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Chapter 27
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Very Large Expanse of Sea, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism and Islamophobia
Friendship and Community
Prejudice, Division, and Isolation
First Love
Summary
Analysis
After Navid and his friends intervene, no one ever throws anything at Shirin again. Nonetheless, people continue saying ignorant things about Shirin and Ocean. In December, someone even hacks the school computer system and sends out a mass email to the district, calling Ocean anti-American and a supporter of terrorism. Although Ocean tries to remain unbothered, he reveals that Coach Hart has proposed a plan: to release a statement saying that people’s criticisms were nonsense and for Ocean and Shirin to cease all contact. Ocean refuses to go along with Coach Hart’s plan, but Coach Hart approaches Shirin directly and tells her that she’s going to ruin Ocean’s future if they continue dating. Unsure of what to do, Shirin walks home, and a car pulls up beside her to reveal Ocean’s mom, Linda.
The mass email that the hacker sends out to the school district reflects Islamophobic sentiments that spiked in the United States following 9/11. As a reminder, this novel takes place in 2002, a year after the 9/11 attacks, and much of the bullying and violence that Shirin faces is a result of Americans drawing a false association between Muslims and anti-American terrorism. Characters like Coach Hart and the hacker don’t see the problematic nature of their beliefs, again causing Shirin to be isolated for no reason other than the fact that she wears a hijab.
Active
Themes
