The Music of Dolphins

The Music of Dolphins is a middle grade work of realistic fiction written by Karen Hesse originally published in 1996. It traces the coming-of-age narrative of Mila, a teenager found in a “feral” state off the coast of the Florida Keys. Raised by a pod of dolphins after her mother and brother perish in a plane crash, Mila is captured and taken against her will to a research facility in Boston, where she learns to speak English, grows to love music, and befriends other young people as well as a kindly research assistant, Sandy. Although Mila is excited by the new skills she develops, including the ability to play music and speak English, she realizes that the doctors and scientists researching her do not have her best interests at heart. She recognizes that the ocean is her true home, and after repeated requests, a small group of sympathetic humans facilitates Mila’s reunion with her dolphin family.

The recipient of a 1997 Golden Kite Award for Fiction, The Music of Dolphins is one of several noteworthy children’s novels authored by Hesse. It is an examination of What It Means to Be Human, the plethora of forms that Family and Connection can take, and The Freedom to Be True to the Self. Hesse’s writing often explores the theme of children’s fragility and innocence in response to powerful outside forces that look to direct or reshape their destinies. In compelling her readers to witness adult predation of defenseless children, Hesse dramatizes the infliction of systemic injustice upon new generations. Yet through her inclusion of strong child characters who successfully resist, outwit, and/or escape the exploitative systems that wreak havoc on their lives, Hesse upholds the possibility of moral renewal and social reform.

This study guide uses the 2005 Scholastic edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The source material contains depictions of child abuse.

Plot Summary

Mila’s story begins with her reveling in life on the open sea. Raised by dolphins from a young age, the teenaged Mila swims to a small island in search of food and water. Out of nowhere, a helicopter and emergency rescue team appear. Marveling at Mila’s ability to act so much like a dolphin, the rescuers lure Mila with water and then take her with them.

Upon Mila’s arrival, a woman named Dr. Beck takes her to a hospital in Boston. Dr. Beck studies children in feral states and intends to use Mila as a research subject. Together with her assistant, Sandy, Dr. Beck slowly begins teaching Mila to speak English. At this point in the narrative, Mila’s thoughts are simple and straightforward: She wonders when she can go home, attempts to please the researchers by complying with their demands, and absorbs the revelation that she is a human girl. Mila eventually meets Shay, another youngster in a feral state. Shay is more aloof than Mila and refuses to learn from or take part in activities with the researchers unless Mila helps her. During her spare time, Mila enjoys swimming at the local pool, although doing so reminds her of how much she misses the sea. She also notices that Dr. Beck’s son, Justin, is around her age, and she finds him beautiful. Nevertheless, Mila rapidly tires of taking tests, answering repetitive research queries, and coping with her lack of freedom. When Dr. Beck allows Mila to listen to a tape recording of whale songs, it causes Mila to ask deeply painful questions about the whereabouts of her dolphin family.

Dr. Beck soon receives a grant to fund more in-depth research on children in feral states. Consequently, Mila and Shay move into a home where a medical team can study them around the clock. This house is near the Charles River, which reminds Mila of her oceanic origins. Unfortunately, no one else appreciates the depth and complexity of her relationship with water.

Sandy tells Mila that her name derives from the Spanish word milagros, meaning “miracles.” Mila herself is a miracle: not just because she survived for so long in the ocean, but also because she has made more progress than any other child in her condition. Sandy likewise exposes Mila to music for the first time. Mila quickly becomes entranced both by listening to recorded music, as well as by composing and playing it on her recorder. The development of her musical talents empowers Mila to express deeper, more abstract thoughts. Dr. Beck hopes that these developments in linguistic and musical ability will advance her academic legacy.

One night, Mila awakens and stares out at the Charles River, feeling utterly alone. She decides she must return to her dolphin family. After diving into the river and swimming as far as she can, she realizes that she is nowhere near her ocean home. However, the current is too strong for her to swim back, and she must be rescued. After falling ill for several weeks, Sandy takes Mila on a walk by the river and explains the concepts of territory and property. Mila does not understand the need for such things and feels sad for humans and the limits they impose on themselves.

Mila starts to feel like Dr. Beck sees her as a tool, not a person. Even so, Mila obliges when Dr. Beck asks her to say more about her experiences with the dolphins. Mila sometimes watches television, but when she watches a recording of her own rescue, Mila fails to recognize herself until she looks in the mirror later that night. She is disturbed by the fact that she cannot remember that day and begins to suspect that the doctors have stolen her memories of her previous life.

One evening, Mila realizes that the door to her bedroom is locked. She bangs on it so hard that she causes herself to bleed. Sandy begins to wonder if it was a mistake to take Mila away from the sea. She tells Mila that the government demanded that her door be locked after Mila ran away to the river and warns her that many people want to use her for research while others are afraid of her. The researchers can only unlock Mila’s door once they are sure she will not try to escape again.

This news fuels Mila’s desire to return home. She realizes, though, that to leave the humans, she must first become more like them. She thus begins to obey the doctors and learn as much as she can about “being human.” She starts writing music on her recorder and creates songs about the dolphins and the sea. Mila hears from Sandy that Shay has stopped making progress and retreated into herself. Mila realizes that she and Shay are objects of study, seen by very few as human.

Mila and Justin grow closer. He takes her to a special hill where the roar of automobiles sounds like the ocean. He asks her about her life in the sea and warns her that Dr. Beck is obsessed with finding a way to communicate with dolphins. Justin also tells Mila that she does not need to listen to the doctors if she does not want to. Mila takes this knowledge and uses it to protest against the constraints of her current context, refusing to eat or take part in lessons until the researchers unlock her door. The medical team responds by strapping her to her bed and attaching her to a feeding tube.

Mila thinks that humans lead lonely lives, imprisoned by anger and fear. She tries to rise above this trap with music. However, after she becomes irritated by Shay’s poor singing, Mila realizes that she has succeeded in being human; she is now capable of rejecting someone for being different than herself.

After Shay breaks Mila’s recorder, Mila fixates obsessively on how to return to sea. Not only does she start to lose her capacity for human language, but she also stops eating, feels hopeless, and weakens with every passing day. Her thoughts become jumbled and return to their previously simplistic state; she also forgets how to play music. Mila begs to go back to the ocean, but Dr. Beck refuses on the grounds that she could be imprisoned if she lets Mila leave. Dr. Beck takes her to visit a sea far from the Florida Keys in the hopes that this will put Mila’s obsession with “going home” to rest. However, the trip serves only to reaffirm Mila’s desire to return to her ocean home.

Finally, Dr. Beck, Sandy, and Justin take Mila back to the island where she was captured. After a final embrace, Justin gives Mila back to the ocean. He, Dr. Beck, and Sandy wait for hours in their boat in case Mila changes her mind, but she never returns. She has returned to her life with the dolphins—and embraced her true self.