Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
After reading about books and the Geisel Library—and how both could be read as symbols of the old-vs-new theme and Robert's change from oldster-at-heart to budding techie—you might be rolling your eyes and thinking, "Is Juan and Robert's final project for Chumlig's class also a symbol of the old-vs.-new and how Robert changes? Yawn."
If you guessed that, give yourself a gold star… because you're not wrong. But there's another part to it, too: it's about community and collaboration.
The Final Project: Ch-ch-ch-changes
First, let's get it out of the way: the final project totally does symbolize (or chart) Robert's change. He starts out thinking of himself as a poet and he ends up thinking of himself as a techie/programmer.
The project also can be used to measure Juan's growth from kid who thinks he's a loser and can't write to kid with some pride and who can write. So at the end, when Winston comes to congratulate him, Robert has to confess that Juan did the lyrics:
"We collaborated all through the semester, but on this I let him go, just critiqued the final effort." (34.8)
Even Winston Blount recognizes that this shows "Lots of things have changed" (34.12).
The Final Project: Synchronization as Community
Second, the Gu/Orozco final project symbolizes community and collaboration. Now, it's not the only time people have to collaborate in this book; in fact, most things that get done in Rainbows End get done by teams of people—Alfred's team of spies; the Elder Cabal; the Miri Gang; the belief circles; etc.
But in its way, the Gu/Orozco project might be one of the most layered examples of collaboration and community-building:
- Juan and Robert collaborate together;
- Juan and Robert collaborate with distant music students;
- An orchestra and a chorus have to work together in Boston and in Punta Arenas, Chile;
- All four music groups—two choruses and two orchestras—have to play together;
- Juan and Robert have to synch up that music using software, which means—
- The project brings together art (music), literature (poetry), and technology (synchronization algorithm).
In a way, the final project of synchronization is a reminder of one of Juan and Robert's first projects: when they played "synch monster" with a bunch of Chilean kids just passing through (14.3-48). And, as almost everything is, it's a symbol of how much Robert has grown: from a solitary angry old man to a collaborative less-angry less-old man.
But the issues raised by this symbol are bigger than just Robert, and serve to remind us of how collaboration and community are super important to getting things done.