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Chapter 38
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Boy Overboard, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Immigration, Family, and Home
Identity and Ancestry
Hope
Gender and Discrimination
Summary
Analysis
Jamal lies on the football field planning his and Bibi’s future. He does not want to, but as the older child he feels it is his responsibility. Omar calls to Jamal and Jamal notices his voice is wobbly, which is unusual for him. Jamal remembers his parents were also on the boat and feels bad for forgetting; he realizes grief can make you selfish. Omar lies next to him and tells him his parents were not on the boat—they died when he was two. They sit in silence and then Jamal asks how he got a ticket to Australia. Omar explains that he hid on the bus and the plane, pretending to be with a family.
Despite his youth, Jamal displays incredible maturity here. Though he too is suffering, he tries to plan for his and Bibi’s future, following in his parent’s footsteps. Just as they suppressed their own suffering for the sake of their children, Jamal suppresses his own pain to take care of Bibi. Jamal also reads as incredibly mature as he begins to think more sympathetically about Omar—while Omar reveals that Jamal, Bibi, and Rashida are perhaps the first family he’s had in a long time.
Themes
Jamal is impressed by Omar’s independence and thinks about what he and Bibi could do alone. He thinks that if they traveled around, meeting losing Australian football teams and explaining their situation, the players might feel better about their own situations and let them train with them. Omar shamefully tells Jamal his ancestors were thieves. Jamal thinks back on Omar stealing his football, but then thinks of all the nice things he did, like keeping Bibi from attacking the pirate. Jamal realizes it’s never so simple as to be just one thing. Omar asks him who his ancestors were, and Jamal tells him. Jamal says he is a bit of both of his ancestors.
Jamal realizes that one’s identity is not necessarily determined by who one’s ancestors are. Just as Omar is not necessarily a thief because his ancestors were, so too is Jamal not necessarily just a desert warrior or a baker; a person does not just have to be just one thing. This revelation highlights Jamal’s newfound maturity and emotional development. His understanding of the world has become more complex, as has his understanding of himself.
Themes
