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The Khaki Kingdom
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Darius the Great Is Not Okay, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Friendship
Family
Persian Identity and Culture
Mental Health, Depression, and Connection
Bullying
Summary
Analysis
That evening, Dad gets out his iPad to watch Star Trek. Darius asks Dad to wait for him while he makes tea, but Dad says Laleh gets impatient and Darius has already seen the episode. When Darius finally enters the living room, he feels awful. Laleh is so clearly his replacement, and he resents that she’s stolen Star Trek with Dad from him. He takes his tea into the garden and wonders if anyone would be sad if he died. Later, Dad comes to find Darius and accuses Darius of being selfish: Laleh just wanted to spend time with him, since he was out all day with Sohrab.
Dad and Darius have been watching Star Trek together for years now, and Darius shows here that he’s not great with change. This is in part because he appreciates that Star Trek time is the only time that he and Dad can act like a “real father and son,” something that Darius seems to crave—even if he’s not willing to admit that outright. Dad’s behavior suggests to Darius that Dad doesn’t crave that connection, which hurts Darius even more.
Themes
Darius asks why he and Dad can’t watch without Laleh. Star Trek is their thing, and her presence ruins it. Dad says he enjoys watching it with Laleh, which feels like a slap to Darius. How can Dad toss Darius aside so easily? Darius tells Dad to watch with Laleh and insists he’s not upset, since Dad doesn’t like it when Darius has feelings. Darius excuses himself to go to bed. He and Dad don’t say “I love you,” which they continued to do even after Dad stopped telling Darius stories—until tonight.
This incident marks another important moment in Darius and Dad’s deteriorating relationship: Darius takes it as proof that Dad truly prefers Laleh and perhaps doesn’t really love him. Noting to readers that Dad doesn’t like it when Darius has feelings may also offer a clue as to why Darius struggles so much to voice his thoughts: Dad has trained him not to.
Themes
