Capture The Flag

Through their efforts to protect the flag, the characters demonstrate the ways teamwork and diverse perspectives contribute to success. Their collaboration also illustrates that by working together and seeing things from other points of view, people can discover they have more in common than they realize. As Messner notes about her three main characters at the start of the novel: “If they had introduced themselves, they might have learned they were all in seventh grade, and their schools shared the same February break. They might have learned that they were all only children with busy parents and were used to entertaining themselves” (8-9). Indeed, the ways the kids find to entertain themselves is what gives them each a valuable talent and perspective in the race to find the flag. It’s only when they combine these talents that they can overcome the obstacles standing in the way of their goal. Each character’s perspective is like a window through which they see the world, and these multiple vantage points are what enable them to solve the mystery.

Messner conveys each character’s talents early in the novel by describing their passions—passions that initially cause the kids to annoy one another, creating conflict and adding to the humor of the novel. Anna’s love of journalism and inquisitive nature give her “so many ideas right now, [she’s] about to burst,” causing her to interrupt Henry’s passion for playing video games when they argue over the same electrical outlet (17). Because of this, they meet José, whose passion for reading is disturbed by their bickering. Each thinks the interests of the other two are a waste of time, and Anna in particular blames the boys’ interests for their lack of civic engagement, saying books and video games have made them “too busy reading and poking at some SuperGameThingy to do the real, live, exciting thing right there in front of [them]!” (44). Though these differences seem to divide them, the novel shows how their varied perspectives are essential for them to come together as a team. When Sinan joins the group, contributing his own collection of idioms and his unique perspective, he develops the teamwork dynamic by emphasizing traits in each of the main characters they might not have recognized otherwise.

In the novel’s plot, Messner emphasizes the benefits of these diverse perspectives by highlighting the ways that each character provides unique insight and problem-solving instincts. When one of them gets too caught up in their own preconceived conclusions—Snake-Arm wants to assassinate Snickerbottom! or Snickerbottom is a hero who just wants to help find the flag! or It would be so cool if José’s mom stole the flag!—the others are able to point out flaws in their thinking. Anna recognizes the limitations of her own perspective; she wills her ideas to be like a grid of windows that form “perfect white rectangles. The puzzle pieces in her brain weren’t fitting like that, no matter how hard she wished they would” (75). In the same way Anna compares the clues in the mystery to puzzle pieces that the kids have to put together in the right way to make sense, Messner rearranges the kids like puzzle pieces during their adventure in the baggage area, connecting and disconnecting them from one another. As they escape their pursuers, they form different pairs that are able to accomplish different things and rescue one another when needed. These multiple metaphors, from puzzle pieces to windows to the baggage conveyor belt, all emphasize the same point: people must explore a problem or issue from a diverse set of perspectives in order to understand it, and teamwork enables them to accomplish things they could not otherwise do on their own.

Much of the mystery surrounding the flag’s disappearance relies on people’s assumptions about others, both positive and negative. The kids both fall prey to these assumptions and work together to overcome them. Messner develops this theme alongside The Value of Teamwork and Diverse Perspectives to illustrate how assumptions and prejudices can prevent people from appreciating viewpoints other than their own. In particular, Messner uses the orchestra to represent this dichotomy. The musicians, from many different countries around the world and playing a variety of instruments, work together to create “a song full of energy and swooshes and blustering” that brings joy to the people listening (58). With this image, Messner emphasizes how people from diverse places can create something beautiful through teamwork, and the power of this connection is emphasized in the orchestra’s name, Sounds for a Small Planet. However, the orchestra becomes the scapegoat in Snickerbottom’s plan precisely because of its diversity; he relies on the notion that the public shares his assumptions and prejudices about those “those artsy, all-over-the-world orchestra types,” and tries to weaponize those prejudices to make himself appear heroic (152). The immediate danger this creates is evident when the orchestra is presumed guilty despite the lack of evidence of their involvement: they are confined to one small area of the airport and Sinan’s mother is treated disrespectfully by a security guard when she attempts to locate her missing son.

Though the kids recognize that Snickerbottom’s accusation is a dangerous falsehood and actively work to expose the truth, they sometimes fall victim to their own biases—preconceived ideas about individuals or groups, which people often don’t realize they have. Though well-intentioned, Anna has a tendency to make assumptions about people based on outward appearance, such as when she jumps to the conclusion that Claude Pickersgill is a member of the Serpentine Princes because both he and Vincent Goosen have snake tattoos. She acknowledges that Goosen’s tattoo “wasn’t exactly like Snake-Arm’s. But it was close enough” for her to stand by her original assumption, even without evidence (78). Conversely, Anna assumes that because Snickerbottom is a senator like her father and hands out Tootsie Rolls from his hat, his claim that he is trying to “bring this treasure back to Washington, DC” should be taken at face value (53). In developing this theme, Messner highlights the importance of critical thinking in developing a sense of civic responsibility, another key theme in the novel.

Through Anna’s initial impression of Snickerbottom, the novel demonstrates that the power of assumptions works both ways—it can create problems for those perceived negatively but also confer privileges on those who are perceived positively—perceptions often based on implicit racial, social, and economic bias. Snickerbottom is able to sneak a fifth person into the flag chamber because he’s a “particular dignitary [who] made a particularly large donation” (1-2). Similarly, Anna is allowed through the screening area at the airport without her boarding pass after explaining it’s at the gate “with her father, Senator Hobbes” (149). Messner frames these kinds of assumptions as dangerous in their own way, allowing people to break rules in place for a reason—such as preventing the theft of a national treasure from the Smithsonian. Because of their negative assumptions about Snake-Arm and their positive assumptions about Snickerbottom, it takes the kids longer to solve the mystery. It is only when they start thinking about what the people around them mean and do—beyond how they look and what they say—that they begin to understand their true motivations.