Jake Drake, Know-It-All

The Bluntium Twelve computers that Lenny Cordo offers as grand prizes for winning the science fair symbolize the potential for being led astray by the wrong kind of reward. Not only does Jake end up violating his own moral code in order to pursue the computer, but pursuing the computer also robs him of the joy of learning something interesting about magnets and spending time with his best friend. This demonstrates that the wrong kind of reward can lead to several kinds of unfortunate consequences. The lure of the Bluntium Twelve has a similar impact on many of the other children at Despres Elementary, who, like Jake, become more focused on winning one of the computers than on being good classmates to one another. The computer even tempts Jake’s father into butting into Jake’s science fair plans in Chapter 5. Before Jim learns about the computer, he has advice for Jake, but he does not try to insert himself into the plans—however, as soon as he hears about the Bluntium Twelve, he whistles and lets Jake know how impressed he is with this prize. His next words suggest that he now sees himself as part of the process: “Well, I guess we had better get right to work,” he tells Jake (35).