The novel “Boy Overboard” by Morris Gleitzman is the story of a young Afghan boy named Jamal. He and his family are living though a very uncertain and difficult time in Afghanistan. Their country is being torn apart by war and their personal safety is always as risk. Though it all however, Jamal manages to keep his hope up for his family’s future in Australia and his love for football. In this essay I will discuss the elements of setting, character, symbolism, theme, how the author portrays current events in Afghanistan and my personal response to the novel.              

There are several different settings in this novel. The main one is war torn Afghanistan. We can tell that this is a war torn area because of this quote, “There’s no smoke or nerve gas or sandstorms. I can’t even hear the explosions,” The quote clearly shows that Jamal is used to war because he thinks nerve gas and explosions are normal. Another quote that shows this is, “Before I can stop her, she’s running towards the rocket crater.” This also shows that they are used to war and deadly weapons because a rocket is a powerful weapon of war. Another setting is the refugee camp. A quote that shows they were there is, “Even the World Cup final probably doesn’t have as many people as this refugee camp.” This successfully proves that they were at the camp and it had a large crowd of people because it compares it to an event that would have a lot of people at it. Another setting is the smuggler’s boat. A quote that shows they were there is, “I hope the boat isn’t leaking,” This effectively displays that they are on the boat and that it must be a badly built boat if they are thinking about it leaking. Another setting is the navy camp. A quote that shows they were there is, “He leads us to a dusty compound. In it are two of the biggest tents I’ve ever seen. Canvas tents with proper ropes and everything. Inside the tents Australian servicemen and women are laying out the folding beds from the war ship in neat rows,” This skilfully conveys that this camp had been built especially for the people on the boats because not only does a tent only get put up for a select purpose but it has been set up by the rescuers of the refugees that have nowhere to go.

The novel focuses on the importance of family and friends, so there are many characters. The most important character however is Jamal. Jamal is brave as shown by this quote, “I roll on to Bibi and try to cover as much of her body with mine as I can while the air rips at us and stones rain down on us.” The quote accurately portrays because he would let himself get smashed by the stones to stop them hitting Bibi. He also cares a lot for Bibi and does not want to lose her as shown by this quote, “I grab Bibi and hold her so nobody will ever be able to take her away again,” The quote effectively illustrates his relationship with is sister is that he is protective of her by showing that he does not want to be separated from her. Another that shows this is, “I stare down at the churning water. Bibi has vanished already. I drag myself up on to the railing and jump.” This quote strongly shows how much he cares for Bibi because he is risking drowning to save her. He loves football as shown by this quote, “I’m Manchester United and I’ve got the ball and everything is good,” The quote perfectly presents his love of football by saying that he thinks everything is good when he plays football. He is also very optimistic and hopeful as well as being slightly naive as shown by this quote, “If a person gets really good at football,” I say, “So good that he inspires the government to start a national team, so good that he helps them do really well in the World Cup, do you think the government would stop being cross with that person’s parents even if that person’s parents had been running an illegal school?” The quote expertly displays his hopefulness and optimism while also showing his naivety because he thinks becoming respected by other countries will stop them bombing Afghanistan when in truth football is tiny in the world of politics and would not stop a war.

Another main character is Bibi. She insults people as shown by these two quotes, “Camel snot,” and “Buzzard wart,” These quotes clearly show that she is not afraid to speak her mind even when its a very bad idea. Like Jamal, she loves football as this quote shows, “I want to play,” This quote, which was said to Jamal while he was playing with his football, accurately portrays that she likes football. Bibi hates Afghanistan most likely because of its government as shown by these two quotes, “I hate this whole country,” and “This country is camel snot,” Both these quotes strongly display that she has come to hate her country for various reasons, the main being Afghanistan’s government and their treatment of its citizens.              

As well as the two main characters there is various other characters that still play a large part in the story. Jamal and Bibi’s parents are two such characters. They love their children as shown by this quote, “You two are the most precious things in our lives,” Jamal and Bibi’s mum can be as rude as shown by this quote, “Selfish camel snot,” This quote clearly shows that she can be very rude but she rarely is. She also wants the best for her family even if it means drastic changes as shown by this quote, “Australia is a wonderful place to start a new life,” This quote shows this because she is willing to accept such a drastic change as moving to another country to keep her family safe.

Jamal and Bibi’s is very brave as shown by these two quotes, “The other girls in the class can’t be seen walking to school so they have to be transported in secret. Someone must have seen dad picking Anisa and Fatima up at their houses,” This shows he is brave because he is risking his life when he picks up the girls to take them to the illegal school. The other quote is, “The two soldiers with Mum aim their guns at the taxi. Mum scrambles up and stars running again. The taxi goes into a broadside skid and slams into the two soldier, sending them sprawling, their guns sliding away across the pitch. The passenger door of the taxi flies open. Mum sees this, runs to the taxi and flings herself in,” This quote also shows he is brave because of the fact he is risking his life for someone else but this time there is a much higher risk.          

Jamal’s friend Yusuf plays an important role in the first chapters of the book. The quote, “Yusuf’s got a good heart, but he can be a bit of a referee sometimes,” shows that even though he has good intentions he can be negative and judging because a referee is someone who has to not support the ideas of the players but his own judgement and the facts given to him. Yusuf thinks the Jamal is quite skilled at football as displayed by this quote, “Jamal’s got too much skill to break a window,” This quote expertly conveys the thought that Yusuf thinks Jamal is good at football. The quote,”…rubbing his leg stump inside his baggy shorts,” tells us that Yusuf has lost a leg.                                      

Yusuf’s Grandfather plays a very small, but important role in the story. Yusuf’s Grandfather is quite smart as shown by this quote, “Yusuf’s grandfather knows a lot for a person…” The quote, “They started long before this government,” tells you that he is quite old and wise because he has lived through various governments. He believes in god as shown by this quote, “God protect you all,”    

Jamal and Bibi become friends with other children called Rashida and Omar. Omar is a young thief who does not like other people being treated better than him. The quote, “Want to buy some water?” effectively shows that Omar is quite greedy and selfish, trying to sell an essential, that he probably stole, to poor people. The quote, “Omar’s been throwing up quite a lot,” suggests that Omar gets quite seasick. The quote, “Even bait?” says Omar gloomily eyeing his fishing line,” strongly portrays that he likes fishing.

