Darius the Great Is Not Okay

Darius the Great Is Not Okay

by

Adib Khorram

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Darius the Great Is Not Okay: Intermix Ratio Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Darius tosses his homework into the Audi’s backseat and tells Dad his backpack suffered a “Structural integrity field collapse.” The Star Trek joke makes Dad laugh, but Dad is shaking his head by the time Darius gets halfway through the story of how it happened. Dad insists that Chip is just picking on Darius because Darius doesn’t stand up for himself, even when Darius says he told Chip to leave him alone. When Dad says that Chip knows he’s getting to Darius and that’s why he continues to be a bully, Darius privately wonders if Dad acts like this because he knows he’s getting to Darius. All this extra time in the car since the bike fiasco is making their fraught relationship even worse.
Dad seems to think he’s helping Darius by coaching him on how to better respond to bullying. But the actual effect of responding to Darius like this is that Darius feels Dad is blaming him for the bullying he experiences, when it’s in no way Darius’s fault that other kids pick on him. Further, Darius starts to see Dad himself as a sort of bully, reasoning that if Dad were to take his own advice and apply it to his relationship with his son, he’d see that he’s just being antagonistic.
Themes
Family Theme Icon
Mental Health, Depression, and Connection Theme Icon
Bullying  Theme Icon
Dad says that he made appointments for himself and Darius to get haircuts before the trip, but Darius refuses to go in. After insinuating that Darius would get picked on less if he cut his hair, Dad goes in alone, gnashing his teeth. When they finally get home, Dad storms up to his office and Darius steeps tea (with filtered water, which Dad hates—Dad hates everything Darius likes). Soon after, Mom and Laleh get home and Laleh joins Darius for tea. Darius doesn’t work this afternoon; Mr. Apatan gave him the week off to prep for the trip. When Darius told Mr. Apatan about the trip, Mr. Apatan asked if it was Darius’s first time “going home,” even though he knows Darius was born in Portland. But he said it’s important to know where you come from. 
It makes it seem even more like Dad doesn’t respect Darius as he is when he reveals that he made Darius a haircut appointment—even when Darius has expressed clearly already that he’s not interested in cutting his hair. This makes Darius feel even more like he can’t do anything right and will never please his dad. Though not on the same level as Trent’s bigotry, Mr. Apatan is unwittingly rude here when he suggests Darius’s trip to Iran is “going home.” Portland is home for Darius; he’s an American citizen. But because he’s ethnically Persian, Mr. Apatan assumes that Iran is “home” for Darius.
Themes
Family Theme Icon
Persian Identity and Culture Theme Icon
Bullying  Theme Icon
Mom orders pizza for dinner. Normally, Darius loves pizza—but he can feel Dad staring at him disapprovingly, since Darius wouldn’t cut his hair and now is eating pizza with no veggies on it. Once Laleh is done talking about her day, Darius gives noncommittal answers about his, leaving out that Trent called him a terrorist. He mentions that Chip broke his backpack. Dad huffs and starts to say that it wouldn’t have happened if Darius had behaved differently, but Mom shoots Dad a look and says that Darius can borrow one of Dad’s bags for the trip.
Darius continues to chafe under Dad’s scrutiny. Interestingly, Mom seems to not appreciate how Dad treats and talks about Darius—she seems to want Darius to know that experiencing bullying isn’t his fault, and he can’t just make it go away by changing his behavior. By deciding not to tell Mom about Trent’s bullying, Darius is trying to protect her in return: he no doubt believes hearing that Darius is suffering that kind of abuse would hurt her.
Themes
Family Theme Icon
Persian Identity and Culture Theme Icon
Bullying  Theme Icon
Because there’s so much to pack, Darius and Dad don’t watch Star Trek—and neither of them feel like acting like “a real father and son.” Before long, Mom yells for Darius; Mamou and Babou are on Skype. As Darius squeezes into the frame, Mom calls him Darioush, the original Persian version of his name. It's pronounced Darr-yoosh, and it’s Darius’s goal to never let Trent learn this version of his name—the rhyming options are endless. Mamou greets Darius happily, but Babou just says that Darius will be here soon. Darius studies his grandfather. He looks the same as he always does, and yet, apparently he’s dying. Darius is sad and feels awful, but he doesn’t know how to express that. And it feels weird to say he’s excited to meet his grandfather, his flesh and blood, for the first time.
On the eve of the family’s trip to Iran, Mom suddenly begins treating Darius like he’s more Persian, such as by calling him Darioush. While Darius is often proud of his Persian heritage, it’s clear here that he doesn’t always find it comforting and a point of pride: he knows that Trent would abuse any more insight into Darius’s Persian culture than he already has. However, Darius begins to reorient himself away from Trent and toward his family when he considers his grandfather. Darius is clearly very concerned with conventions and how he believes he should feel and act—and it seems as though this concern keeps him from doing or saying anything to express either excitement or grief at meeting his grandparents for the first time.
Themes
Family Theme Icon
Persian Identity and Culture Theme Icon
Bullying  Theme Icon
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