Morning Girl

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1999

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapter 7-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 4 Summary: “Star Boy”

Star Boy is hiding among the rocks by the shore, refusing to go home after realizing he made a mistake: he played in his father’s canoe but forgot to pull it far enough up the beach, and the tide carried it away. Morning Girl has been calling for him to come for lunch, but he stays hidden, pretending to be one of the rocks. As the afternoon goes by, Star Boy thinks “about everything a rock could think: wind, rain, the things that could crawl out of the night and run across my face” (24). He tries to communicate with the rocks, but they do not answer. Eventually, he opens his eyes and sees his mother sitting by the shore, looking out to sea and wondering aloud where her son could be. She suggests he might have sailed to another island or flown into the sky, “but Star Boy would not leave without saying good-bye […] even if he had made a mistake” (25). Star Boy remains silent, focusing on becoming one with the rocks. He tells himself he will only return home if he hears his mother cry at night.

After his mother leaves, Star Boy spends a long time alone, noticing details he never paid attention to before, like the movement of shadows on his body and the smell of his skin. He believes he has learned more as a rock than as a boy, lessons he will never forget. As night falls, his father approaches and sits in the same spot where his mother had been. His father says out loud that it’s fortunate that his wife’s brother, Sharp Tooth, found the canoe undamaged. Even if the canoe had been lost, he reflects, it’s just a canoe, something that can be replaced. But a son, he says, is irreplaceable. His father then mentions how worried Morning Girl has been, which Star Boy finds hard to believe. His father goes on to say that, when Morning Girl told him she was careless with his canoe, he was annoyed. At this point, Star Boy shouts that it wasn’t her. His father calls out for him. Star Boy imagines the joy on his mother’s face and his sister’s relief, and he becomes a boy once more.

Chapter 5 Summary: “Morning Girl”

Morning Girl tries to see her face in a pond but is frustrated when the water is never still long enough. Star Boy doesn’t understand why she’s curious about what people see when they look at her. Morning Girl reflects that she wouldn’t even recognize herself, and Star Boy explains that she is simply herself. This frustrates Morning Girl even more. She knows her hands, arms, and feet, but her face remains a mystery.

One day, she asks her mother to describe her face: is it long or round? What do her eyes look like? Her mother responds, “To me you’ve always been yourself, different from anyone else” (31). To help her understand, her mother has her feel her own face and compare it to hers. Morning Girl realizes her chin is smaller, her mother’s mouth is wider, and their eyebrows are different shapes. But when they touch their ears, they discover they are the same. Morning Girl concludes that her chin looks like a starfish and her brows are like clouds. The next morning, she asks Star Boy what her chin looks like, and he replies, “a starfish.” Then he admits he overheard Mother tell Father. But then he adds that it looks more like “the end of the rock that juts out into the ocean near the north end of the island” (34).

Later, Father jokes that Morning Girl has her mother’s ears. Morning Girl complains that he’s making fun of her and asks why it’s strange for her to want to know what she looks like. Her father suggests there’s another way to understand. He kneels and asks her to look into his eyes. When she does, Morning Girl sees her reflection and thinks she looks pretty.

Chapter 6 Summary: “Star Boy”

One day, as Star Boy lies outside gazing at the sky, he notices dark clouds approaching in the distance. The storm arrives quickly, with rain pushed westward by the wind. Star Boy watches as their house, just across the grass, groans and leans under the force of the storm. He sees his family standing at the door, looking for him. He tries to shout to let them know he’s there, but the wind is too strong, and his words are lost. Struggling against the wind, he tries to cross the clearing toward the house, but the wind pushes him back. Morning Girl sees him and points, and their father crawls toward him on his hands and knees.

Star Boy falls to the ground as he watches the roof of their house fly away, and trees get torn down. He looks at Morning Girl’s face and notices that she seems “interested, curious, amazed that such weather as this could be” (40). He feels the same way. Despite being swept away by the storm, Star Boy isn’t afraid. He’s fascinated, wanting to witness everything.

