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First, Best Destiny
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
Sizdeh Bedar is canceled. Everyone goes to the Rezaeis’ house with the food Mamou made for the picnic on Sizdeh Bedar/Darius’s birthday. As Mom wishes Darius a happy birthday, Darius thinks about how Mom has dealt with Dad’s depression and then Darius’s for years. That must be painful, especially since she can’t really help. Mamou hugs Darius next, and then Laleh does. Laleh whispers that she made Darius birthday tea, and she didn’t even sweeten it—but Darius can add sugar if he wants.
Things have changed for Darius now that he’s spoken to Dad. Suddenly, Dad seems like way more of a real person to Darius—he’s no longer the stoic Teutonic Übermensch Darius used to see him as. Realizing that Dad and Darius’s depression has likely been hard for Mom also represents a shift in how Darius sees his parents: Dad’s depression has likely had an impact on their marriage. Realizing this helps Darius mature and see both his parents as fully-fledged people, not just parent figures.
Themes
It’s weird (but not bad) to walk Yazd’s streets with Dad and not Sohrab. Dad even left his sketchbook at home so he could spend time with Darius. The attention is a lot, but Darius kind of likes it. They walk to the Jameh Mosque, where Dad is clearly in love with the spindly minarets and the huge archway. They wander the mosque, and Darius notices how relaxed Dad’s face is. He realizes Dad has never hidden his depression, even if Darius had no idea how close he came to losing Dad. Dad fought so hard to stay with his family, and Darius knows he and Dad don’t want to lose each other. But Dad doesn’t know how to say it aloud. Darius has never understood Dad so well.
On this outing, Dad becomes even more human and relatable to Darius. Though Darius doesn’t say it outright, he recognizes that Dad has likely been very purposeful about taking his pills in front of Darius. By doing this, he’s conveyed that taking meds isn’t something to be ashamed of, while also acknowledging that he needs help. But Darius also realizes that he and Dad are a lot alike in how they struggle to voice their true thoughts and feelings. Darius decides that this is okay—what matters is how they show their support for each other.
Themes
Birthdays aren’t a big deal in Iran, but Mamou still makes Darius’s favorite dish for dinner. She and Babou also give Darius an antique copper teapot and a pair of cleats that are just like Sohrab’s, but blue. Darius hugs and kisses them in thanks, and to his surprise, Babou kisses him back. Quietly, Babou says that Sohrab is hurting, but it’s not Darius’s fault—and Darius is a good friend.
Mamou acknowledges that her grandson has been raised with different customs than she has, so she makes a point to celebrate Darius’s birthday. Then, it’s significant that Babou tells Darius this about Sohrab. It suggests that Babou can tell Darius is hurting, and he wants to make things better. Further, Babou confirms that Darius did nothing wrong; Sohrab is lashing out because he’s grieving.
Themes
Then, Mom helps Darius pack by folding his shirts. The jersey from Sohrab is clean after Darius cried and got snot on it. It’s been Darius’s “Persian camouflage,” but Darius doesn’t need it anymore now that he’s going home. And maybe he shouldn’t have tried to be something he isn’t. Still, Darius tucks the jersey into his suitcase under his boxers, just in case. He and Mom discuss that Darius is ready to go home, but he’s going to miss Mamou and Babou.
Referring to the jersey as his “Persian camouflage” is an interesting choice. It suggests that still Darius doesn’t see himself as Persian. The jersey has helped him to blend in. This view sells Darius a bit short—he is Persian, even if just on Mom’s side—but it suggests that he’s once again struggling with his multicultural identity.
Themes
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Later, Darius reads The Lord of the Rings in the kitchen and drinks tea with Babou and Laleh. Babou is reading to Laleh in Farsi. Mamou comes in and tells Darius that Sohrab is here to say goodbye. Sohrab is standing outside the front door, looking small and guarded. He says he was worried when Darius didn’t come over today, but Darius says he wasn’t sure Sohrab wanted him to come. Sohrab then thanks Darius for the cleats, which are his favorite color.
As Sohrab and Darius begin to renavigate their relationship, they’re both guarded—neither wants to offend the other more than they already have. But as awkward as this meeting is, both Darius and Sohrab are trying. They don’t want their friendship to end, and so they’re both willing to give the other the benefit of the doubt and try to move forward.
Themes
Darius offers his condolences about Sohrab’s dad. He wants to touch Sohrab and encourage him to cry or scream, but he’s not sure how to breach the wall that’s risen up between them. Sohrab apologizes for his behavior and says he’s ashamed—friends don’t act like he did. Darius says friends forgive, but Sohrab says seriously that he’s glad to have met Darius and that Darius is his best friend. He invites Darius to come out for a little bit, and Darius agrees.
Darius takes giving Sohrab the benefit of the doubt a step further here when he not only accepts Sohrab’s apology without question but also says that friends forgive. They both, in other words, have responsibilities: Sohrab should apologize, but it’s also up to Darius to accept Sohrab’s apology, thereby allowing them both to move forward in their friendship.
Themes
