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My Cousin, the Ringwraith
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
Darius likes jasmine in tea, but he’s never smelled fresh blooming jasmine before now. He sinks down next to a planter, thinking about how everyone but him belongs here—even Dad. Sohrab appears and sits down next to Darius and asks why Darius is crying. After a minute, Darius says it’s hard to not understand Farsi, Dayi Soheil called him fat, and everyone is disappointed in him. Nobody wants him here. Sohrab introduces Darius to a Farsi phrase, “your place was empty,” which is what they say when they miss someone. Darius’s place was empty before, but he belongs here, with his family.
As Darius sees it, he’ll never fit in. He doesn’t speak the language and he’s implied that the ideal body type in Iran is small and athletic (where Darius is tall and overweight). So, Darius takes this all a step further: he doesn’t fit in, and so it must be true that nobody wants him. Sohrab, however, asks Darius to look past these outward markers that Darius doesn’t fit in and, essentially, remember how good it felt taking photos earlier. Darius’s family does love him and want him here, and Darius’s size and the language barrier doesn’t actually change that.
Themes
When Darius stops crying, he asks Sohrab to not tell Babou or Dad that he was crying. Sohrab asks about Dad, and Darius says Dad is just unhappy with everything Darius says and does and keeps trying to change Darius to make him more like Dad. Dad blames Darius for the bullying. Then, Darius admits he has depression and Dad does too. Sohrab asks if something bad happened, but he’s not judgmental. Darius says he and Dad don’t talk about it, in part because Darius feels like Dad doesn’t really love him. He tells Sohrab about all the times he’s disappointed Dad, and Sohrab is a good listener.
For seemingly the first time in his life, Darius opens up to a peer about his depression and how Dad’s behavior makes him feel. Darius makes it really clear that he just wants to hear that he’s loved unconditionally, which Dad doesn’t convey well when he seems constantly disappointed in Darius. Sohrab also takes a much less judgmental view of Darius’s depression than other Iranian people have, suggesting that perhaps the perception of mental health issues like this is changing among Iranian youth.
Themes
Finally, Darius asks about Sohrab’s dad. Looking away, Sohrab says everyone else already knows, but his dad is in jail. He was arrested years ago during some protests, but he was just on his way to work, not protesting. He was arrested because he’s Bahá’í, and Sohrab patiently explains that the government hates Bahá’ís. Darius apologizes. The boys sit outside talking until late, and Darius does feel better after talking.
In some ways, it seems as though Mom has introduced Darius to the happier parts of Iranian culture, while omitting mention of uncomfortable things like how the Iranian government systematically targets Bahá’ís. The oppression that Sohrab and his family experience mirror, to some degree, the bullying Darius suffers: they’re both targeted for being different, though it is, of course, very different when one’s aggressor is the government.
Themes
But when Darius and Sohrab enter the kitchen, Dad is talking to Babou—and he’s saying that Darius makes things hard for himself. Babou reminds Dad that he can’t control Darius and that Darius is going to be fine—he made friends with Sohrab, after all. Dad says that Sohrab might be Darius’s first real friend. Darius’s chest feels like it’s collapsing. Dad is right, but Darius hates that and hates that Sohrab heard. Finally, Dad notices Darius and turns red, but Sohrab saves the day by telling Babou goodbye. The boys walk through the living room and Sohrab reminds Darius that his place was empty—but Sohrab says his place was also empty. He’s never had a real friend before. They agree to see each other tomorrow.
Sohrab’s kind, understanding demeanor helped Darius feel better, but all it takes to make Darius feel terrible is hearing Dad blame Darius for essentially being overly insecure and lonely. Interestingly, though, Babou suggests that Dad doesn’t have anything to worry about. Sohrab’s friendship aside, Darius is, according to Babou, going to be okay. And though Babou seems to struggle to connect with Darius, he nevertheless suggests Dad do exactly what Darius wants him to do: accept, appreciate, and support the son he has, not the one he wishes he had.
Themes
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