38 pages • 1 hour read
Ralph FletcherFlying Solo
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Importance of Proving Independence
At the beginning of the novel, students are given the opportunity to be independent of the adults in their lives. Because of the mix-up with the substitute teacher, Mr. Fabiano’s sixth grade class takes advantage of the situation and chooses to be independent for the day. As Chapter 9’s title states: “KIDS RULE!!!” (34). However, the students’ desire for independence gets tested consistently. For example, the students in Mr. Fabiano’s class must produce a plan for how they will notify other sixth graders about their independence so that nobody tattles on them. For the class to maintain their independence, they must let others feel as though they are a part of it, too. Also, when Sky, the new kid, gets hurt at recess, the students must fix the issue so they can continue without adults. Missy, whose dad is a doctor, cleans and bandages Sky’s wound so that he wouldn’t have to go to the nurse. This prompts a student to say “KIDS RULE! Who needs the teacher? Who needs the nurse? Huh? Who needs any grownups at all?” (84).
Rachel’s desire to be an airplane pilot symbolizes that independence is important to the students. As she studies how to become a pilot, she reads “Solo Flight. This is the ultimate goal: to fly on your own” (94). The class shares the same sentiment: They want to prove their independence as the ultimate sign of maturity and responsibility. They want to prove their trustworthiness even when adults are not around. One of the signs on Mr. Fabiano’s wall says, “CHARACTER IS HOW YOU ACT WHEN NOBODY’S WATCHING” (130). Throughout the day, the students prove they are truly independent because of how they act when nobody is watching. The class thus has nothing to feel guilty about when they are caught. Even though, from the outside, it looks like the students did something wrong by lying all day about having a substitute teacher, the students don’t feel like what they did was wrong because they were able to prove to themselves and to the adults that they could be independent and rule themselves.
The Challenge of Responsibility
When Mr. Fabiano’s class choose to be independent for the day, they unknowingly put the burden of responsibility on their own shoulders. Without an adult to watch them, the students must take the reins, ensure that everyone is okay, and work together to keep their secret. As Missy writes during their morning writing time: “We have to help each other, since we don’t have any teacher to watch over us […] We’re on our own” (45).
Throughout the novel, specific characters show that responsibility is difficult. For instance, Bastian takes responsibility for his beloved dog, Barkley. Even though he wants to take Barkley with him to Hawaii, he knows that Barkley’s four-month quarantine would be a cruel way to treat an animal. Bastian acts responsibly by giving Barkley to Sean, although it is emotionally painful for Bastian. Karen also takes responsibility and owns up to what happened that day in class. Although she must deal with her parents’ disappointment, she is proud of the class because they were able to act responsibly and take care of each other.
Rachel, as well as the rest of the class, also must take responsibility for her actions towards Tommy. Rachel did not treat Tommy kindly, especially because he had a crush on her, and that made her feel especially traumatized after his unexpected death. Rachel also learns that several other students also treated Tommy unkindly because they thought Tommy was annoying and strange. However, while doing the rock ceremony for Bastian, the class finally takes responsibility together for how Tommy was treated and how they, as a class, reacted to his death. When Rachel accuses Bastian of being mean to Tommy, Bastian retaliates by accusing Rachel of the same. The entire class then writes and talks about how they all acted towards Tommy. Although it is difficult for them to take responsibility for their actions towards their deceased classmate, it is through this responsibility that the class finally moves forward and heals from the trauma. All this processing allows Rachel to accept how she acted and know that she is still a good person, thus motivating her to speak again. She writes in a letter to Mr. Fabiano: “‘I can live with what I did. I’m not a terrible person.’ And now I can say it out loud” (138).
The Importance of Tolerating Differences
Because the novel’s chapters present different perspectives, the reader learns about the characters’ unique internal differences. Each of the characters has their own opinion on what is going on, their own family background, and their own problems, and this diversity of perspectives emphasizes the theme that tolerating differences is important. The first example of this theme is how “more than anybody else Missy accepted Rachel’s silence” (25). Unlike some classmates, Missy accepts that Rachel does not want to talk and easily steps into the role of Rachel’s voice. She reads what Rachel writes to the class and can understand what Rachel wants based on her facial expressions. Sean also accepts Rachel’s silence, though differently than Missy. He writes about how he thinks Rachel would like his favorite clearing in the woods: “I don’t care how quiet she’d be. Who cares if she never says one word?” (44). Although some of her classmates make fun of her, like Bastian nicknaming her the “Silent Pilot,” the class still leaves Rachel’s silence alone and acts like it is normal.
By having the mutual goal of being independent of adults, the class is also forced to tolerate each other’s differences: For the ruse to work, no student can get in trouble, go to the nurse, or tattle to an adult. Therefore, the students all must work as a team and trust each other despite their differences. Even Jessica, who opposes the class independence, accepts the class decisions despite her apprehensions and voiced objections. Because the class makes its decision with a vote, Jessica can do little to stop this self-government, and she accepts that. She accepts that they have a difference in opinion and that her opinion has been overruled by the class vote. Jessica still could have tattled to an adult, but because she tolerates and respects the differences in opinion, she goes along with the class.
The classmates also learn the consequence of not tolerating differences after Tommy’s death. Throughout the novel, the students reveal ways that they were intolerant of Tommy. Bastian called him names, Rachel rejected all his kindness, and for the most part, the class considered him a nuisance. None of the students were his best friend or tried hard to get to know him better. Now that he is dead, the class must deal with their guilt at how they treated Tommy. They didn’t tolerate how he was different from them, and now they will never have the opportunity to try to accept him.
