OK, so why are we humans so fascinated with flight? Have you ever wished you could fly? Why? What would it mean if we could?
Can you name any books/stories you've read where a character flies? (Literally or figuratively?) I've read a couple of novels by James Patterson in which a doctor has figured out how to create children who will be born part-human and part-bird. While the children love the ability to fly, their situation is much like the one mentioned in the book--the ability to fly is what traps them. The whole world wants to study them, see them, put them on display. The ability prevents their freedom instead of giving it to them.
In the House of Night novels, there are these creatures call the Raven Mockers. They were born out of evil deeds so they are part human but more bird. They can not fly during the day so during that time they have to stay inside. Eventually because of who they are they are always on the run. The freedom of flying becomes there only escape.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone at some point has wished that they could fly. Flying would just be a cool thing to be able to do. If we could fly we could all be free to do what we wanted and go where we wanted. I know it's kind of childish but the first example that comes to my mind as an example of flying is Peter Pan and how he teaches the three little children how to fly and how free they feel.
ReplyDeleteI think we are so fascinated with flight because we can't fly without the help of machines. We always want what we can't have. I haven't ever really had the dream about flying or when i was younger wish i could be like superman and fly, but I know that lots of other people that do. One person in literature that is affected by flying is Robert Langdon from Dan Brown's series. He isn't affected in a good way, flying confines him and makes him uneasy because he is in an enclosed space and doesn't feel free when he is flying. Which I think is ironic because isn't the most symbolic idea of freedom flying?
ReplyDeleteI think everyone, especially as kids, have said "I just wish i could fly". I think this is because flying would give us the freedom to get anywhere and do anything we want. I think that if human really could fly, it would not be as great as we think it would be now. Thats how most things in life really are, once you wish for something and you get it, its not as great as you originally thought.
ReplyDeleteHumans are fascinated with the idea of flying because it is impossible, and like Logan said we can only fly with the help of machines, and even with the help of airplanes we are still not completely free when we fly. In the Harry Potter books Harry is able to escape his Uncles house when Ron and his brothers pick him up in a car that flys. The car is able to provide freedom for Harry.
ReplyDeleteI think humans are so fascinated with flying because we are so lazy. We just want the easy way out of things and flying would defiantly be that. Humans started out to walk; got too lazy for that, then came horse and buggies. Then came the first cars with manual transmission; got too lazy for that, then came the automatic transmission. Now we are too lazy for that and just want to fly. The first thing i think of is Peter Pan. He wants to take the easy way out in things. He wants to be a kid forever and he flies. That lazy bum!
ReplyDeleteI think people are so fascinated with flying because it is one way to feel free. Im Fascinated because If I could fly i would feel weightless, nothing could get me, and the weight of the world would be off my shoulders. People get caught up in the ways of the world, and i think if you could just fly a away for a little while and relax. I don't believe in running away from your problems, but clearing your mind is nice. People would probably be less hostile. Another outlook would be the sense of power. Everyone one wants to be like Superman right?
ReplyDeleteIn Harry Potter they all at some point in the series fly. Personally I think that flying is the best thing you can do. I want to make a career out of it one day. I think that the thought of being able to fly gives humans a since of freedom that they cant have on the ground.
ReplyDeleteI believe that people are so fascinated with flying because it's something that we can't do as humans. And as logan said in his blog, people always want what we can't or don't have. I think that everyone does or once has wished that they could fly. It gives you the sense of freedom, and who wouldn't want to be free? It also could be an escape from your problems.
ReplyDeleteI think humans are fascinated with flight because they are not actually capable of flying without the help of something else. I definitely wish I could fly, we could get to where we wanted in a faster and more efficient way. But if everyone could fly I don't think it would be as important to fly because everyone could do it. People want to do things that no one else can accomplish.
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ReplyDeletePeople are fascinated with flying because they can't. I believe that everyone at one point or another especially as a kid has wanted to be able to fly. Yes its probably because they can go anywhere and everywhere they want and do whateveer you want as well, but I kind of thought it was about seeing the world from a different perspective. You could see how other people live and so much more that you don't even know is out there. I think a good example of this, even though it has already been mentioned, is Peter Pan. But Peter Pan is also an example of the freedom you get from flying.
ReplyDeleteHumans are fascinated with things that simply humans can't do, such things like flying, being invisible. That's why you hear of books/movies and other things that have characters that can fly, and are invisible. But yes, I have always wanted to fly, I still do. I want that sense of freedom it would give me to just be able to go up into the sky and just see everything that you wouldn't see being on ground. I can't think of any books that I have read that hasn't already been mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI think humans are so fascinated with flight because its something we cant do. Just like mind-reading, being invisible and everything else. If we cant accomplish it with our own ability, we become fascinated by it. Since its not an everyday thing for a human to fly, yes I wish I could fly every now and then. If humans could fly it would probably save gas, but other than that I dont see a huge need for it, there would be too many "Crash flights" :). I cannot think of many books with flying simply because I have never read a Harry Potter book or anything where they emphasize flying throughout.
ReplyDeleteI think that humans are so fascinated with flight because we can't fly, therefore we are fascinated with the thought of being able to do something that we are not born able to do. Also the thought of flying can be associated to the thought of being free and weightless. A book I have read that the characters can fly is the most obvious Harry Potter series.
ReplyDeleteI think that we are so fascinated with flight because we want to view the world differently. We want to experience regular things from a different aspect. Whether that be a tree, an ocean, or your life. I also think we are so intrigued by flying is because we can't fly. We want to do things that are out of the ordinary, things that we know we can't do. When I think of a character that flies, the first thing that comes to mind is Peter Pan.
