Capture The Flag

“At the end of the school year, they were leaving Burlington’s Old North End and the house where his mom used to make corn muffins on Sundays. […] and they were moving to stupid Boston with stupid Bethany because—what great luck!—Boston University had hired his dad for a stupid teaching position.”

Henry’s childhood home represents one of his last connections to his mother, and Messner uses the repetition of “stupid” to develop Henry’s voice and convey his resentment toward his father for remarrying and deciding to move to Boston. This passage develops Henry as a character and provides context for his desire to distance himself from others due to his unresolved emotions and grief over his mother’s death.

“With seven minutes to spare, as he was reaching for the final clamp, he sneezed. Darn allergies. Who knew what kind of old dust he’d stirred up just touching the flag.”

Messner describes each step the man takes as he unclamps the flag, highlighting the care taken to monitor the humidity levels in the room and keep the flag safe. These details develop tension as time runs out, but also emphasize the flag’s fragility—a simple sneeze could set off alarms. The sneeze also serves as a clue because later in the novel Earl will sneeze when he’s exposed to dust again in the baggage area.

“Her fingers sounded like little bird beaks pecking at the keys.”

The comparison uses a simile to convey the sound of Anna’s fingers on the keyboard of her laptop as she interviews José. The comparison to bird beaks conveys how much Anna irritates Henry, first by taking his electrical outlet to charge her laptop and then by “pecking” at him with interview questions when he just wants to be left alone. It also highlights the persistent nature of Anna’s questions when she interviews people and seeks answers about the flag.

“Dude! That happens in my Super-Heist video game all the time. […] You get these crimes to solve and half the time it’s an inside job. Like this huge bank robbery…it turned out one of the tellers did it.”

Laying the groundwork for the novel’s thematic interest in The Value of Teamwork and Diverse Perspectives, Messner characterizes each of the three central characters with different interests, each of which plays an important role in solving the mystery. Henry illustrates his love of video games and his ability to connect almost anything happening in the real world to something that happens in a game, a habit he will continue throughout the novel. Henry’s connections often provide clues that foreshadow the motivations and activities of the thieves.

“But the questions piled up like snowdrifts, unanswered. Her mother promised Anna would learn more when she was older.”

Messner uses a simile to emphasize how many questions Anna has about the Silver Jaguar Society. The comparison of Anna’s questions to the snowdrifts literally piling up outside the airport also emphasizes the setting. Messner connects Anna’s curious nature to her frustration at the idea that she’s too young to know about adult matters, highlighting the ways in which the kids are underestimated throughout the novel by the adults around them.

“‘She’s an incredible speaker; she’s brilliant. But the TV news likes to show the old-lady-with-baked-goods pictures, so whatever.’ […] She was proud of her dad being a United States senator, and she knew he wanted Snickerbottom to win, but secretly, she loved the idea of a smart lady who did things differently being in charge. She’d love to interview Betty Frumble.”

Messner uses Anna’s internal reflection on Snickerbottom’s political ad to highlight his attempts to build a false narrative about his opponent, foreshadowing the reveal of his orchestrated scheme to steal the flag and paint himself as a hero. As Anna interrogates the way politicians present themselves to the public, she feels frustrated at the misogyny inherent in the media’s portrayal of Betty Frumble as a grandmotherly stereotype rather than a capable and intelligent leader. Her admiration for Frumble conveys a willingness to think for herself and highlights the kind of person Anna would like to be.

“I bet we’ll get some clues, and if we get enough, they’ll start to make sense, like a jigsaw puzzle when you get enough pieces in, and then all of a sudden you can see it’s a ship or a carnival scene or whatever and everything’s clear, you know?”

Messner evidences Anna’s relentless determination in her efforts to convince the boys to help her find the flag. Her comparison of the clues to jigsaw puzzle pieces becomes a leitmotif in the novel—a repeated image closely associated with Anna’s way of thinking. It also highlights the need for looking at things in different ways from different angles to understand the full picture.

“Whoever did this must have studied the security system and wanted the flag—no, needed it. Needed it enough to risk everything.”

As Anna, Henry, and José eliminate possible motives for stealing the flag, such as wanting to sell the flag or keep it just to admire, they conclude that whoever stole it must have been motivated by desperation. Messner provides a clue connected to this in Chapter 6: the only character in the novel so far who might be motivated by desperation is Snickerbottom, who’s losing the race for president in the polls in forty-nine states.

“[Henry’s video game] reminded her of the ideas pinging around in her head. If she could just get one to slow down long enough to think about it, she’d be all set. It felt like the answer was there, right there, but moving too fast to see clearly.”

Like Anna’s puzzle metaphor, the video game comparison uses a visual to describe the effort to make connections between seemingly unconnected ideas, conveying Anna’s feeling of being off-balance as events speed up. This passage also suggests that the kids already have most of the clues they need to solve the mystery.

“There are people in this world who do not share our love for America, young lady. People who, given the opportunity, would seek to destroy this fine nation we’ve built. Our values. Our beliefs. […] And our flag.”

Throughout Messner’s novel, Snickerbottom consistently embodies The Danger of Assumptions and Prejudices. In his brief monologue about America, his rhetorical habit of calling Anna things like “young lady” and “missy” reinforce the sense that he doesn’t take her seriously because of her age. In strategically aligning himself with the flag and the ideals it represents, he conveys the idea that anyone with different views than his own is anti-American.

“‘In America, even if somebody thinks you might be involved in a crime, you’re innocent until proven guilty. They didn’t do anything wrong; they’ll be fine.’ His voice wobbled on the last word, and Anna could tell he was thinking about his own mom, talking with police, too, in another part of DC.”

