45 pages • 1 hour read
Naomi Shihab NyeThe Turtle of Oman
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 23-29Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 23 Summary: “Homeward, with Turtles”
As they drive back into the city, Sidi struggles to drive through the sand, and Aref gleefully wonders if they will get suck. Sidi notices that there are no car tracks in the sand and points out that people used to navigate with the sun and stars. Aref wishes that people still did this because it would be more difficult to move around. They stop at a small shop and purchase pumpkin seeds and tangerines, then get back on the road. They stop again the house of an old lady who has melons. Aref wonders if she has running water and is not sure how she waters the melon field. She tries to convince them to buy 10 melons, but they purchase two. Aref learns that she has a well.
On the road, they spot hikers, and Sidi points out that people come from all over the world to visit Oman because it is an exciting place. He thinks that Aref will find America exciting as well. Aref asks about an abandoned boat near the road, and Sidi weaves a story about how it got there, mentioning that the donkeys they see are really looking for a boat craftsman to repair it. He believes that everything has a private language. Aref reflects that it is easy to have a conversation with his grandfather because they move from topic to topic and can talk about anything.Sidi turns off the road near a beach, and they see turtles lying in the sand. Aref knows that Sidi has made this detour especially for him. He is not sure what kind of turtles they are. He also remembers that green turtles return to the same beach each year. He thinks that they are miracles.
Chapter 24 Summary: “Candle on Your Back”
Aref wonders if turtles dream while they sleep. He also wonders if they feel the travelers on the roads around them since they can feel certain types of motion through tactile perception. He wishes that he could be there when their babies hatch. Sidi has seen it happen and is amazed by their sense of navigation. Still, their lives aren’t easy because people hunt turtles for their eggs, their oil, and their skin.
Watching from above, they see turtles in the waves, and Aref mentions Sidi’s story about the people putting candles on the turtles’ backs. They decide to leave, and Sidi hands Aref another stone, calling it a small turtle egg. Aref says that they could stay there until he is in sixth grade, pretending that he left with parents and then returned. Sidi tells Aref that when he himself was a teenager, he wished for a “Stop Button” so that he could freeze time. Aref appreciates that Sidi understands what he is feeling. The turtles remain on the beach, but Aref thinks that even though they will swim far away, they will return to the same sand.
Chapter 25 Summary: “To Drive After Standing Still”
Sidi and Aref drive through valleys and hills, chatting together. When they are in the country, they feel like they are closer to the earth. The narration suggests that people feels more open to life in the midst of travel. Aref briefly falls asleep.
Chapter 26 Summary: “The Candy Bowl and Everything Else”
When Aref wakes up, Sidi tells him to look at the shop he once owned. Aref asks if he misses the shop. His grandfather replies that he does but is glad to have more time for Aref, gardening, and naps. They continue on and see Sinkhole Park, then the library. Sidi asks if Aref has returned all of his library books, which Aref has. It is comforting to see familiar things, but he also thinks, “Good-bye! Good-bye! Good-bye!” (217).
Chapter 27 Summary: “Ahhhhhhhhh”
They arrive at Aref’s house and tell Aref’s mom about their adventures. Aref lies on the carpet and sighs, wondering aloud why he can’t stay here. He wants to go on more adventures with Sidi. His mom says that their next adventure will be the biggest one. Sidi hugs him and leaves.
Chapter 28 Summary: “Missing Something”
While Aref was gone, his mom was busy packing. That night, Aref plays with his drum, singing about staying. However, his drum does not fit in his suitcase. Then, he pretends to be a turtle. His mom laughs from the doorway. She comes over to kiss his forehead, then closes his door partway, “just the way he liked” (224). He crawls into bed. He feels like he is missing something but doesn’t know what it is.
Chapter 29 Summary: “A Hundred Flavors”
Sidi comes over the next day and suggests that Aref spend the next two days with him. He will take Aref on a boat ride. They leave to go to Sidi’s house on the older part of Muscat. The curtains made by Aref’s Sitti, his grandmother, blow when he arrives, and Sidi says that that Sitti is greeting them. (She died when Aref was a baby.) Sidi sings “The Happy Song,” which he sings each time Aref or his parents come over. The song is different every time. Aref asks why his house is happy, and Sidi says it is because Aref is there, and people make houses happy. The house will wait for Aref to return.
