Morning Girl

“I don’t know how my brother came to see everything so upside down from me. For him, night is day, sleep is awake. It’s as though time is split between us, and we only pass by each other as the sun rises or sets. Usually, for me, that’s enough.”

This quote highlights the fundamental differences between Morning Girl and her brother, Star Boy. Morning Girl’s confusion over her brother’s view of the world reflects their constraining personalities and habits. The metaphor of time being “split between us” conveys the emotional and physical distance between the siblings: it implies they live in parallel but separate worlds, only intersecting briefly at dawn and dusk.

“I would search for the most beautiful blossoms and weave them together into necklaces for Father and Mother. If I hurried I could finish before they rose for the second time, and they would find my gifts waiting at the entrance to our house.”

This passage exemplifies Morning Girl’s deep connection to her family. Her desire to make gifts for her parents conveys the theme of The Significance of Cultural and Familial bonds. By weaving flowers into necklaces, she demonstrates the importance of familial ties within her culture.

“‘Maybe you’re a bat,’ my mother suggested, smiling at me, ‘and will dream all day while the rest of us work. How lucky for you.’

I thought of bats and how they race through the dark sky fast as late summer rain. I thought of how the wind would feel against my skin if I could fly.”

This quote underscores the theme of Respect for the Natural World, a recurring theme in the novel. Star Boy, by imagining how it would feel to fly through the night, reveals his admiration for bats and his affinity for the natural world. The bat, a nocturnal creature, becomes a metaphor for Star Boy’s own identity.

“It was as though Star Boy didn’t truly belong in our family, and when I was angry I imagined what it would be like if he weren’t around, how perfect each minute could be.”

Morning Girl feels frustrated and alienated from her brother, Star Boy. The fact that she is imagining life without him shows just how much emotional distance exists between the siblings. This tension between the siblings becomes a central conflict that drives much of the story.

“‘We’ll know the right name when the time comes,’ Father said. ‘People choose their own name, or it chooses them. That was how it was with you, Morning Girl, How could we have known before we met you what you would be like?’”

Names are a powerful motif in the novel. In Taíno culture, as suggested by Morning Girl’s father, names are earned or revealed as a person’s true nature emerges. The idea that names “choose” people suggests a spiritual understanding of identity. For Morning Girl, her name reflects her love of the early hours of the day.

“‘But Star Boy would not leave without saying good-bye,’ my mother decided. ‘Even if he had made a mistake, even if he had played in his father’s canoe and then forgotten to pull it high enough up the beach so that the tide would not carry it away. He would know that we would miss him too much if he disappeared.’”

Star Boy’s mother trusts in the emotional connection she shares with her son. Even though Star Boy made a mistake, his mother’s immediate instinct is to forgive him and trust in their bond, believing that he wouldn’t abandon his family without saying goodbye. The bond between Star Boy and his mother is rooted in love.

“‘But even if the canoe had floated away, even if it had vanished beneath the waves, it is only a canoe,’ my father continued. ‘It can be replaced with a few days’ work, especially if I have a strong son to help me hollow it out. But nothing can replace a son. Not even a new child that might someday come. Not even a good daughter who was lonely for her brother all day, who was afraid that he was hungry or thirsty or didn’t know how to come home.’”

Star Boy’s father expresses the importance of family over material possessions. By emphasizing that “nothing can replace a son,” the father affirms the value of familial relationships over material goods. This moment is not just about forgiveness but also about teaching a lesson on what truly matters: love, family, and support. The mention of Morning Girl’s concern for her brother highlights the emotional bond between siblings.

“‘Tell me about my face,’ I asked Mother one day when we were walking along the beach.

She stopped, turned to me in confusion. ‘What about your face?’

‘Is it long and wrinkled, like Grandmother’s, or round as a coconut, like Star Boy’s? Are my eyes wise like yours or ready to laugh like Father’s? Are my teeth as crooked as the trunks of palm trees?’

Mother cocked her head to the side and made lines in her forehead. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever looked at you that way,’ she said. ‘To me you’ve always been yourself, different from anyone else.’”

