Capture The Flag

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2012

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-6

Chapters 7-12

Chapters 13-19

Chapters 20-24

Chapters 25-28

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Silver Jaguar

The silver jaguar is the symbol of the Silver Jaguar Society, “whose members were descendants of the world's most creative minds, and who accepted a promise to protect the work of their ancestors however they could” (26). As a symbol of the Silver Jaguar Society, the charm worn by its members represents The Need to Protect Artifacts that Shape Understanding of the Past. All members wear a piece of jewelry with this symbol, whether it’s José’s mother’s “favorite dangly earrings with the silver jaguars” (10), Anna’s mother’s “jaguar necklace, passed down from Grandma Revere” (25), or Henry’s aunt’s “silver bracelet with some big leaping cat charm jingling all over the place” (11). The fact that they never take these items off illustrates the connection and responsibility they feel to history, and each of these relatives impresses the importance of historical artifacts on the novel’s three main characters.

In addition to conveying this theme, the silver jaguar also contributes to two important plot points in the novel—allowing Anna and José to recognize their common bond and help Henry identify his own connection to the Society, and triggering their epiphany that Snake-Arm is on their side. In different ways, each historical figure from whom the characters are descended has contributed to a larger cultural heritage and is used to illustrate a different point about cultural memory within the novel. The fact that the ancestors represented by the silver jaguar—a flag maker and her assistant, a silversmith, and a painter—are all artists underscores the idea that a nation’s crafted artifacts are the key to understanding its past and creating a path to its future.

Idioms and Sinan’s Notebook

Messner uses idioms as a motif throughout the novel, and the images Sinan creates to explain phrases like “full of beans” and “let the cat out of the bag” point out how often people rely on these non-literal figures of speech to convey meaning (48). Sinan’s notebook and engagement with idioms serve both a thematic and a practical purpose: it demonstrates how language can be connected to cultural identity and history, and it defines the phrases for readers who might be unfamiliar with them. For example, the kids’ definition of “scapegoat” explains the unjust accusations leveled against the orchestra by Snickerbottom, highlighting The Danger of Assumptions and Prejudices.

Sinan’s efforts to understand idioms characterize him as inquisitive and interested in American cultural turns of phrase and also illustrate that the world is full of diverse perspectives. Like Anna, Henry, and José, he has a passion that helps him make sense of the world. He explains, “I like to draw what they say but do not mean” (50). By making this clear distinction through the use of Sinan’s notebook, Messner conveys the theme in a way that also supports character and plot.

The Star-Spangled Banner

The flag is the novel’s central symbol of The Need to Protect Artifacts that Shape Understanding of the Past. Anna, who has a deep respect for such artifacts, reflects that “somehow, [the flag] look[s] even more beautiful than the brand-new flag that hung outside her father’s senate office back home. Not as crisp but more…dignified” (25). Messner asserts that, like the flag, the ideals it represents are long-lasting and honorable but fragile and easily torn. If the flag is a traditional symbol of American values and how society understands them, then the theft of the flag represents an assault on those ideals. Snickerbottom exploits that connection in his attempts to scapegoat the international orchestra, highlighting his weaponization of prejudices in the pursuit of personal power—and his disrespect for preserving the flag itself—in direct contrast to the values the Star-Spangled Banner represents.

The Baggage Conveyor Belt

The baggage conveyor belt is a symbol of the larger adventure the kids have, and the twists and turns they experience as they try to solve the flag’s disappearance. The belt is like a maze, which “climb[s] hills and plunge[s] down again, a giant roller coaster for suitcases. In the shadowy light way across the room, the belt split[s] into several different tracks that [disappear] into holes in the far wall” (114). Though they are unsure where it will take them next, the kids have to jump on and follow wherever it leads, even if that means going places that are dark and scary. The belt takes each character on different paths to different experiences, but they all need one another to help them along the way, underscoring The Value of Teamwork and Diverse Perspectives.