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Summary
Chapters 21 – 23
Chapter 21: Persian Casual
Stephen wakes Darius, wishing him a happy Nowruz and telling him that his mother’s brother, Uncle Soheil, is coming soon, so he should get up. Shirin is dressing fancily, so Darius asks if he, too, should dress up. Though his mom says no, Darius knows she means yes. Darius and Stephen agree to dress “Persian Casual,” which they define as looking more impressive than everyone else. Attired in his nice things, Darius feels confident. When Soheil arrives, looking just like Babou, he puts his hand on Darius’s belly and asks if his medication caused it. Ashamed, Darius stammers and is spared from replying by the arrival of Sohrab and his mother. Sohrab introduces Darius to his mom, and she wishes him a happy Nowruz. Darius asks if Sohrab’s uncle and father are coming, and he says no.
As several photos are taken, Darius explains that Persian people avoid smiling in pictures. As if to illustrate the point, Stephen and Laleh smile for the pictures while Shirin does not. Darius gives a half smile, and Darius’s dad tells him he is lucky to have a big family. Though she’s Persian, Mamou smiles because it is the first time she’s had all of her grandkids in the same place. That evening, Babou is rude to Mamou, which makes her cry. Darius comforts Mamou and she explains that Babou’s outburst was caused by his tumor. Darius wonders if he should make tea and realizes that’s all he ever thinks to do when something goes wrong.
Chapter 22: My Cousin, the Ringwraith
Darius feels Nowruz is like Christmas because everyone takes off work and school to celebrate, and they exchange presents. Laleh and Darius receive Persian money, and Sohrab gives Darius a soccer jersey from Iran’s national team. Darius thanks Sohrab, though he feels guilty because he knows Sohrab spent the little money he had on a gift for him. He tells Sohrab it is the nicest thing anyone has ever given him. The family decides to eat at sunset, so Sohrab and his mom, who have been fasting, can join the meal. When Darius announces he doesn’t like cucumbers, Babou says he’s not really Persian and that he’s more like his dad, who also doesn’t like cucumbers. While Darius later helps Stephen wash dishes, Stephen explains that in Persia, men don’t do dishes. Darius tells Stephen that Soheil called him fat, but Stephen brushes it off as a misunderstanding.
After dinner, the furniture is pushed to the side of the room so people can dance. Sohrab says it’s the most fun he has ever had. Laleh dances and Mamou joins in, dragging Darius into the dance. Darius enjoys the moment but feels remorseful about the number of celebrations he’s missed over the years. Darius suddenly feels jealous of Sohrab for being close to his family, but he quickly forgives him. They go into the kitchen where Stephen is playing a game of Rook with the Bahrami men. Darius wonders how his dad manages to get along so well with all the Persian men. But the room is hot and crowded, so Darius goes back outside.
Chapter 23: Main Sequence
Once outside, Darius smells jasmine from a live plant for the first time and cries. He feels like he doesn’t belong and that his dad fits better into this culture than he does. Sohrab follows Darius outside and asks why he is crying. Darius explains how difficult it is for him to be an outsider when everyone else knows each other. Sohrab tells Darius that he does belong and that he was missing before. When Darius asks Sohrab not to tell Stephen or Babou that he cried, Sohrab asks Darius why he doesn’t talk to his dad. Darius says his father is disappointed with him and thinks his problems are his own fault.
Darius tries to explain depression to Sohrab, who asks Darius how long he’s had it. Darius says he’s always had it and that his dad has it, too. Sohrab is surprised they don’t talk about it since they both have it. Darius asks Sohrab about his father since Sohrab never talks about him, and Sohrab admits his dad is in jail. He explains that his dad had been walking toward work past some protestors and he was arrested along with them. Because his dad is Baha’i, Sohrab worries he is being mistreated in jail. Later, Darius and Sohrab overhear Babou and Stephen talking. Stephen expresses worries about Darius and remarks that Sohrab is Darius’s first friend. Hearing this embarrasses Darius, prompting Sohrab to confess that he’s never had a friend either and ask if Darius wants to hang out tomorrow.
Analysis
Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which Darius compares to an American Christmas celebration, is a bright spot in the trip to Iran for all of the opportunities it affords Darius to connect with his family and culture, yet his anxiety still threatens his enjoyment of the festivities. Once again, Darius gets stuck in a negative read of every situation. He takes small slights, like his uncle Soheil’s touching his belly or Babou saying that he’s not Persian if he doesn’t like cucumbers, to heart. Seeing his dad playing Rook with the Bahrami men makes Darius feel excluded because he realizes that no one has ever taught him to play Rook. Darius is envious of the ease of Stephen’s social interactions, a feeling that occurs throughout the novel toward those whom Darius is closest to. Despite a house full of family who want to get to know him, Darius goes outside to watch his family through a window, showing how many times he sets himself apart from everyone rather than the other way around. This also shows how depression works to create false impressions of a situation. Darius is not being alienated, but rather, he is alienating himself.
When Sohrab finds Darius crying outside, he helps Darius shift his perspective on each of his worries by reframing Darius’s readings of the situation. First, Darius instinctually claims not to be crying, but Sohrab won’t let this denial go unchallenged. Sohrab gently nudges and gives Darius time to put his feelings into words. Darius thinks the Nowruz celebration is bittersweet because he’s missed all the celebrations until now. Sohrab helps Darius reframe this negative outlook with a Persian expression: “Your place was empty.” This means that the celebrations were incomplete before Darius and his family joined them. Sohrab also asks an important question about Stephen and Darius’s relationship: why don't they talk more about the diagnosis they both share and how they deal with it? This question spurs Darius to put all of his feelings about Stephen Kellner into words and get them off his chest. Sohrab simply listens without offering judgment or advice.
By sharing his true feelings, Darius participates in creating a sense of safety so that Sohrab can share his own father’s story, something he’s struggled to talk about until now. Sohrab reluctantly explains that his father is in prison and that most people already know, revealing another shameful detail of his background that gets him ostracized by others in Yazd. The severity of Sohrab’s family situation pulls Darius out of his own troubles for a while and makes him realize he should be more grateful for the present and caring father he has, rather than critical of his imperfections. Darius’s embarrassment at Sohrab overhearing Stephen’s admission that Sohrab is Darius’s first friend quickly fades when Sohrab admits to his own friendlessness. Little by little, Darius learns the lesson that true connection comes from sharing one’s most painful feelings with someone who empathizes, rather than keeping them bottled up and hidden away.
