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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
Surprisingly, Darius doesn’t feel different when he gets home. Mom takes him to get new wheels and a seat for his bike, and he, Dad, and Laleh watch Star Trek every night. When Laleh gets scared and runs off during one episode, Dad says it’s nice to just watch with Darius. When Darius tells Dad that he doesn’t mind if Laleh joins them, Darius wonders if something did change in him.
Darius has changed, even if he’s not entirely aware of it. In addition to finding his emotions, he also feels way more secure in his relationship with Dad and his place in the family. He understands now that Laleh isn’t replacing him. Rather, she adds to the experience when she joins them for Star Trek—and when she doesn’t, Dad and Darius get to relive the past, in a way.
Themes
Darius takes the Kellner & Newton messenger bag to school when he goes back. He still hates messenger bags, but it feels like he and this bag have gone to Mordor and back. Darius spends the day answering questions from classmates—Fatty Bolger asks if Darius went to join ISIS. At lunch, he throws himself down across from Javaneh and gives her the bag of Iranian candies, herbs, and a tablecloth that Mom sent for Javaneh’s mom. Darius finds he can’t explain his experience in Iran to her, though. He tells Javaneh he hopes she gets to go visit someday.
Darius’s new feelings about the messenger bag symbolize how exactly his relationship with Dad has changed. There are likely still parts of Dad that Darius finds frustrating and annoying. But in general, Darius trusts Dad way more now than he did—and he also trusts the messenger bag to get his school supplies safely to and from school. At school, not much has changed, but Trent’s bullying also doesn’t seem to hit home anymore. Darius now knows that Trent bullies him because of Trent’s own insecurities, not because there’s anything wrong with Darius.
Themes
In gym class, Coach Fortes leads the boys to the South Field to play soccer. It feels strange to wear a school T-shirt and shorts and normal tennis shoes, and it’s strange to play on a full team of kids who call him Darius instead of Darioush or Ayatollah. Still, it’s nice when Darius realizes he’s better than many of his classmates, including Trent Bolger. Darius even blocks an attempted goal from Trent; Trent and his cronies are nothing after the Iranian Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy. Chip gives Darius a fist bump—maybe he has a soul after all. After class, Coach Fortes catches Darius just as Darius steps in dog poop. He suggests Darius try out for the school soccer team in the fall. Darius almost says no—but Darioush would try out. Thinking about telling Sohrab he made the team, Darius says he might.
Things are looking up for Darius, and he’s able to take some of the things he learned in Iran and apply them in Portland. Here, as Darius realizes that he’s actually a better player than some of the Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy, he gains more confidence—and Trent’s bullying may be even easier for Darius to brush off going forward. Then, it’s nice when Coach Fortes confirms that Darius is much better at soccer than he initially thought. That Darius reminds himself that Darioush would try out for the team suggests that Darius is still working to merge his American and Persian identities, but he’s well on his way to figuring something out.
Themes
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