In Whirligig by Paul Fleischman, how does the whirligig affect Flaco?

The Florida whirligig takes the shape of a marching band. Flaco is instantly struck by the message it seems to convey. For a long time, he's been profoundly dissatisfied with his life. He toils away at a menial, low-paid job before returning home each day to a noisy, over-crowded house which he's forced to share with his cousin and his in-laws.

Not surprisingly, then, Flaco wants to escape from his current life. He dreams of being like a shearwater, a bird that can live alone and fly far away from the land. Yet when Flaco discovers that shearwaters actually live together in groups, he realizes that he too must find a way to live with others. Flaco's whole outlook on life has now changed for the better. And his positive new attitude has been brought about by seeing the figures of the marching band all working together for a common purpose.

In the chapter Miami, Florida, Flaco relates to us his life story. Because of the civil unrest and violence in Puerto Rico, Flaco and his family had taken a plane to Miami when Flaco was eleven years old.

Flaco tells of the difficulties he encountered at school in Miami. Because he spoke no English, he was soon put in a school for 'retarded children.' Flaco had not enjoyed going to school and he remembers having numerous arguments with his father about the subject of schooling. Flaco's father had felt that going to school would allow Flaco to have a better life in America. However, Flaco had not agreed. At the age of fourteen, he had found work at a restaurant where he was soon given the name, Flaco, which means 'skinny' or 'thin.' Flaco remembers that, after he gave his father his first paycheck to help pay the family's rent, all pretense about schooling had gone out the window.

According to Flaco, he had enjoyed working at this first restaurant. The waitresses had all called him Flaco and had showered him with food; Flaco had felt that he was part of a community, and he continued working for the restaurant for four years until it closed.

Who is Flaco in the book Whirligig by Paul Fleischman?

In Paul Fleischman's novel, Whirligig, teenager Brent Bishop travels around the United States building wooden whirligigs as restitution for killing a young woman in a car accident. In each of the locations where Brent builds a whirligig, we meet characters who are affected by his work.  

Flaco is one such character. Flaco encounters the marching band whirligig Brent built in Miami, Florida. Flaco arrives at the whirligig frustrated and discontent with his life. He has recently lost his job at the restaurant, his car has been wrecked, and his cousin and in-laws are living with him and his family. Flaco takes a drive to relax himself and ends up on a dock in Miami, where he sees the marching band whirligig. He then takes a ride on a fishing boat that is docked nearby. Throughout the ride, he wishes to be like a shearwater bird, free and untethered. The boat returns to the dock and Flaco sees the whirligig again. While watching the marching band whirligig spin, Flaco thinks about how people are meant to be together, not isolated:

Birds don't live alone, I told myself. They live in flocks. Like people. People are always in a group. Like that little wooden band. And whenever there's a group, there's fighting. If the people in a group get along, maybe they make good music instead of arguing, like Willie Colon's band. But usually not. That's how life is. I stared at that marching band. Then I got in the car and drove home.

The story flashes forward to one year later, when Flaco has landed a job as a street sweeper. Based on his tone, his demeanor seems improved.

In summer I got this job driving the street-sweeper. Two o'clock in the morning until ten. Very peaceful during the night. Then the sun comes up. The traffic starts, everyone's in a hurry, cars honk and go around me. All that will start in an hour. I'm ready for it. I always bring a tape player. I'll put on some music.

Flaco's life changes from the moment he sees Brent's whirligig. While Flaco may have improved his life without seeing the whirligig, the moment of improvement begins on the dock beside the wooden marching band. In the novel, the whirligig serves as a signifier of personal change, not only for Brent who is building them, but also for all who encounter them.