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Chapter 7
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
After packing, Jamal and Bibi spend the night at Yusuf’s grandfather’s house. Jamal watches a football game with Yusuf’s grandfather. Since Yusuf’s grandfather’s TV uses illegal satellite, the game is in English and Jamal asks what the announcer means by “overboard.” Yusuf’s grandfather explains the meaning of the word and offers to let Jamal sleep on the mattress. Jamal is too worked up to sleep, however, and he decides to come up with a plan to stay in Afghanistan. Inspired by the football on the TV, Jamal asks Yusuf’s grandfather if the government would forgive his parents if he got very good at football.
Inspired by the football game on TV, Jamal devises a way for his family to stay in Afghanistan. He reasons that if he can become a good enough football player, the government will have to let him and his family stay. Though well-intentioned, this plan illustrates a naïve understanding of the real danger he and his family are in. Jamal has yet to accept the reality that his family must leave Afghanistan, and his plan is a coping mechanism that allows him to resist change for now.
Themes
Yusuf’s grandfather grabs Jamal’s shoulder and tells him he is a good boy, but that things are difficult for people like them. He explains that most people in the country don’t like them, and it has been that way for a long time. Jamal knows this already, as his mom says this, too. Yusuf’s grandfather starts to cry, and Jamal grows more determined to carry out his plan. He thinks if he can become the star of Afghanistan’s football team, his family and people like his family will never be hurt or bullied again.
Yusuf’s grandfather offers insight into the complex politics of Afghanistan society, suggesting that people like Jamal and his family face discrimination. Though it is not explicitly stated, this is likely a reference to the social rift between the Taliban—the terrorist group running Afghanistan at the time—and the Shia, a Muslim minority group in Afghanistan to which Jamal’s family likely belongs. Hearing this, Jamal becomes more convinced to carry out his plan, extending his ambitions to not only help his family, but also people like his family.
Themes
