Lorenzo’s Head
The book opens with a description of Lorenzo Santillan’s head. It is oddly shaped to begin even before a lump began developing. Over the course of the book, the misshapen appearance of Lorenzo’s head is the target of much childish abuse and taunting and emotional wear and tear on Lorenzo himself. It also become a symbol of the things which make us different from the norm and how very often it is precisely those aspects which push people down the road to success that being “normal” might never have pushed them toward.
Pedro Sanchez
Pedro Sanchez is the fictional Spanish-speaking fisherman who miraculously rescues the captain of a German U-boat which sinks in the Caribbean during World War II after it is hit by a torpedo. The entire story is made up as part of the backstory for a robotics competition. The fact that the man who rescue the Captain is named Sanchez and speaks Spanish is what stimulates Lorenzo’s interest, thus Pedro becomes a symbol of the value of cultural inclusion in preparing educational materials. Lorenzo is more driven because someone like himself is part of the story.
Stinky
While the other robots created by students taking part in the competition feature appearances which reflect their much more robust budget allowances, the robot entered by the underdogs reflect their economic circumstances just as much. The result is Stinky: ugly to look and literally wafting an unpleasant odor. The name is symbolic not just of the robot itself, but the circumstances in which he was create: the stench of low expectations resulting from cultural stereotypes, prejudice, ignorance and old-fashioned ingrained racism.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Disgraced convicted felon ultimately pardoned by fellow traveler in racist ideology Donald Trump, Joe Arpaio, former Maricopa County Sheriff, is the not just the symbolic incarnation of the prejudice, ignorance and racism that fosters an environment of low expectations for immigrant students, he is also symbolic as a result being the literal agency of denying to the country the positive contributions which could make America great.
MIT
The fifteen engineering students making up the robotics team at MIT is sponsored by Exxon/Mobile with a $10,000 grant. By contrast, the team responsible for building Stinky is comprised of four students and a total budget of less than $1000. Events play out in a way that situates MIT as a multi-dimensional symbol: privileged white students versus underfunded immigrants, corporate versus indie, brand name recognition versus actual accomplishment and, most important perhaps, MIT’s failure to live up to expectations serves to make them symbolic of the concept that a surplus of external resources often leads to a deprivation of creativity.
