Religion is considered a highly personal aspect of an individual’s life in today’s western culture, yet it used to be a significant part of society as a whole. The remnants of religious society can be seen in North America as well. Christmas and Easter, both exclusively Christian events, are both celebrated as national holidays, despite Canada and America both being secular representative democracies, with no national religion. Atheism is not a new phenomena, however it has gained a massive following of believers quite recently in the past few decades, and the chances of meeting an atheist or a non-religious person have increased greatly. Douglas Coupland was raised without the concept of religion, and as he grew older, made his own, unique “West coast religion” and his own religious identity (Snider, 1994). In his short story, “Things That Fly”, Coupland seeks to illustrate the importance of having a strong religious identity as providing security to one during difficult periods in life, and warn of the pessimistic and cynical attitude that can develop if there is a lack of religious identity.
The main character of the short story is left nameless and not given many attributes; except for that he is recovering from an event in his recent past, he is fascinated by nature (birds and squirrels, particularly), and he idolizes Superman. This is a literary choice Coupland made, in order to make it easier for readers to slip themselves into the mind of the character, as at least a few of these traits are shared by everyone. The trait that is most common between everyone is going through some sort of hardship in their respective pasts and learning to move on from them. Coupland shows that religion can be a way to deal with grief, shown through the experiences of his main character.
“Please, God, just make me a bird- that’s all I ever really wanted- a white graceful bird free of shame and taint and loneliness…and a sky so big that if I never wanted to land, I wouldn’t have to. But instead God gave me these words and I speak them here.” (Coupland, 3).
The main character desperately wants to run away from his emotional problems, and sees birds as a symbol of freedom that he can never have, going so far as to pray to become one. Of course this does not happen, but the main character still finds solace in praying God about his wish for freedom. Just having the ability to express his feelings through words is considered as a miracle from God by the main character, and he expresses so in retrospection about his odd prayers,
Through heavy symbolism of birds and Superman, Coupland shows the necessity of having a strong personal religious identity is to one’s happiness and direction in life. The main character heavily admires Superman, and does not deal well with the reaction of his pending death in the comics very well at all.
“But I was still sad. I have always liked the idea of Superman because I have always liked the idea that there is one person in the world who doesn’t do bad things. And that there is one person in the world who is able to fly.” (3).
It is obvious that the main character reveres Superman because of his “good guy” personality and respects him for always doing the right thing. Superman can also fly, which makes him resonate with the main character even more. Superman is abe to do the one thing the main character wishes to do throughout the story; to fly away. Flying represents a great deal to the man character, as he associates it with being free and liberated; he can leave any place any time he wishes, even leave behind his problems. Birds, thus, also mean a great deal to him as well.
“…of how birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.” (2).
Having the ability to fly away is a trait the main character desperately wants. Flying away means, in the eyes of the main character, that birds exist in a simpler state of being because they have the option of flying away. Simple states of being are often applauded in many religions. In this way, flying is seen in a religious manner by the main character, of which birds and Superman are a part of.
However, flying, birds and, Superman are not a strong base for a religious identity. They are both part of the material world. Superman is a comic book character whose fate lies with whatever makes DC Comics the most money, and birds are another species who are incredibly different from human beings. Most importantly, flying itself is just another means of transportation for animal bodies, not a religious state of freedom. The main character must realize this and base his religion in a more solid, stable background in order to overcome the daily depression he feels almost constantly.
“…I stepped through the messes; I fell onto the couch and into a sleep and then into a dream… I was running around that floor… frantic, looking through those big sheets of glass- trying to find a way to protect Superman.” (3)
At the end of the story, the main character goes back to his messy apartment and goes back to sleep, dreaming of saving Superman, or in other words trying to stop the inevitable from happening. The only time the character feels at peace for an extended period of time is when he is writing, which he considers a miracle from God. God is more solid than the idea of flying. The main character must mature and realize that his fantasies about flying are not true and find spiritual solace in a deeper, more substantial being, and ultimately, a stronger religious identity, in order to be able to move on from his past and attain a state of being he is satisfied with.
Works Cited
Coupland, D. “Things that Fly”. Life after God, 1994. Canada: Pocket Books, 1994. pp. 1-3
Snider, Mark. “The X Man: Douglas Coupland, from ‘Generation X’ to spiritual regeneration: Ironic voice softened by need for faith”. USA Today. N.a. March 7, 1994. N.a. The Coupland File. Retrieved from http://coupland.tripod.com/index.html
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