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Chapter 32
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
Winter break ends, and school resumes. Although Ocean doesn’t attend the two classes that he and Shirin have together, Shirin’s life otherwise returns to normal. One day, while Shirin is sitting under her tree, Amna approaches and tells her she’s sorry about everything that happened to Shirin. Although Shirin is initially hesitant, Amna tells her that she thought Shirin was so brave to wear a hijab at their school. Shirin tells Amna that she’s considered taking it off but can’t bring herself to give power to the people who bully her, and Amna responds that people treat her poorly even though she doesn’t wear a hijab. From then on, the two girls start to spend more time together and become friends.
Despite getting off to a rocky start, Shirin and Amna’s eventual friendship provides another example of how it’s possible to move forward from conflict and misunderstanding if both parties are willing to be open-minded and learn from each other. Although Amna initially criticized Shirin because they had different perspectives on what it meant to wear a hijab, both girls ultimately realize that they’re more similar than they are different, and this female friendship is particularly influential in helping Shirin become more optimistic about her school life.
Active
Themes
After school, Shirin and Yusef wait for Navid to arrive at the gym. Ocean, wearing his basketball uniform, sees them, and Shirin notices that he looks upset at the sight of Shirin and Yusef together. Later, Shirin hears that Ocean has gotten suspended from his team for getting into a fight. When Ocean finally stops skipping and returns to class, Shirin decides to say hello to him. He ignores her, saying nothing in return.
Active
Themes
