54 pages • 1 hour read
Karen HesseThe Music Of Dolphins
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1996A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1, Chapters 8-13Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1, Chapter 8 Summary
Mila begins to feel frustrated by the researchers’ repetitive questions, which force her to define words and identify objects.
She tells Sandy what a pool is, describing it as an unpleasant place to swim. Mila distinguishes a pool from the ocean by calling the latter a “big home.”
Mila overhears Justin talking to Dr. Beck. Afterward, Dr. Beck brings in a tape recording of whale sounds, which both confuses and excites Mila. She invites Justin to listen to the whale sounds with her, but he shakes his head “no” and leaves.
Part 1, Chapter 9 Summary
Sandy explains to Mila that she must go home to visit her family because her father is sick. Mila starts asking questions about family, and whether she has a family in Sandy and Dr. Beck. Sandy tells Mila that she does but explains that there are other kinds of families too. Mila understands what she means, and in turn begins asking whether she can see her “dolphin family” again. Dr. Beck’s only answer for Mila is “perhaps.”
Part 1, Chapter 10 Summary
Mila is frustrated by Sandy’s absence, particularly the idea of being alone at night. Consequently, Mila does not want to participate in her usual tests. Dr. Beck suggests that she visit Shay instead. When Mila does so, she notices that Shay is upset. However, Shay hops toward Mila as soon as she sees her, happy that her friend is there to visit. Mila is delighted to spend time with Shay, too. That night, she goes to Shay’s room and sleeps on the floor beside Shay’s bed.
Part 1, Chapter 11 Summary
As Mila and Shay use a computer to point out various objects, Shay looks to Mila for guidance and support. Mila helps her to find a picture of someone swimming. Justin appears and jokes about how boring the “game” that Mila and Shay are playing must be. Mila laughs along with him, but Justin leaves again.
Part 1, Chapter 12 Summary
Dr. Beck moves Mila and the rest of her staff at the research hospital to a large house where the doctors, assistants, and patients must all live together. Mila notices a river nearby and dives into it as soon as she can, enjoying the bliss of the water until she hears Sandy calling her back. Mila learns that Sandy’s father died. Mila understands the concept of death from her time with the dolphins.
Dr. Beck gives Mila a tour of the house, which includes a classroom and a computer room. The doctors, Sandy, Justin, Mila, and Shay each have their own room. However, Mila notices that she and Shay are the only ones whose rooms have windows in their doors—presumably so that they can be surveilled by the researchers. Mila’s room also has a view of the river, which Dr. Beck says was Justin’s idea.
Part 1, Chapter 13 Summary
A government official charged with overseeing Dr. Beck’s research funding visits the house to meet Mila. After watching her play with Sandy and Dr. Beck and observing her ability to operate a computer alone, he comments on the great progress that Mila has made. Mila realizes that “progress” means developing an ability to type and perform similar human tasks.
Part 1, Chapters 8-13 Analysis
Mila makes incremental advancement toward the goal of “being human.” She has no way of understanding “progress” except through the lens given to her by the researchers and government officials. From them, she inherits a limited and shallow understanding of what it means for a human to “make progress.” Mila thus learns, “Making progress is when I talk words. Making progress is when I write on the computer. Making progress is when I wear clothes. Making progress is when I sleep in a bed and eat the dead fish” (50). Mila comes to believe that What It Means to Be Human is a culmination of these meaningless acts, all of which go against the person who she truly is. At first, the only person with whom Mila truly connects is Shay, because Shay relies on Mila and shares her feeling of being misunderstood by the world. Unlike Mila, though, Shay rejects the world completely. In contrast, Mila grows to appreciate her human abilities—albeit from a place of inner conflict, as she still longs to return to the ocean. Mila also grows to appreciate Justin’s presence, but it takes time for Justin to let go of his fear of the unknown and return the favor.
Mila’s narration reveals that she has an intuitive understanding of the people around her but has a hard time verbalizing her understanding or pinpointing her own responses: “Sandy is smiling at me. But I feel another thing in Sandy” (46). Mila sees Justin arguing with Dr. Beck, but she does not know why he continues to be so upset. Mila watches Shay, but she does not know why the child fails to progress as quickly as she does. Mila is vaguely aware that something is wrong from the moment that Dr. Beck takes her on a tour of the research house but cannot describe what it is. Mila stares out at the river—a body of water that will someday reach the ocean—but she cannot swim through it and it will not lead her back to her dolphin family. Mila looks back on her memories of the life of which she was robbed in the name of “human progress” and does not understand why it was considered unworthy of protection. Life in the dolphin pod did not prepare Mila to experience this degree of confusion, self-isolation, and disconnection from those around her.
Like Mila, who has reentered the world only recently, the text forces readers to experience disorientation by obscuring key connections. For instance, Mila recognizes that Shay has a tendency to hop rather than walk, but no one explains to Mila the reasons for Shay’s unusual behavior. Similarly, readers are left to infer the meaning behind many of Mila’s observations.
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