Flyboys

by

Tobias Wolff

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Flyboys makes teaching easy.

The Plane

For the narrator, the jet plane he is making with Clark symbolizes his desire to escape his troubling reality. The time spent working with Clark on the design routinely takes him away from his…

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Mud

In contrast to the plane, which symbolizes the narrator’s desire to fly above his problems, mud functions as a symbol of those problems. It’s no coincidence that it is Freddy’s stepfather Ivan, who is…

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Sandwiches

In “Flyboys,” sandwiches serve as a symbol of domestic care and presence—or lack thereof. The initial mention of sandwiches occurs when the narrator is at Clark’s house, where he takes a break from working…

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