Darius the Great Is Not Okay

1. Where does Darius work?

A) Domino’s

B) Starbuck’s

C) Tea Haven

D) Teavana

2. Trent and Chip’s defacement of Darius’s bike relates to which of the novel’s concerns?

A) parental overprotectiveness

B) stigma surrounding mental illness

C) discrimination against Middle Eastern Americans

D) gender norms and toxic masculinity

3. Stephen Kellner’s actions during dinner the night he picks Darius up from work imply which of the following about his attitude towards his son?

A) He thinks Darius needs to gain weight.

B) He thinks Darius needs to lose weight.

C) He thinks Darius does not sufficiently appreciate Persian food.

D) He thinks Darius is ungrateful for his mother’s cooking.

4. What two nightly routines do Darius and his father share at the beginning of the novel? (short answer)

5. What news prompts the Kellners’s decision to visit Iran?

A) Darius’s grandfather is dying.

B) Darius’s grandmother is dying.

C) Darius’s cousin is marrying.

D) Darius’s uncle has been arrested.

6. Mr. Apatan’s decision to give Darius a week off prior to his trip likely stems from which of the following?

A) Mr. Apatan’s own recent bereavement

B) Mr. Apatan’s own experiences as an immigrant

C) Mr. Apatan's own mental health diagnosis

D) Mr. Apatan’s dissatisfaction with Darius’s performance

7. What book does Darius pack to read while in Iran?

A) The Lord of the Rings

B) The Chronicles of Narnia

C) Ender’s Game

D) Dune

8. The novel’s sci-fi motif primarily underscores which of the following?

A) how inadequate Darius feels compared to his father

B) how trapped Darius feels inside his head

C) how detached Darius feels from Iran

D) how unhappy Darius is at school

9. According to the conversation Darius overhears while at the Dubai Airport, why does Stephen Kellner criticize his son so much? (short answer)

10. How does the security officer who discovers Darius’s medication react?

A) He ignores the medication entirely.

B) He confides his own mental health struggles to Darius.

C) He confiscates Darius’s medication.

D) He scoffs at the idea that Darius needs medication.

11. What is the name of the city where Darius’s grandparents live?

A) Hamadan

B) Shiraz

C) Isfahan

D) Yazd

12. How do Darius’s grandparents know Sohrab’s family?

A) They employ Sohrab’s family.

B) They live close to one another.

C) They worship at the same temple.

D) They are distantly related.

13. After buying groceries, what does Sohrab invite Darius to do the next day?

A) have dinner with his family

B) watch soap operas

C) play soccer

D) play tennis

14. Why is Sohrab’s relationship with the boys he plays with tense? (short answer)

15. Compared to the American boys and men Darius knows, Sohrab is which of the following?

A) more emotionally demonstrative

B) less interested in sports

C) more questioning of authority

D) less religious

16. Which of the following likely motivates Babou’s criticisms of his son-in-law Stephen?

A) Babou does not think Shirin should have married at all.

B) Babou believes Stephen’s depression makes him an unfit parent.

C) Babou is worried about preserving his own culture and heritage.

D) Babou opposes America’s involvement in the Middle East.

17. What does Sohrab want to be when he grows up? (short answer)

18. How does the relief carving of Darius I make Darius feel?

A) proud

B) inadequate

C) lonely

D) accepted

19. What happens on the drive back from Persepolis?

A) Babou is pulled over for speeding.

B) Babou has to stop driving because of a headache.

C) Babou bumps into the car ahead of him.

D) Babou forgets the route home.

20. According to Mamou, both Darius and his father are which of the following?

A) sweet

B) stubborn

C) smart

D) strong

21. What holiday do Darius and his family celebrate the day after visiting Persepolis?

A) Nowruz

B) Tirgan

C) Mehregān

D) Sizdah Bedar

22. What present does Sohrab give Darius? (short answer)

23. As a motif, food helps develop which of the following themes?

A) the need to normalize discussions of mental health

B) the experience of growing up between cultures

C) the difficulty parents have letting their children go

D) the desire to be understood and accepted as one is

24. Where is Sohrab’s father?

A) in the hospital

B) in another country

C) in prison

D) living on the streets

25. Sohrab and Darius’s response to the azan suggests they both struggle with which of the following?

A) religious faith

B) gender norms

C) depression

D) feelings of alienation

26. Which of the following best describes Darius’s feelings towards his sister Laleh?

A) He finds her annoying and is impatient with her.

B) He loves her deeply but also envies her.

C) He worries about her and tries to protect her.

D) He resents her and wishes she hadn’t been born.

27. What historical purpose did the Towers of Silence serve?

A) They were a house of worship.

B) They were a fortress.

C) They were burial grounds.

D) They were a hermitage.

28. Why does visiting Dowlatabad Gardens make Sohrab emotional?

A) It was the last place he saw his father.

B) It was where he used to play soccer with his father.

C) It was where his father was arrested.

D) It was among his father’s favorite places.

29. What gift does Darius want to buy for Sohrab?

A) cleats

B) tea

C) a season of Star Trek

D) a scale ruler

30.     What Western band does Darius discover Mamou enjoys? (short answer)

31. At the big, backyard family gathering, Darius overhears his Iranian relatives giving his father advice on which of the following?

A) playing rook

B) preparing kabob

C) driving

D) making tea

32. What is the Atashkadeh? (short answer)

33. What does Darius find his mother doing after they return from the Atashkadeh?

A) packing

B) lying in bed crying

C) preparing herbs

D) looking at family photographs

34. Which of the following best explains why Sohrab’s response to the cleats hurts Darius so much?

A) Sohrab’s response is intentionally cruel.

B) Sohrab’s response echoes things Stephen has said to Darius.

C) Sohrab’s response affirms Darius’s fears about himself.

D) Sohrab’s response echoes what Darius’s bullies have said to him.

35. Stephen’s explanation of his past behavior suggests that which of the following has played a role in his treatment of Darius?

A) his own childhood experiences

B) guilt surrounding his own depression

C) reluctance to overstep Darius’s boundaries

D) his ignorance of Iranian culture

36. What event does the family celebrate the night before the Kellners’s return to America?

A) Darius's birthday

B) Stephan and Shirin’s anniversary

C) Laleh’s birthday

D) Mamou and Babou’s anniversary

37. What does Sohrab give to Darius after apologizing to him?

A) a pair of cleats

B) a teapot

C) a soccer ball

D) a framed photo of the two of them

38. What two things does Babou tell Darius before the Kellners leave? (short answer)

39. When Darius returns to America, who encourages him to try out for the soccer team?

A) Darius’s mother

B) Chip

C) Coach Henderson

D) Javanah Esfahani

40. Which of the following best explains the significance of tea in the novel?

A) It is a substitute for meaningful human interaction.

B) It reflects various aspects of Darius’s identity.

C) It symbolizes Iranian culture.

D) It mirrors the course of Darius’s friendship with Sohrab.