Morning Girl’s curiosity about her appearance reveals the ongoing nature of The Search for Identity. She asks her mother to describe her face, comparing herself to family members and even natural elements. This suggests a desire to understand how she fits into her family and the world around her. Her mother’s response suggests that identity goes beyond physical appearance and is shaped by who you are rather than how you look.

“Who are they?’ I couldn’t take my eyes off those strange new faces. ‘Who are these pretty girls who live inside your head?’

‘They are the answer to your question,’ Father said. ‘And they are always here when you need to find them.’”

This is a moment of reflection and guidance from Morning Girl’s father. When Morning Girl looks into her father’s eyes and sees “pretty girls” reflected back at her, it symbolizes the way family shapes one’s self-perception. Her father’s response, “They are always here when you need to find them,” suggests that Morning Girl can look to her family when she feels lost and unsure of who she is. This conveys the theme of The Significance of Cultural and Familial Bonds.

“Yet I wasn’t afraid. I kept seeing Morning Girl’s face, and I felt the same as she had looked: interested, curious, amazed that such weather as this could be. I watched the way you watch when you know you want to remember: Slowly, even though everything was going fast. Carefully, even though everything was confusing. In some part of me I thought that if I noticed each piece of what I saw, I could someday put it all together into a story.”

This quote captures Star Boy’s fascination with the storm. He experiences the chaos with a sense of wonder, not fear, which mirrors Morning Girl’s outlook. This is another trait the two siblings have in common. The passage also suggests that Star Boy processes the world thoughtfully and reflectively, focusing on remembering each detail to later make sense of it.

“‘It’s all right, Star Boy,’ came a gnarled voice, coiled as the twist of knotted wood. ‘Stay with us, and you will be safe.’

It was my grandfather, high above me.

‘It’s you, isn’t it?’ I whispered, and he laughed the way I remembered, when he used to hold me against his warm skin and tell me stories about the sort of man I would grow up to be.

‘I’ll visit with you as long as this storm lasts,’ he said. ‘You must sit very still, and you must never tell anyone that I was here or what I say. It will be a secret between us.’”

Star Boy’s encounter with his grandfather during the storm is deeply symbolic and highlights strong cultural and familial bonds. The appearance of his grandfather, a figure of wisdom and comfort during a moment of danger, highlights a spiritual connection between the living and the dead, where ancestors offer guidance and protection. In Taíno culture, family and ancestral ties offer strength, even in times of crisis.

“No one had died. The storm had damaged nothing that could not be built again. Who needed a roof when the sun shone so friendly or when the stars glowed overhead, watching our sleep?”

Morning Girl expresses an appreciation for the intangible gifts of life: family, nature, and community. The idea that things can be rebuilt emphasizes the importance of life and relationships over material possessions. The imagery of the “friendly” sun and “stars glowing overhead” watching over them underscores the harmony between humans and nature in Taíno culture.

“But today we were bright as wet shells, each person painted and decorated differently. Some wore flattened gold leaves in their earlobes, some placed hibiscus blooms in their hair or hung long necklaces of shells around their necks.”

This passage offers a glimpse into the customs and culture of the Taíno people, who dress up for the feast after the storm. They use gold leaves, hibiscus blooms, and shell necklaces as decorations, showcasing their harmonious relationship with the natural world. The description also celebrates cultural diversity within the community, as each person is “painted and decorated differently,” reflecting the unique status or identity.

“I was used to my brother being a child, and he was simply behaving the way a child behaves, no worse than that. I remembered when I could run free, not worrying that I might appear foolish, and there was a part of me that wished I could join Star Boy now: do whatever I wanted with no aunt’s or uncle’s eyes to correct me or to embarrass Mother by staring at me too hard. I had received those looks only once and that had been too much, more than enough to remind me that though I had not yet become a woman, I was no longer a child.”

