45 pages • 1 hour read
The Turtle of Oman
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Themes
The Difficulty of Leaving Home
The main conflict is Aref’s struggle to define home and come to terms with the fact that he will have to forge a new home for himself beyond the familiar boundaries of Oman. As Aref grows more used to the idea, he gradually realizes that with his memories and his grandfather’s stories, he can carry a version of Oman with him wherever he goes. In this way, he learns that leaving home does not mean that he loses his connection to his home, for the idea of it can travel with him.
At first, fear of leaving overwhelms Aref and fuels his reluctance to embrace the upcoming journey to the US. This inner resistance physically manifests in his inability to focus on packing, and he becomes preoccupied with his worries of how his home might change when he is gone. He does not want his room to be taken over by his cousins, and he worries about the welfare of his cat and the safety of his physical belongings, such as his rock collection.
Hidden beneath these more tangible worries is the idea that he is about to lose his home and his sense of belonging. He feels that he belongs in Oman because he has lived there since he was born. However, because he attends an international school, he is also familiar with those who come to Oman briefly or who have moved there because they are refugees. As he realizes, “[Until] now, he had been welcoming [new students] to his country. And he had never had two extra thoughts about it. You met new people, you made new friends. What had changed?” (93). Because he is now the one leaving, he starts to think about what difficulties might arise and he worries that students in Michigan will not accept him. Sidi helps him to address these fears when he gives Aref his new hat, telling him that if others don’t like it, Aref should invite them to try it on; in a broader sense, Sidi is advising Aref to let others get to know him and where he comes from.
Throughout the novel, Aref must undergo the process of finding an enduring sense of belonging in a new place. While he naturally feels comfortable in Oman and does not feel the need to branch out, his impromptu adventures with Sidi allow him to embrace the sensation of trying new things. He realizes that in a new place, he “felt awkward for about ten minutes, then felt [himself] sinking into the new scene, becoming part of it very quickly” (152). Slowly, Aref starts to let go of his physical sense of home and accept that home is an idea that he can carry with him. He accepts the fact that he can find a sense of belonging by immersing himself in a new place. This process of letting go is symbolized through his willingness to leave a note in his closet for his cousins, essentially giving them his blessing to use his room. Ultimately, Aref redefines his sense of home and accepts that with the support of his family, his home will go with him wherever he is in the world. Sidi’s encouragement to carry their adventures and stories with him helps him to prepare to travel to Michigan, even if he is still nervous about the journey.
The Importance of Travel
Much of The Turtle of Oman is focused on stories of travel, for the narrative begins with Aref’s father’s flight to the US and ends with Aref’s own readiness to depart from his home. Before he reaches this point of acceptance, he and Sidi go on a variety of adventures that highlight the importance of travel and celebrate the fact that Aref himself is becoming a world traveler. When he starts to recontextualize his journey from Oman as a chance to explore new settings, Aref finally finds peace in his parents’ decision to leave for three years.
A key image that Nye uses is Jamal’s falcon, Fil-Fil. Sidi tells Aref that he is similar to the bird, saying, “You will be like the falcon […] You will fly away and come back. Just as he did” (182). This comparison helps Aref to conceptualize his journey, and he loves gathering information about animals, he finds it easy to process his own travel by comparing the trip to the flying patterns of the falcon. Later, the narration emphasizes the comparison again, for as Sidi and Aref venture back into the city, Aref’s “thoughts made falcon moves, dipping and rippling, swooping back into your brain to land. […] 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). The explicit connection between departing and returning acts as a form of reassurance for the boy; rather than leaving Oman forever, Aref can take comfort in the idea that his journey to the US is a temporary trip rather than a permanent change. Moreover, because Sidi defines their time together as a series of adventures, Aref feels more willing to take a larger step by venturing beyond Oman.
These concepts are further reinforced when Aref and Sidi take their boat ride. Sidi, who does not wish to leave Oman and refuses to fly, feels nauseous on the water, but Aref realizes that something in him has awakened. As the narrative states, “Once you have been on a boat looking back at where you will, everything seems changed […]. You will always know you might be elsewhere instead of on solid earth. You’re not tied to the ground” (254). Going out to sea allows Aref to get a better idea of the expanse of the world, and he instantly gains a sense of the wanderlust that overtakes people and spurs them to travel the world. Sidi helps him to see that he can try many different places and experience many different things, telling Aref that when he comes back, “You will also be tall and a world traveler. The boy who saw another country and came home again” (286). Traveling will become a part of Aref’s identity, and Aref feels less afraid, knowing that he will see amazing things and that he can always come back to his home and his grandfather.
Grandparents’ Stories and Experiences
Sidi’s stories animate Aref’s experience of his home in Muscat, blending the pair’s present-day adventures with legends of the past that help Aref to expand his imagination. He finds great comfort in getting lost in these stories, and when it comes time to leave Oman, he must come to terms with the knowledge that he will be too far away for Sidi to tell him stories every day or take him on adventures. However, he ultimately learns that he carries each story with him, even if it is difficult for Sidi to let Aref go.
When Sidi takes Aref on their first adventure to the beach, he also tells Aref the story of the turtles with candles on their backs. Sidi speaks about it with such wonderment, saying, “So at night the wandering turtles became roving lamps carrying little lights around. Wouldn’t that be something?” (106). This sense of awe stays with Aref, and he imagines how different the city would look if it were lit by moving candles. This story melds with Aref’s inner image of his home, and Sidi also teaches him how to memorize the pattern of the city lights at night. These experiences help to ground Aref and remind him of what he loves most about Oman even as he prepares to leave home.
Aref’s relationship with Sidi is built on their ability to share anything with each other. As Aref states, “Talking with Sidi felt like a sky of floating words. You could say anything. Words blended together like paint on paper […] and thin rivers of color spread out, touching other colors to make a new one” (199-200). The two share whimsical ideas with one another, as when Aref expresses that he is also older than Sidi, just as Sidi is always young. This unique bond is essential to Aref’s growth throughout the novel. Their bond is also grounded in Aref’s fear that he will lose his sense of identity without Sidi, but Sidi emphasizes that Aref will remember all the stories they have shared and will bring them to the US. Sidi uses the pillow to represent this idea, saying, “Every time you sleep, my stories will be in there whispering” (100). Without Sidi and the knowledge that he passes down to Aref, the boy have much greater difficulty accepting the necessity of leaving Oman.
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