He manages to cling to a large tree, its trunk carved with the faces of those who have died, including his little sister and his grandfather. Star Boy holds on until the wind finally begins to die down. As he presses himself against the tree, he notices shells, flowers, a bird, and even a snake pressed into its folds. Becoming one with the tree, he tries to stay small and protected. When he calls out for his parents, he hears another voice: “It’s all right, Star Boy. […] Stay with us, and you will be safe” (43). It’s his grandfather’s voice. Shocked, Star Boy remembers the moments they shared when his grandfather was alive. His grandfather reassures him that he will stay with him as long as the storm lasts but warns him not to tell anyone. Star Boy asks if he can tell just one person. His grandfather agrees: he can tell Morning Girl, but she will never believe him. When the storm finally passes, and he sees his mother running toward him, Star Boy thanks his grandfather and says goodbye.

Chapters 4-6 Analysis

The theme of Respect for the Natural World is central to these chapters. Star Boy, in his guilt and shame, tries to become one with the rocks. In his temporary rock-like state, he notices things that he never did as a boy, such as the movement of a shadow on his body and the smell of his skin. Star Boy uses nature to avoid accountability, but his return to human form later signifies his acceptance of his place within the family. For Morning Girl, nature is a means to explore her identity, conveying the theme of The Search for Identity. She compares parts of her body to features of the natural world: “She has a chin like a starfish and brows like white clouds on the horizon. Her nose works. Her cheeks swell into mountains when she smiles” (33). Unlike Star Boy, who seeks refuge in nature, Morning Girl uses it to make sense of who she is. Nature becomes a tool for self-discovery and personal growth.

Nature’s power is also destructive and uncontrollable, as seen in the storm of Chapter 6. The storm devastates the island, destroying the roof of the family’s house and uprooting trees. The storm also acts as a test of Star Boy’s resilience and leads to a spiritual encounter with his deceased grandfather. This mystical experience blends reality with spirituality, a connection often found in Indigenous traditions. The tree to which Star Boy clings during the storm, as he surmises that it will remain in its same spot, is symbolic: its trunk is carved with the faces of those who have died, including his little sister and his grandfather. It represents the strength of familial and ancestral ties, and it becomes Star Boy’s anchor in the storm.

Dorris further explores The Significance of Cultural and Familial Bonds throughout these chapters, particularly in the way Star Boy’s parents express love and forgiveness. His mother, while searching for him, says, “Star Boy would not leave without saying good-bye […] even if he had made a mistake” (25). This statement reveals her understanding of her son’s character and unconditional love for him. Likewise, Star Boy’s father reassures him that even if the canoe had been lost, “it is only a canoe. […] But nothing can replace a son” (28). These moments highlight the parents’ profound love for Star Boy, which transcends material losses. The family’s bond is unshakable. When Morning Girl expresses frustration over not knowing what she looks like, her father helps her see her reflection in his eyes. The act of seeing herself through her father’s eyes is both literal and metaphorical. This moment is symbolic of the idea that identity is shaped not just by how one views oneself but also by how one is seen by others, particularly loved ones.

The relationship between Star Boy and Morning Girl deepens and evolves throughout these three chapters. In Chapter 4, Star Boy is surprised to learn from his father that Morning Girl was worried about him the entire day. His return home is motivated in part by the thought of the joy he will bring to his mother and sister: “Already I could see my mother’s face when I walked through the door to our house. And behind her, my sister’s eyes are bright” (29). During the storm, Star Boy also notices the curiosity in Morning Girl’s eyes, which mirrors his feelings. This shared sense of wonder connects them in a way they hadn’t previously realized, revealing that they are more alike than they thought. The storm, in its chaos, brings them closer, revealing the similarities in how the two siblings perceive the world.

The overall style of these chapters is lyrical, with a narrative shifting fluidly between the perspectives of the two siblings. The author uses simple, childlike observations to convey deeper, more philosophical themes, particularly regarding identity, family, and the natural world. Dialogue, especially between Morning Girl and her parents, often takes on a philosophical tone, such as Morning Girl’s father’s remark that the two reflections in his eyes are “the answer to your question […] And they are always here when you need to find them” (36). This quotation and the novel’s tone reflect the value of interconnectedness in the Taíno way of life.