A Very Large Expanse of Sea

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-6

Chapters 7-12

Chapters 13-18

Chapters 19-24

Chapters 25-30

Chapters 31-38

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Vocabulary

Essay Topics

Quiz

Themes

Fear of Peer Relationships

Shirin’s difficulty with fellow students represents a consistent and deep fear of peer relationships. Her fear manifests itself in outward-facing personality traits like toughness, vulgarity, rudeness, and emotional passivity. Inside, Shirin recalls lost friendships from her family’s moves when she was younger, which causes enough pain to convince her that friends are not worth pursuing. After September 11, strangers and acquaintances showed distrust and intolerance toward Shirin because of her religion and appearance; soon after the terrorist attacks, two male students attack Shirin. These events caused Shirin to develop fearfulness with interpersonal situations in general (such as when strangers on the street, including adults, yell insults at her) and with peer relationships specifically, causing Shirin to construct figurative emotional barriers between herself and other students. She acquires a label of “mean” because of her lack of interactions and open unfriendliness with classmates. Although she wants deeply to have friends, the potential for pain and consequent fear make it too arduous a process; having seen and experienced others’ racism and bigotry, she feels they perceive her as different: “I’d become a talking point; a statistic. I was no longer free to be only a teenager, only a human, only flesh and blood—no, I had to be more than that” (159).

When Ocean tries to break through Shirin’s emotional walls—at first, out of sincerity and kindness, and later, because he likes her romantically—she rejects his attempts. Even her flat statements and borderline rudeness do not dissuade Ocean from treating Shirin nicely, and soon she relents and shares in conversation with him. Shirin is still afraid, however; her fear shifts to concern for Ocean’s treatment from others who disapprove of his closeness to her, and eventually this fear, stoked by angry and guilt-inducing comments from Coach Hart and Ocean’s mother, cause Shirin to break up with Ocean.

Once she sees how courageously Ocean stands up for what he believes (for example, when he faces down those who insult and harass Shirin), and inspired by encouraging comments from Navid, Jacobi, Bijan, and Carlos, Shirin finds the strength to open her barriers and begins to allow others to get to know her. Accepting Mr. Jordan’s invitation to return to Global Perspectives foreshadows this change; he points out that she can instruct others in thinking and behaving more open-mindedly. At the time, Shirin believes that responsibility should not rest with her—“Why is that my job?” (126)—but agrees to return to class. Later, in completing her character arc, she credits Ocean’s kindness and heart with her newfound desire to develop relationships and help others understand her beliefs.

Complexities of Family Influence

Shirin’s relationships with her mother, father, and Navid demonstrate great complexity; her feelings about each family member are multifaceted, and each one influences Shirin. For example, while the many moves from town to town frustrate Shirin and lead to a loss of friends, Shirin stops short of blaming her parents or showing resentment of them for frequently uprooting the family. Conversely, Shirin accepts (if grudgingly) that her parents make every choice to promote the family’s well-being and provide the best chances in America for their children: “Every move we made was to bring us into a better neighborhood, not a bigger house, into a better school district with better options for our future” (12).

Shirin wonders if her mother thinks of her (Shirin) as a “brat” who gets many good things handed to her; she accepts her mother’s reprimands (spoon smacks to the back of the head) and complaints about rude habits. Shirin holds her mother in high esteem: “I aspired to her levels of grace and perseverance” (183). Shirin is too preoccupied with social issues (and, increasingly, her relationship with Ocean) to work on her “bratty” behaviors or her closeness with her mother; she would in fact like to talk about Ocean with her but does not. Shirin does, however, spend time with her mother over winter break watching old videos of Little House on the Prairie as a soothing remedy for her heartbreak.