José’s attempt to comfort Sinan after his parents and the rest of the orchestra become suspects provides exposition on the rights granted to people in the United States Bill of Rights and highlights The Development of Civic Responsibility. Though the phrase “innocent until proven guilty” does not appear in the Constitution, the presumption of innocence is recognized as a right in the Fifth Amendment.

“Anna tipped her head back, and somehow, even with her thoughts swirling with stars and stripes, snakes and security guards, fell asleep.”

Messner uses alliteration to build rhythm in the sentence. The s-words that follow “swirling” are all elements of the flag’s disappearance, though Anna hasn’t yet made the connection to the S connecting them all: Snickerbottom.

“Let’s see…three kids sneaking into the baggage-handling department of an airport without an adult going with them or even knowing where they are. Oh! And there’s a big guy with a tattoo around here somewhere who may be trying to kill the next president. […] Can’t imagine why you think it’s risky.”

Henry’s sarcastic tone, mocking Anna’s fears as they prepare to sneak into the baggage area, highlights the brief role reversal in which Anna hesitates while José takes the lead. His monologue also summarizes the precise risks they are about to undertake, building narrative tension.

“She called and looked over her shoulder to where she thought Henry and José should be, but she’d taken so many twists and turns through the huge room on the snaking conveyor belt that all she saw were more curves and loops and suitcases. […] This bag was the only thing that could lead them to Sinan. Alone or not, she had to stay with it.”

The symbol of the conveyor belt represents Anna’s confusion and sense of danger both literally and figuratively—she doesn’t know where she is and she can’t make sense of the mystery. Her decision to stay with the bag labeled BTV for Vermont demonstrates her focus and determination to help her friend.

“You’re the one who wanted to be Little Miss Secret Society. You’re the one who said this isn’t a video game. Sinan is alone in there with those guys. He’s eight years old. Eight. We have to go.”

The use of anaphora highlights Anna’s role in getting the kids involved in this adventure and the sense of responsibility she feels to see it through to the end. Henry’s repetition of Sinan’s age highlights his protective nature and emphasizes the stakes of the plot—this is about more than the flag; the life of a young boy might be in danger.

“José looked at her as if she’d suggested he leave one of his ears at home. ‘I like to keep my books with me. Just in case I need them.’”

Messner uses hyperbole in describing José’s reaction to emphasize his sense of his books as a part of himself, just like any other body part. Anna has suggested he leave them behind because they’ve been slowing him down, but José will never view his books as a liability. His fragmented sentence, “Just in case I need them” foreshadows just how useful his books will be later in the story, when they ironically come in handy as a physical weapon, rather than an intellectual resource.

“Anna remembered him clinking his change. ‘I still don’t see—’ But suddenly, she did see. Or rather, she heard. The clinking sound. The same one she’d heard from her perch in the baggage room.”

The play on words in this quotation uses both meanings of the word “see”—to ‘understand’ and ‘to visualize.’ Connecting this resonance to the word “heard,” Messner shows how Anna’s epiphany helps her understand the connection between the sounds she heard and the people who stole the flag.

“Anna stared. Here they were, probably about to be arrested, and José was interviewing the baggage handler? When George turned to find an example of oversized luggage, José jerked his head in the direction of the big crates where they’d been before. Anna could just make out a glint of silver on the ground.”

Anna underestimates José, believing for a moment that his curiosity about baggage is genuine. However, he once again demonstrates his ability to think creatively and respond to surprises. This moment also becomes important later because the story George tells José about a snake helps them realize Snake-Arm is a good person, and George will reappear when the kids race to the tarmac in their final escape.

“Snickerbottom’s security guard collapsed like a scarecrow off its pole.”

The simile of the scarecrow conveys an image to help readers visualize the suddenness of the security guard’s collapse. As an inanimate object intended to frighten but lacking actual agency or autonomy, the scarecrow also conveys the hollowness of the man’s threats.

“This Snickerbottom sounded so different from the kindhearted, smooth-talking man on the TV commercials, as if he wasn’t the man who had saved the boy from the well at all.”

Anna realizes that Snickerbottom’s public persona has all been an act, and his threats reveal the ugliness of his character beneath the facade. The reveal of his true character calls all of his past deeds into question and emphasizes the difference between what people say and what they do.

“At least they were on their way somewhere.

And they were going faster by the second.”

As the kids rush across the tarmac in the Unit Loading Device, Anna’s thoughts convey her sense of relief. They’re finally “on their way somewhere,” instead of running in circles in the baggage area, having figured out the mystery. The fact that they’re going “faster by the second” creates a sense that the narrative is rushing toward its climax.

“How it had flown over Fort McHenry, through the fog and the smoke, still flying the morning after the British bombing. How Francis Scott Key said he had seen it from the ship in the harbor where he was being held prisoner. How it inspired him to write a song that inspired a nation. How that nation is known as the land of the free and the home of the brave, still today.”

The anaphora and rolling repetition of phrases in this passage create a sense of rhythm and emphasis. Small events, one after another, carry the flag’s historic significance throughout history all the way to this moment in the narrative, when the plane’s passengers reflect on what they have learned about its meaning. By alluding to the words “land of the free and the home of the brave” from “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the United States national anthem, Messner further emphasizes the flag’s connection to cultural memory and The Need to Protect Artifacts That Shape Understanding of the Past.

“How had they come to figure out the flag was there? It had started off as such a crazy idea, and yet, they’d all been pulled along in its wake. It was almost as if they were supposed to find the flag…as if this kind of detective work was in their blood. And it was. But they couldn’t say so now.”

Anna’s sense that she’s ready to be part of the Silver Jaguar Society, lays the groundwork for subsequent books in Messner’s series. The interviews following the flag’s recovery, acknowledge the kids’ role in solving the mystery, validating their contributions and contradicting Snickerbottom’s assumptions about and dismissal of them because of their youth.