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Symbols
Jamal’s mom’s candlestick is a symbol of hope, luck, and family history. As long as a candle is burning in it, Jamal’s family believes that the candlestick serves as a protective charm, warding off misfortune. When Jamal and Bibi leave to find their parents at the football stadium, for instance, they leave a candle burning in the candlestick. After their mom returns safely, she expresses her gratitude for the lit candle, crediting the candlestick for her good fortune. By lighting a candle in the candlestick, Jamal and his family believe they are channeling their ancestors’ goodwill and the guidance of their forbears. Thus, when Jamal’s mom sells the candlestick to buy passage to Australia, Jamal feels as though his family’s connection to Afghanistan has been severed. The candlestick, in this context, symbolizes their ties to the past, and without it, they feel the loss of that connection.
The Candlestick Quotes in Boy Overboard
The Boy Overboard quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Candlestick. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 14
Quotes
I feel like crying too, but instead I reach out and touch my rucksack. I want to check that my football is still packed safely. Just because I’ve never heard of any Australian football teams doesn’t mean there aren’t some good ones. I want to get all the practice I can on the way there, so I’m ready.
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Chapter 18
Quotes
We’re not protected any more. We’re about to get on a plane and place our lives in the hands of smugglers and our ancestors aren’t protecting us anymore.
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Chapter 19
Quotes
As the plane lurches on into the night, I realize this is what we’re going to have to do from now on. With no candlestick to look after us, we’re going to have to look after each other.
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The Candlestick Symbol Timeline in Boy Overboard
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Candlestick appears in Boy Overboard. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7
...their home. Bibi starts to cry, and their mom hugs her, pulling out her ancestor’s candlestick for good luck. She tells Jamal to pack, and Jamal sadly realizes all the things...
(full context)
Chapter 13
...just making sure they’re not followed. Jamal packs everything to go, except for their mom’s candlestick which has a candle burning in it for good luck. Their parents arrive in the...
(full context)
Chapter 14
...believes there might still be good ones and he wants to practice. He feels the candlestick inside his mom’s bag, and he thanks her ancestors.
(full context)
Chapter 18
...stop them. They scan their bags for metal objects and Jamal worries that his mother’s candlestick will set it off. No alarm goes off, however, and Jamal realizes that the candlestick...
(full context)
Chapter 19
...and Jamal is glad he was able calm her down. Jamal realizes that, without the candlestick, everyone in his family will have to look after one another.
(full context)
Chapter 38
...did everything they could, searching for hours. Jamal thinks if only they had kept the candlestick, they could have lit a candle, and the rescuers might have found his parents. Jamal...
(full context)