Rashida is a teenager whose family was trapped in Afghanistan by the government. She was born in Australia. The quote, “You’re a nice kid,” clearly shows that Rashida thinks Bibi is nice. The quote, “What’s a hamburger?” Rashida tells him.” Shows that she knows what hamburger is which she must know quite bit about Western culture. The quote, “Rashida gives him a dig with her elbow,” cleverly proves that she will hit someone to be quiet.                                                                                               

A character that plays an important role at the end is Andrew, the Australia serviceman who helped rescue the refugees off the smuggler’s boat and looked after Jamal, Bibi, Rashida and Omar for while. The quote, “Not the freckles or the red curly hair,” tells you that Andrew has red curly hair and freckles. He believes in god as shown by this quote, “When God was handing out ears,” The quote tells you this by saying that he believes god made him and he is the reason for his ears. He is patient and happy to answer questions as shown by this quote, “Anything else you’d like to ask?” This quote shows this by saying that he is asking them if they have any question so he actually inviting them to ask questions.   

Boy Overboard is littered with various symbols that stay with the storyline. Jamal’s football is one such symbol. The ball for him symbolises his hope and dreams for his future. Jamal thinks his ball is very important and precious to him as shown by this quote, “…but I can’t leave my precious ball,” He has managed to keep his ball hidden from the government as shown by this quote, “the ball I have kept hidden from the government for nearly two years,” The quote, “I stare at the new patch on top of the other,” This quote successfully displays that the ball has a new patch on it.      

Another very important symbol is the candlestick. The candlestick symbolise protection, hope and heritage for Jamal and his family. The quote, “Mum sold our candlestick. Our precious ancient candlestick that’s kept our family safe for hundreds of years,” This quote expertly illustrates that the candlestick is old, had been sold and that Jamal believed it kept his family safe. Another quote that tells you that he thinks it keeps him safe is, “This will keep us safe,” He thinks that losing the candlestick is losing his protection and will have to him and his family as shown by this quote, “With no candlestick to look after us, we’re going to have to look after each other,”                         

The taxi owned by Jamal and Bibi’s dad is another important symbol. It symbolises the journey away from their home, resilience and some terrible condition in Afghanistan at the time. The taxi is very old as shown by this quote, “Hes had that taxi for years. Longer that he’s had me and Bibi,” The quote, “The taxi engine has stalled which it always does,” strongly illustrates that the taxi engine stalls a lot.                                                                                                                                                        

Although the characters face many challenges, they are able to come through them because of their love for one another. This illustrates one of the novels themes, family. The quote, “We’re just a family,” clearly shows that he gets on well with his family by saying that he considers his family one thing and not a group of people. He also feels that no matter what, they will be together as shown by this quote, “We may not be Manchester but we will always be United,” It shows this by saying that they will always be united no matter what. He cares a lot for all his family as shown by this quote, “Before I can myself I’m thinking about my uncles and grandparents. And mum and dad,” The quote shows this by saying that Jamal is thinking about his whole family and not just a certain member or not thinking of his family at all.                                                                                                          

War is one of the most important themes and it is shown all the way through the novel. The quote, “Watch out for landmines,” effectively portrays that they live in a landmine infested area. The quote, “I move step by step towards the gun barrel,” skilfully exhibits that they live in a country with guns and because he does not seem afraid, it suggests they are quite common. The quote, “the tank is backing away,” successfully shows that there are tanks in their country.                                                      

Sexism is quite an important theme and is brought up mainly due to their government’s sexist laws. Girls are not allowed to play football as shown by this quote, “I want to play,” she says “You can’t,”

Gleitzman sets his novel in Afghanistan to give us a taste of what the conditions are like for its citizens. Through reading this novel and class discussion, I have seen how the author has put truth about the conditions of the country into his fictional tale of Jamal and Bibi. An example of this is when they are in the refugee camp. Afghanistan’s government is quite sexist. In the novel girls are not allowed out of their house without their face covered and cannot play football. We are told in the novel that there is a lot of desert in Afghanistan. In the novel we are also told that Afghanistan is a war zone and there is a lot of war debris which some children make use of for fun. Schools have been banned by the government in Afghanistan but some people set up illegal schools. In Afghanistan they have public executions of people who disobey the government to set an example. Overall the information leads to the conclusion that Afghanistan is a bad place to live and putting this information in the story allows us to understand it a lot better.

When it came to describing the setting I think the author did alright because he did make sure that the image in your head is quite detailed. He described the characters quite well because he made sure that the end of the novel you knew these characters but when it came to physical descriptions I never really got a great idea of what any of them looked like. When it came to the symbols I think he described and showed them well even though they were a bit too obvious but despite that, I think he did fairly well. The book has a lot of themes that work together quite well and provide a varied, but good overall theme. He does well at describing the situation in Afghanistan, making sure you have all the knowledge you need to understand the novel.                                        

Personally I do not like the book, not because of bad writing (fairly good actually) but because of personal taste, the fact that I think it was too short and it was probably written for a younger audience compare to what I usually like reading.                                                                                               

I would probably not recommend it (unless I knew they would like it) because I would only recommend books I personally really like.