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Chapter 31
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Martyr!, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Martyrdom and the Meaning of Life
Addiction and Sobriety
Queer Love and Repression
Iranian Identity vs. American Identity
Summary
Analysis
Brooklyn, Day 4. Sang leaves, and Cyrus promises to call her again. While looking on his phone for a reply from Zee, Cyrus instead sees a message from Sad James, linking to Orkideh’s obituary, written in her own words. In her obituary, Orkideh writes about how she had misfortunes in life but was also lucky to find art. She calls nations “armed marketplaces” and finds fault with both Iran and the United States. She ends by reflecting on Death-Speak and hoping that she did something interesting with her life.
Sang uses her obituary to criticize nationalism, calling countries “armed marketplaces” to suggest that they are violent and driven by economic concerns. As much as Cyrus’s desire to reconcile his American and Iranian identities is a worthwhile one, this passage also raises the possibility that perhaps people should look beyond national borders, which can lead to division and obscure how much people have in common with each other.
Active
Themes
Reading Orkideh’s article makes Cyrus pray without realizing it. All of a sudden, he gets a call from Zee. Zee says he just heard about Orkideh’s death. Cyrus apologizes for the previous night, and for the other ways he has taken Zee for granted. Zee asks if it’s OK to meet Cyrus, and Cyrus eagerly sends his location.
The way that Cyrus feels himself praying without realizing it seems to suggest that he has finally gotten some of the divine inspiration that he was hoping for in the prologue of the novel. Perhaps Cyrus is feeling a new connection to God, or perhaps he has learned how to find a sense of meaning in human connections, like his relationship with Zee, that Cyrus used to look to God to fill.
Active
Themes
When Zee arrives, sliding on ice in his Crocs, Cyrus tells Zee he loves him. Zee says he loves Cyrus too, and they kiss on the lips. Zee admits that he just spent the night wandering. He felt an urge to see the museum at one point, only to learn that Orkideh had died. Cyrus tells Zee the whole story about Orkideh being Roya.
Active
Themes
The world seems to swirl around Cyrus: leaves are blown off trees and snow falls fast. The ground feels like it is breathing, and Cyrus is in love. He wonders if he’s in a dream, but Zee reassures him he isn’t. Eventually, Zee and Cyrus stand up together. A deep pool of golden light hits the ground, and Cyrus realizes that he is crying and Zee is comforting him. Cyrus feels still, like when he prays. He reaches out into the pool of light and feels a hand grasp his—he wonders if it’s his hand grasping him or Zee’s—all while birds and blossoms fall from the sky like snow.
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