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Shirin claims “I'd wasted so many months pushing Ocean away and I wished so much, every day, that I hadn't. I wished I'd trusted him sooner. I wished I'd savored every hour we had together. I wished for so much. For so many things with him. Ocean had made me want to find all the other good people in the world and hold them close. Maybe it was enough, I thought, that I knew someone like him existed in this world.” (Mafi 309-310)

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“A very large expanse of sea” addresses the importance of being yourself because you are unique and there is only one of each individual. The main character, Shirin, showcases this idea when she begins to date Ocean. Being with him also teaches her to love who she is and be herself.

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Overall, Tahereh Mafi wants us to confront our pasts and face our futures because being able to embrace yourself and your differences helps you learn to not limit yourself out of fear of failure.

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However, as she attempts to try and fit in, a guy named Ocean takes interest in her and is trying to get to know her because he really likes her. This new, exciting situation causes a lot of tension and stress but also makes Shirin start to like life and feel happier.

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The historical setting of 9/11 influences the theme of racism because Shirin experiences more racism due to external events. This makes her mean to the people talking bad about her and also to the people trying to give her a chance.

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She claims “People had been sh***ing on me for having the wrong name/race/religion and socioeconomic status since as far back as I could remember.” (Mafi 2) which goes to show that Shirin is used to experiencing racism, however the upset caused by 9/11 made it worse.

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In “A very large expanse at sea” it is very important to note the historical setting of 9/11 because of the impact it had on Shirin and other muslim people living in America at the time. For example, it's clear throughout the novel that Sharin faces harsh racism as she is assaulted multiple times and verbal abused for wearing a hijjab and being muslim.

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These actions and behaviors impact the plot and theme because as time goes by she learns to block it out as much as she can and tries to protect herself from being noticed to avoid harm or teasing.

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This moral dilemma affects the main character's general behavior because she starts getting extremely angry more often, leading her to even blowing up on teachers such as her saying “Why would you pull such a d**k move Mr. Jordan? You know Travis was going to say something awful about me….” (Mafi 123) and skipping class which gets her in quite a bit of trouble. This behavior also leads to her getting lectured by her friends and her brother saying she needs to get over it and be nicer or she’s going to be miserable in life.

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In the novel “ A very large expanse of sea'' by Tahereh Mafi, the main character Shirin demonstrates her moral dilemma of whether or not to block out all of the people that are being racist and talking about her.