ReplyDeleteI think that the reason we humans are so interested in flight is because, without the help of things like planes or helicopters, we ourselves will never be able to fly. As for movies or books, another one that comes to my mind (and i hate to use the same movie as i did in my last post but) Neo in the matrix ends up learning how to fly in the 2nd movie due to the fact that he is in the matrix and can manipulate reality.
ReplyDeletePeople want to fly becuase they cant. the law of gravity prevents us and makes us feel tied down. i used to swim underwater and pretend to fly. it makes you feel free and pure.In eargon saphira the dragon could fly and he rode on her back. it seems every time stress go to them they would hit the skys and just get away from every one on the gorund
ReplyDeleteIn the novels called "The Edge Chronicles". There are these people called Sky pirates who fly around trading and trying to discover the world. The main character in one of the books, Quintinius, has always wanted to be a sky pirate and when he becomes one he loves it and never wants to go to the ground. This way is an escape for him. I encourage anyone who loves any book with a sort of an adventure to read these books!
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I thought of was the Maximum Ride series that Mrs. Thompson described above. Some evil doctors put wings on these kids, making them bird people. I believe humans are fascinated by flying because its something we can't do. We are the dominate creatures on this planet but flying is something we cant achieve. Everyone has wished they could fly at one point or another but its something we know we will have to experience it artificially.
ReplyDeleteHumans are so fascinated with flight because it means escape, think of how many places you could go when you're hurt, mad, happy, etc if you could just spread your wings and fly! Who wouldn't want to be able to do that. I still wish I could fly I think it'd be great. I already explained what it would mean if we could, escape. If everyone could fly then it wouldn't be weird and be studied like in the book you read. The book I'm reading now is about a kid who has a lot of home problems and before counseling, "flies" by getting high and drinking his problems away.
ReplyDeleteI think that people want to fly because it's gives you since of freedom being able to fly away from danger. In books you don't have to literally "fly" you can "fly" by escaping a dangers situation or sometimes i think of when everything in your life is going really realy good that you are "flying" your soaring higher than everyone else
ReplyDeleteI think the thought of flight interests people because it's a concept that we can't fully grasp. I also think people wish to be able to fly because it would be an easy and legal way to get away from things that stress us. I remember when I was a kid, when my cousins and I would play hide and seek I wished I could fly that way I could have a GOOD hiding spot where there was no way they would find me.
ReplyDeleteThe ability to fly means you can reach places that you couldn't before. In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the protagonist, Author Dent, learns to fly. But not because of believing he could, he just tripped and missed the ground.
ReplyDeleteI automatically thought about the movie hancock. I know that he is a type of "super hero" but he is still a normal person when he isn't helping people. Every time I watch that movie it makes me want to have the ability to fly. It seems like it would be so simple and convenient to be able to fly out your window and go to school, work, the store etc. You would get places so much quicker too.
ReplyDeleteThe ability of flight has always piqued my interest. When asked what superpower I'd want, I would say flight. When I take an airplane somewhere, I WANT the window seat to look down from the sky. I love going up in high places, like in tall buildings or on amusement park rides. Something about being separated from the ground is very freeing, but quite intimidating at the same time. When thinking of flight in literature, my mind goes to the abundance of comic books where many of the heros (and villains) can fly. Not only is flight something humans are fascinated with, it is something associated with power and freedom to do as one desires.
ReplyDeletecome on it is flying! everyone wants to fly! i think humans are so fascinated by it is because it is something that we can't do, we want to do the impossible things in life. also i think in a more deeper sense, flying is a way of getting away from your problems and you could go to a relaxing place to sooth and calm
ReplyDeleteI believe we are so fascinated with flight because we all want what we can not have. If we could already fly, then we would grow bored and tired of it and it would not interest us anymore. Another reason we could be fascinated with flight is that we want freedom. We want to be left alone to our own devices. We want to be in control. I wished and dreamed of flying back in my naive state of my early years. I now see the flaws in my thinking and have since righted my ways. Flying are found occasionally in literature. The only examples i can think of are comic book characters. They used few and far between, at least in my opinion. There might be more examples, but i can't think of them.
ReplyDeleteFlight to me is about escape, freedom, the adrenaline, the rush. I think that's why we're so fascinated by it. We all tend to run from something or another. To fly would be to screw over who's chasing us. I've wished I could fly. Of course. Be it by giant wings like in the James Patterson books (which are pretty awesome, no lie, I'm on the first), broomstick, or how Storm does it in X-Men, I'm down. God can feel free to bestow that on me anytime. Why fly? Many reasons. All of which I listed in my first sentence. Not to mention it'd make my wanderlust quite a bit cheaper. If we could fly, what would it mean? Well for one it'd mean quite a quick fix to this global warming. Spike in the sell of raincoats. In the goggle market probably, too. I'm not sure how we could take it on from a legal standpoint. Parents would probably want trackers in their kids or something. Flying would completely change all that is.
ReplyDeleteBooks where a character flies. Hmm...Aladdin. Magic carpet. Harry Potter, of course. Broomsticks galore. Santa's Sleigh and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Tithe (who it's by, I can't remember--Ellen Black?). In the Southern Vampire novels by Charlaine Harris, which the show True Blood is based on, Eric can fly. Flying is common in literature because like so many things, people wish they could. I wish I could get my letter to Hogwarts already. Sadly, this wishing it to no avail and I think I'll be going to college with muggles galore.