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Chapter 7
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
With Navid, Shirin heads out at night to attend a breakdancing battle. Although Shirin isn’t competing, she’s excited that she’s making progress toward truly becoming a breakdancer. By developing this aspect of her identity, Shirin reasons, her peers won’t reduce her to the fact that she wears a headscarf. Instead, they’ll be able to see her passion and drive for dancing. At the breakdancing battle, Shirin takes note of how diverse the crowd is, with several different languages swirling in the air. This further invigorates her love for breakdancing.
The breakdancing space serves as a sort of oasis for Shirin. Unlike her school, which seems to be predominantly White, the crowd at the breakdancing battle is racially diverse, which helps Shirin feel that she fits in more. It’s also noteworthy that since Shirin doesn’t have to worry about standing out because of her racial and cultural identity, she’s able to fully focus on what’s most important: her passion for breakdancing.
Active
Themes