Here, Morning Girl navigates the complex transition from childhood innocence to adolescence. She contrasts her brother’s carefree behavior with her self-awareness, and she longs for the freedom of her younger years when she could act without fear of judgment. The “aunt’s or uncle’s eyes” represent the social scrutiny that accompanies maturity. The tension between her desire for freedom and the realization that she is “no longer a child” conveys the theme of The Search for Identity.

“Star Boy and I reached across the space between us, we made a fishing line with our eyes and each pulled the other to the center.”

The metaphor of the “fishing line” highlights the deep, unspoken bond between Morning Girl and Star Boy. The imagery evokes the act of drawing each other closer and creates a vivid picture of their bond. The moment emphasizes the siblings’ unique connection, showing how, despite their differences, they deeply care for each other.

“Names are strange and special gifts. There are names you give to yourself and names you show to the world, names that stay for a short while and names that remain with you forever, names that come from things you do and names that you receive as presents from other people.”

Names are a motif throughout the novel. They are central to identity in Indigenous culture. They can change over time, and some are given as gifts, symbolizing relationships with others. This idea shows how names are more than just labels: they carry deep personal and cultural meaning, representing one’s connection to one’s community and self.

“The night hid my anger. It hid my shame. In its blackness, I was the blackest part. If I closed my mind into the deepest chamber of a shell, she would have to go away.”

This quote explores Star Boy’s complex relationship with darkness. Darkness is a refuge where he can hide his emotions, particularly his anger and shame. By describing himself as “the blackest part” of the night, Star Boy expresses a sense of becoming one with the night. The imagery of closing his mind “into the deepest chamber of a shell” highlights his desire to retreat inward, shutting out others.

“‘At night,’ I answered in that same whispering tone, ‘at night you must be your own friend.’

My mother took a short breath, and I knew she understood me.”

Star Boy articulates his understanding of night as a time of solitude, where he must rely on and find strength within himself. This reflects the motif of night as a place for introspection and self-discovery. The fact that his mother immediately understands him shows the deep bond between them.

“There was still no top on our house, and, especially at night, it was as though we were fish circling in a secret pool whose banks were so steep that the only things we knew about were water and the flat roof of sky.”

Morning Girl draws on nature to express her emotions and describe her surroundings. The comparison of her family to “fish circling in a secret pool” conveys a sense of enclosure and isolation. Nature is Morning Girl’s primary reference point, reflecting her and the Taíno culture’s Respect for the Natural World.

“More waiting, more listening, more wondering as we each lay awake, our thoughts woven together. Star Boy filled the house by not being inside it, just as, I thought, he had hoped to do.”

The imagery of weaving emphasizes the connection between Morning Girl and her family as they wait for Star Boy. Star Boy’s absence fills the house, showing how much he matters to his family despite their differences. This quote highlights his quiet influence on their lives.

“She was in my thoughts often, as she was this morning. Then I had an idea so surprising that I stopped walking: I could give the new sister a name, just between her and me. I closed my eyes, held my breath, and found exactly the right one: She Listens. Now she was real.”

Morning Girl transforms her into a real presence by naming her unborn sister. The motif of names as a form of identity is central here: by naming her She Listens, Morning Girl grants her sister individuality and a place within the family, even if she never lived. This is an intimate act, demonstrating Morning Girl’s deep emotional connection to her lost sister.

“I heard an unfamiliar and frightening sound. It was like the panting of some giant animal, a steady, slow rhythm, dangerous and hungry. And it was coming closer.”

This quote foreshadows the arrival of the Spanish invaders. The description of the sound as “dangerous and hungry” creates a sense of impending doom, and the choice of animal imagery adds to the idea that the strangers are predatory and menacing, contrasting with the harmonious relationship the Taíno have with nature.

“But it seemed to me that they were a people very poor in everything. All of them go around as naked as their mothers bore them; and the women also, although I did not see more than one quite young girl.”

In this excerpt from Columbus’s diary, he views the Taíno’s lack of clothing and material wealth as a sign of poverty. He fails to recognize the richness of their culture and their deep connection to nature. The mention of a “quite young girl” may be a reference to Morning Girl.