Shirin turns quietly to her father to remedy her aching heart as well, drinking coffee in the mornings of winter break together. She seeks his advice without opening up, asking him what constitutes the right choice without offering any details. Shirin thinks of her father as both intelligent and imaginative: “I often thought he had the mind of a mad genius and the heart of a philosopher” (273). Shirin’s overall attitude toward her parents, then, is mostly respectful of their experiences and ambitions but unconcerned regarding rules she finds unreasonable (she has little guilt for sneaking away with Ocean alone after the breakdance battle, for example) and is somewhat deprecating of their methods: “You can’t just teach [Ocean] Farsi through osmosis” (221).

Shirin’s relationship with Navid has a complex history. Shirin tells Ocean that during her time in middle school, Navid read her diary and scared boys away from her. Navid might have been trying to show appreciation to Shirin for helping him overcome his difficulties with dyslexia. Shirin recalls early tutoring sessions filled with conflict: “[…] when he refused to do the work, I got angry” (28); eventually Navid’s progress proved Shirin’s efforts worthwhile. Shirin wonders if Navid feels indebted for her help when he asks her to join the breakdancing club, but the two do not discuss his motivations. Overall, however, Shirin loves Navid and knows that he tries to protect her as an Ally; he invites her to lunch on the first day of school, he encourages her to return to campus for practice after many see the photo of her, and he fights the boy who threw the cinnamon roll at her. Navid informs her of Ocean’s popularity, and he recommends that she drop Ocean to avoid hurting him. He also comforts her when she breaks up with Ocean.

Finding One’s True Passions

The novel establishes a dichotomy between Shirin’s love of breakdancing and Ocean’s disillusionment with basketball. Shirin and Navid share an interest in breakdancing based on their love of a 1984 movie musical called Breakin’, in which a trained jazz dancer learns breakdancing from two street dancers. Navid’s idea to start a breakdancing group thrills Shirin, and she agrees to join when he asks. Shirin stays with the group even when she discovers that Mr. Jordan, whose actions caused Shirin’s anger in Global Perspectives, serves as the club’s sponsor. Additionally, although upset over the idea of performing for the school talent show, she does not consider quitting. If anything, despite Mr. Jordan’s involvement and the looming talent show, Shirin focuses increasingly on improving her skills. She feels that the activity grounds her; not only does Shirin love being involved in an activity that gets her out of the house in a way that her parents do not question, but she also turns her thoughts to physical challenges, training, and skills accomplishments in a trusted, safe setting. For example, when students share the photo of Shirin taken without her permission, Navid texts Shirin inviting her to breakdancing practice: “[…] it’ll help get your mind off things” (242).

Shirin appreciates the history of breakdancing and the fact that street battles solve conflicts in a nonviolent way. She loves the strength, power, and control needed to learn moves, and she shows pride in her ability to conquer the crab walk and cricket, highly advanced and difficult skills. Despite dreading the talent show itself, Shirin recognizes the value of having a strong interest: “Breakdancing had been my only constant through everything this year, and I was so grateful for the space it gave me to just be, to breathe, and to get lost in the music” (281).

By contrast, Ocean plays basketball dutifully and excels at the sport, but his interest in it withers throughout his junior year. He associates learning the sport with his mother’s fulfillment: “[Ocean] said he did it only because spending time with the new boyfriend seemed to make his mom happy” (188). For years, Ocean associated his playing basketball with his mother’s happiness, and he believes that without basketball now, he might lose the last tenuous connection with her: “Basketball is like, the only thing I even talk to my mom about anymore” (209). He admits to Shirin, though, that his mother does not attend his games nor pay attention to his schedule. When Shirin broaches about quitting basketball, Ocean explains that others look to him to help his team succeed, and Coach Hart relies on Ocean’s skills to see through the victory he (Coach Hart) envisions. His involvement, then, is based on duty and obligation instead of his own interest and passion. When Ocean discovers that Coach Hart accosted Shirin over Ocean’s basketball intentions, he realizes that the sport is not worth the loss of his values. He rejects the school’s invitation to rejoin the team after his reinstatement to the school.