An Ocean Of Personality Expansion Of Sea By Tahereh Mafi

An Ocean of Personality Expansion
The horrifying attacks of September 11th, 2001 on the World Trade Center in New York City altered the perception of Muslim-Americans. In just one night an entire religious group went from normal people to being considered “terrorists.” In the 2018 realistic fiction novel A Very Large Expanse of Sea, author Tahereh Mafi touches on this subject directly by introducing the first Iranian-American hijabi female lead character, Shirin. The tale sets its scene in typical Midwestern 2000’s suburbia, creating a modern take of a period piece. To make it even a little more controversial, Shirin falls in love with a quintessential white All-American, Ocean, who is a regular high school jock. The plot defies stereotypes

As so many overwhelming things occur at one time, Ocean is obligated to talk it out with Shirin. As she grows insecure after the entire school sees her without her hijab, “I’m so sorry they did this to you. I’m sorry I didn’t know. I wish you’d told me.” (Mafi 303)” Ocean is experiencing egregious amounts of remorse for Shirin, as he is able to sympathize with everything that Shirin is enduring. Along with discovering that Shirin had a confrontation with his coach, Shirin had also been driven home by his mom. During this conversation, Shirin had found out that his mom had used up all of his college fund, which is why she was so reliant on basketball scholarships. However, Ocean forgave her, allowing her to have a bigger involvement in his life. Though she was slightly prone to acting like a deadbeat, Ocean’s mom genuinely cared about him, so she held back on pressuring him. Ocean also swayed Shirin’s thoughts on society, as she learned to stop generalizing people and be able to acknowledge the stories of everyone she sees. By recognizing the good, the bad, and the ugly of morality, Ocean allowed himself to prosper, while giving a helping hand to his