106 pages • 3 hours read
Gordon KormanSlacker
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
The Freeway Exit
The freeway exit that leads to Sycamore’s main street is an important motif that helps develop the theme of The Importance of Community. The freeway exit is a looming conflict for the people of Sycamore. In Chapter 2, Pavel observes, “Main Street was normally quiet since the Sycamore Mall had opened” (14). The mall caused many local businesses to suffer, and “Boxer’s Furniture Showroom was losing a lot of customers to the big new department stores” (19), which ties Cam’s family to the declining fate of the town.
In Chapter 3, Daphne expresses, “No wonder the Transportation Department was planning to demolish Sycamore’s crumbling interstate exit, now that there was another ramp a mile and a half down to service the mall” (23). Daphne’s statement comes paired with her own attitude toward the town’s decline, believing that “Nobody cared—not about a poor homeless beaver, not about anything” and observing “Our whole community wasn’t worth the cost of a little shoring up and road work” (23). Daphne sees that Sycamore’s decline is somewhat due to a lack of community spirit. The freeway exit represents the community in that both are crumbling and on the verge of destruction.
In Chapter 16, Mr. Fanshaw laments, “If there was ever a community that needed a boost, it was Sycamore. The word had just come from the Department of Transportation that the rumors were true: Sycamore was losing its freeway exit” (114). Mr. Fanshaw’s feelings about the freeway exit and the community in decline show how the exit’s pending demolition is a direct result of the loss of community. He adds, “It would be a huge blow to the local businesses in town, especially since the nearest ramp drew potential customers right into the regional mall” (114). The emphasis placed on the freeway ramp’s importance to the town symbolizes the importance of community.
In the final chapters, when the P.A.G. decides to save the ramp, its significance is emphasized in the community coming together to save it. Upon arriving at the ramp, Cam observes, “Blocking [the bulldozers’] way were our parents, our teachers, our storekeepers, doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, mail carriers, waitresses, and short-order cooks” (220). The turnout of everyone in town shows how the people of Sycamore value their community and understand the detriment the freeway demolition will have on the town. After a day of coming together as a community, inspired by the P.A.G.’s community service, the people of Sycamore manage to save the freeway ramp, ultimately saving their town from a slow, economic death. The ramp, to the people of Sycamore, represents their community, linking it to the overarching theme of The Importance of Community.
Cam’s Front Door
The plywood that replaces the Boxers’ front door is a symbol of Cam’s struggles with the P.A.G. The plywood temporarily replaces the Boxers’ door after Cam’s negligence causes the fire department to kick down the original door. The destruction of this door represents the implosion of Cam’s slacker lifestyle as Cam’s Dad tells him that they’re “going to be using the back door for the next month. In that time, you will find something else to be interested in besides video games” (9). This sets up the plywood front door as a reminder of Cam’s ultimatum. He has until the door is fixed to make something of himself outside of video games.
After the first P.A.G. meeting and project become a success, Cam at first believes he’s off the hook. However, after someone mysteriously posts a time and date for the next meeting and the next project is planned, Cam realizes how deep into his scheme he’s gotten. This false hope Cam develops, followed by the disappointing realization that he’s got more work to do with the P.A.G. is symbolized by the replacement door coming in at the wrong dimensions. While Cam’s dad drives Cam and his friends to the second P.A.G. project, he’s in a bad mood because “The replacement front door had arrived that morning, and it didn’t fit” (119).
As time passes, the door begins to collect graffiti. In Chapter 18, Jennifer Del Rio escalates her war on the P.A.G., making Cam’s life even harder than the P.A.G. has already made it. She goes to Cam’s house to find the front door is “only a sheet of plywood covered in graffiti” (129). Jennifer writes “FUZZY IS EVERYWHERE” in red lipstick to add to the graffiti (129). Jennifer’s addition to the door represents her addition to Cam’s ongoing troubles with the P.A.G. On top of worrying about how he’s going to manage the P.A.G. and get away from it all, Cam’s troubles escalate with Jennifer and Tony following him around and harassing him.
After the P.A.G.’s disbandment, the Boxers’ new front door finally arrives. In Chapter 27, Cam describes how his parents “were in the front hall admiring the new door” (184). However, the plywood is not gone yet, and Cam observes “The surface […] covered in graffiti, most of it about how awesome the P.A.G. was and how awesome I was too” (184). The lingering plywood, covered in sentiments from paggers, represents the lingering issue Cam still faces in the aftermath of the P.A.G. and communicates how Cam’s business with the P.A.G. is not yet resolved. The evolution of the plywood corresponds with the evolution of the P.A.G., making the plywood a symbol of the trouble the P.A.G. causes Cam. Both the plywood and the P.A.G. are issues that Cam brings upon himself.
Xavier’s Bowl
In Chapter 23, Xavier presents Cameron with a bowl he’s made in art class. This bowl symbolizes the personal growth that many P.A.G. members went through because of their time in the club. During Xavier’s introduction in Chapter 9, Jordan describes Xavier as having a “bad reputation” (71). Xavier has spent time in juvie and is feared by his fellow students. The only reason Xavier is joining the P.A.G. is to fulfill his community service requirements. However, Xavier grows throughout his time in the P.A.G., and he even gains the trust of his fellow paggers, as seen through the way he catches Katrina falling from a tree and gives String a boost so they can clean the gutters of a childcare center.
When Xavier gives the bowl to Cameron, he explains that he “never finished anything before. Not until the P.A.G. In the P.A.G., we finished everything we started” (165). He goes on to say, “If it worked with the P.A.G., it could work other places, too” (165). Xavier’s bowl is the first thing he’s ever finished outside of the P.A.G. He did so by applying what he learned in the P.A.G. to his own life. Presenting the bowl to Cam is a gesture of gratitude, as Xavier is thankful to Cam for the personal growth he’s undergone in the P.A.G. After receiving the bowl, Cam begins to go through his own personal growth. At the time of his meeting with Xavier, Cam is still thankful that the P.A.G. is gone and determined to return to his old lifestyle of constant gaming. However, the next chapter from Cam’s point of view, Chapter 27, shows how Cam is beginning to change his outlook and grow as a person.
With Cam now in possession of Xavier’s bowl, he realizes that gaming isn’t fun without his friends and understands he needs to come clean to his parents about the origins of the P.A.G. Xavier’s bowl symbolizes personal growth for Xavier and all the other paggers like Jordan, Chuck, and String, as they find meaning and purpose in the P.A.G. Once the bowl is passed to Cam, it’s Cam’s turn to grow and learn from his experiences.
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