Sidi gives him two postcards, one of camels and one of the Ras al Hadd turtle beach. Aref asks why Sidi cannot come with them to Michigan, and Sidi reminds him that he doesn’t fly. He also needs to take care of things here in Muscat. Then, Sidi says he has another present for Aref in the bucket, but Aref has to find the bucket himself. Aref searches the house. Over the years, Sidi has hidden many presents for Aref. Aref finds the bucket in the bathroom. Inside the bucket is a blue hat with golden thread and a blue tassel. Both Sidi and his father have tassels like this. Sidi promises to buy him a new hat if he outgrows it while he is in America, but Aref insists that he will just be taller. Sidi agrees that he will “be the same boy with added new flavors” (235). They eat yogurt, and Aref worries that he won’t make friends in the US. He wonders if the other students will make fun of his hat, and Sidi suggests that he just let them try it on.
Chapters 23-29 Analysis
The importance of turtles as a symbol reappears in this section when Sidi and Aref stop near the beach. Aref’s amazement is summed up in his thought that “[t]urtles weren’t just cold-blooded reptiles. They were miracles” (201). For Aref, turtles are symbolic of the ability to travel between places and return without fail to their point of origin. Additionally, the aura of the miraculous is intensified when Aref mentions Sidi’s story of turtles carrying candles, and the boy’s fascination with the subject highlights the importance of Grandparents’ Stories and Experiences in influencing young minds. This is a story that Aref will carry wherever he goes, and even though he must leave his beloved grandfather for a three-year stretch, the image of the turtles emphasizes his certainty that he will return one day. The level of trust between Sidi and his grandson also shines through, for in their relationship, the boy feels comfortable enough to “say anything” (199). Their ability to tackle any subject together makes Aref willing to share his real feelings about moving, and he is also more likely to listen to Sidi’s advice about travel, even if he struggles with his grandfather’s practical advice at first. Likewise, when Sidi gives him his hat with the tassel that matches his and Aref’s father’s, the gift makes Aref realize how much his grandfather cares for him. It also provides Sidi with an opportunity to give Aref critical advice about his worries that he won’t fit in at his new school. When he suggests that Aref let the other students “try it on” (236), he does not only mean the hat itself. He is also is trying to encourage Aref to share the things about Oman that he loves so that others can celebrate his homeland and culture with him.
In these chapters, Sidi is explicitly trying to compare Aref to a traveler so that the boy will feel more excited about going to the US; he emphasizes that Aref will feel just like the enthusiastic tourists that they encounter hiking on the road. While Sidi himself does not travel far in this small journey, he hopes that by exposing Aref to new experiences, the boy will understand that the world has much to offer him and that he should participate in it wholeheartedly. Additionally, Chapter 25 emphasizes The Importance of Travel and serves as an interlude in which very little is said between Aref and Sidi. However, the author uses this liminal space to give words to Aref’s thoughts as he drifts off to sleep. In particular, Nye writes, “Maybe this was why some people decided to travel all of their lives, going to new places, not knowing what they would see next” (212). This is an important moment of transformation for Aref, for he finally becomes more aware of the positive aspects of his coming journey, contemplating its benefits from this relaxed, half-conscious state. As his experiences of the week continue to unfold and Sidi provides him with additional experiences, he will become more interested in seeing the world.
However, Sidi is careful to balance his encouragement with reassurance, and he lets Aref know that his trepidation about leaving home is perfectly valid. His story of wanting to freeze time conveys that he too understands the feeling of being so comfortable in a place and time that he “carrie[s] it inside” (210). This reassurance makes Aref feel valued and heard and serves as an anchor amidst the seas of change. Yet despite his grandfather’s guidance, Aref still struggles with The Difficulty of Leaving Home, and his internal conflict is reflected in his ongoing challenge of packing his suitcase. Notably, he imitates a turtle, and this spontaneous act symbolizes the idea that he is on the path to migration, even if he is not yet ready to enter the ocean and swim away from Oman. While he is still unable to make meaningful progress in packing, his development as a character is underway, and his suitcase will be packed at the novel’s end.
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By Naomi Shihab Nye
