuna mks said...

A large symbol in the story was the jet plane, and the thought of flying. Flying meant freedom, meant getting away from all the troubles and pains that being stuck on the earth leaves you with. Flying meant having no boundaries or limits. "When I couldn't go any higher, I went higher". That line really expresses the freedom that he feels like he would have with flying. The jet plane that the two good friends are building is an escape in many ways, it is also hope. Although it may seem childish and not able to happen, flying is their hope and the thing that brings their friendship together.

Rehana said...

I think that loss is a significant symbol in the book. Because when the narrator was talking about Tanker and his death, and all of the things he used to do, like engraving little drawings on the table and being able to make people laugh at his stories and jokes. When Tanker died, it seemed as though Freddy's family was (in a way) at it's end. For example, After Tanker died, Ivan transferred to a job where its location was far away; and the mother's happiness started 2 fade away.

Brittney said...

As many others said, I think friendship and forms of loss are important symbols within the book. The main two losses would be Freddy’s brother, Tanker and the loss of friendship between Freddy and the narrator. The loss of Tanker brings out the emotions Freddy’s family constantly tries to conceal. Thankfully, the friendship between Freddy and the narrator is somewhat rekindled.

itai said...

I think the big symbol in this
story was the plane. the plane
was a big symbol because it kept
the story going. for example, the plane started of the story and then continued at the end when Freddy wanted to join and build the
plane with Clark and the
narrator.Another symbol was probably freindship between all three of them and how close they were.

MARVEL said...

In the short story Flyboys there are a number of unique symbols. One of them was the Oreo. When Clark and the narrator went to Freddy’s house they were all offered Oreos, everyone took an Oreo except the narrator. To me the Oreo symbolizes friendship. It’s almost like he’s not fully comfortable with Freddy and himself being friends and that’s why he didn’t take an Oreo.

I agree with Louisa that when Freddy’s mother gave the narrator Tanker’s leather jacket to wear was a strong and powerful symbol. That jacket and all the other belongings of Tanker holds so much sentimental value, so for Freddy’s mother to lend one of those belongings to out to wear is very symbolic, it symbolizes that Freddy’ s mother has dealt with the pain and melancholy of Tanker’s death. She has mastered all the hurt and is moving on and acknowledging Tanker’s death.

Unknown said...

I think the symbol of the story is the Tankers Truck. They talk about it as if its actually a person and as if it wasn't their decision to sell it. The family still that It belongs to trucker and if they let go of the truck, they let go off trucker. The truck also represent all three boys in a way. Clark because he got excited while moving the truck even though it wasn't his and he doesn't seem to have any big emotional tie to it. It goes with the main boy, because he knew trucker, he went camping with him, and he saw him alot since he was best friends with Freddy. Freddy has the strongest tie with the truck out of all of them. Trucker was Freddy's brother and to him the truck was like a symbol of his brother.

Nick said...

My blog finally works Tom!!

Nick said...

It is my Opinion that when the main character in “Flyboys” was faced with the realization that his own predicament with his parents was just as problematic as it was with Freddy’s. It symbolized dissembling because the main character“wrapped himself in lies” in order to avoid the reality of the matter at hand. In short he lied to himself. I also believe that this part of the story provided the most insight on the character, for the author didn’t even choose to disclose the character’s name. So the reader, unlike with the characters Clarke and Freddy , had to create an image of the main character.

Brianna Bieber♥ said...

I thought that the airplane symbolizes teamwork because the narrator, Clark and Freddy all worked together, making something that they all like which happens to be an airplane. As we talked in class today, I thought that friendship was a symbol, but it is not. It is a theme but the airplane has friendship deep inside of it. The airplane also symbolizes freedom because they could escape reality once they make their “own real airplane” and to be free of everything and everybody. This was a good short story. :)
- Brianna
(Sorry this was late)

Ari said...

The truck, as opposed to the jet, symbolizes the ability to complete and realize realistic goals. Once you have the basic ability to differentiate the things that can be completed and those that can’t, then you can progress. As you mature, you leave behind the imaginary world (“through all the long run home I was in the cockpit of my jet, skimming sawtooth peaks. . .”), and start to try to complete realistic goals like getting a truck out of the mud. And, in completing the realistic goals, you gain the self-confidence to imagine “how” you might “fly” or how you might achieve some other really hard goal. The three friends find a smart way to get the truck out of the mud, which is a somewhat difficult project, so that eventually with more experience they can begin to complete their real goal—to build a jet. I do not think that they will ever actually build a jet but I think that as they grow up, they will become more and more responsible and develop plans for achieving difficult goals. The truck symbolizes growing up.

englishkid said...

the symbol that stood out to me most in this story was the carved up table. in the storie, it merrits special attention to detail and descriptive language. to me, it symbolises freddies family not wanting to give up his older brothers memorie. they don't seem to want to move on. it showes the families devotion and love for their first born child and the pain a death in a family can cause. by the end of the storie, however, Freddie and his family give the main character another piece of important famly memorabilia. Taner's jacket was another major symbol that gives the opposite effect. together, they symbolise the proper way to mourn. move on but don't forget the reason so many everyday things are missing.

claudia said...

One of the main symbols in the book was the plane. It symbolized freedom from things that are hard to deal with. The plane also symbolized growing up and flying away. The reason the narrator did not want Freddy to help build the plane was because Freddy was in the past. in Freddy's house the drawings that Tanker left on the table were kept and so were Tankers clothes even though Tanker was gone. Freddy's family tried to make it seem like they were still in the past and nothing ever happened; instead of moving on, they were stuck in the mud, like the truck. The narrator did not want to be tied down and stuck in the mud. He wanted to be free and grow up and fly away.

donyaeh said...

One of the maojor symbols in the story flyboys is the canopy. The canopy symbolizes teamwork and that two people work together,also responsibity. The canopy has alot to do with the plot as well. The canopy made him go to his old past.His old friend Freddy's house.He thought that Freddy didn't have it, but freddy did and he kept it clean. the only problem is that freddy wanted in on the plane project. The narrator thinks that its not a good idea. so he says no. This I think is because he envyed Clark because he thought that he had the perfect family. But freddy's famliy was really bad. His own family is really not going so well.

MARVEL said...

Sorry Tom this is Kai.