Flying Home

“Flying Home” is the titular story of Ralph Ellison’s collection published in 1944. It tells the story of Todd, a Black Air Force candidate in flight training school in Macon County, Alabama, during World War II. As one of the first Black people accepted into the school, Todd is determined to prove that his capabilities are equal to those of his white counterparts. The story addresses themes of Fear of Judgment, Opportunities and the American Dream, and Black Identity and Stereotypes. Ellison is best known for his debut novel Invisible Man (1952), which won the National Book Award in 1953. As a Black writer, Ellison wrote about racial unrest and feelings of alienation and ostracization among African Americans. The title of this story, “Flying Home,” is based on the jazz composition of the same name written by Lionel Hampton and Benny Goldman with lyrics by Sid Robin.

Content Warning: The story and this guide discuss anti-Black racism. The story also uses offensive racial slurs, which have been obscured when referenced in this guide.

The story begins on farmland in Alabama; Todd has crashed a plane during a test flight, and his ankle is broken. Eventually, it is revealed that Todd crashed his plane because, in his excitement, he flew too fast and too high, colliding with a buzzard that was flying toward him. The collision shattered the windshield, and he lost control of the plane. Incapacitated by his injuries, Todd is stranded in the field until Jefferson, a Black sharecropper, and his son, Teddy, find him and insist on getting him to a doctor. Teddy even suggests using an ox team as transportation, but Todd panics at the thought of riding an ox through town, “past streets full of white faces” (150).

The possibility of shame and humiliation weighs heavily on Todd; as one of the few African Americans in the flight school, he feels largely responsible for white people’s perception of not only him but also all Black people who want to fly. He worries that white officers will use his crash as evidence that Black people are incapable of being pilots, thus eliminating opportunities for other Black people to fly planes. Todd remembers a letter from his girlfriend back home, in which she assured him that he is “as brave as anyone else” and discouraged him from feeling the need to repeatedly prove himself because of his race (150), which could endanger him and cloud his judgment.

Teddy leaves in search of Dabney Graves, the white landowner. In the meantime, Jefferson tells Todd stories. He first tells Todd about finding two buzzards inside the carcass of a dead horse. Then he shifts to a longer fantastical story in which he envisions himself as a Black angel who was cast out of Heaven for shining too brightly. Todd is hurt and defensive; he thinks that the second story is intended to mock him and his error that caused the plane crash.

Todd, delirious and in pain, reflects on his childhood, specifically about the first plane he ever saw and how it sparked his love of flying. When he returns from his delirium, Jefferson expresses concern for Todd, warning him of Graves’s capricious tendencies: “He’s liable to turn right around and back the colored against the white folks […] as soon as he gits tired helping a man he don’t care what happens to him […] for him it’s just a joke” (168). Todd feels guilty for prematurely judging Jefferson, realizing that he and the other Black people are also victims of racism and cruelty. Todd’s ankle pain makes him lose consciousness.

When he regains consciousness, Graves is approaching with a straitjacket. Although it is intended for his cousin Rudolph, Graves attempts to put it on Todd. Todd protests, so an angry Graves kicks him in the chest. The story ends with Graves ordering Jefferson and Teddy to take Todd back to the airfield.