Code of Honor

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Consider what you already know about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Which militant group was behind the attacks? Why was the United States a target? What were some of the effects of the attack on US domestic and international policy?

Teaching Suggestion: This question orients students with the novel's setting: the US in a post-9/11 era. Led by the al-Qaeda militant group, with Osama bin Laden as the leader of the attacks, the September 11 terrorist attacks caused a fundamental change to domestic and international policy.

Specifically, the US passed the controversial Patriot Act, which focused on uncovering possible future terrorist attacks and terrorist cells and affiliations in the US. Additionally, the US’s invasion of countries in the Middle East was highly criticized by the international community and condemned by the United Nations Security Council, as many countries thought such attacks would tip the balance of power in the region.

Gratz’s novel is set in this context, as Darius and Kamran were influenced by the terrorist attacks and motivated to enlist in the US military. This question links with the theme of Conflicting Definitions of Patriotism and the first Paired Resource under Prologue-Chapter 19.

• This overview of the September 11 attacks includes profiles of the different militant group members. (Content Warning: images and reports)
• The Wilson Center’s “The Global Impact of 9/11: Twenty Years On” reviews the effects of the September 11 terrorist attacks globally.

2. In addition to US policy and government decisions, the September 11 attacks affected many American social interactions. How did September 11 affect the way that some groups interacted with each other? Which groups were treated differently? Describe some of the ways that different groups were treated.

Teaching Suggestion: In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, many people of color (POC) experienced racism and violence. An atmosphere of fear and a lack of awareness led to the rise of targeted hate crimes and racist attacks. Al-Qaeda was an extremist Islamic group led by Arab men, and therefore, people of Arab descent or who practiced Islam were often targeted with discriminatory treatment; however, many individuals who were not of Arab origin or did not practice Islam were also discriminated against, including Persians and Sikhs. Gratz highlights this struggle in the novel, as Kamran and his family are forced to grapple with their Persian-American Identity over ten years after the September 11 attacks. This question also links with the second Paired Resource under Prologue-Chapter 19.

• Aljazeera’s 2022 article argues that 20 years after the September 11 attacks, xenophobia is still common for Muslim populations living in the US.

Short Activity

Unlike other nationalities, “American” is not based on a particular ethnicity or religion but rather a compilation of different backgrounds in the same country. Working in groups, research historical struggles faced by first- and second-generation Americans in the US. Share your results with the class.

Teaching Suggestion: This short activity works well as a starting discussion before the novel. Although Gratz does not directly remark on this topic, the majority of the characters in the book are first- or second-generation Americans with ancestry from various cultures and nations. Each group might focus on a particular time. This activity links with the theme Persian-American Identity.

• Pew Research Center’s 2020 article “Key Findings About US Immigrants” shares a statistical breakdown of different populations living in the US for a modern look at research on the subject.
• “US Immigration Before 1965” provides information regarding the varieties of migration waves to the US from around the world.

Differentiation Suggestion: More advanced classes can trace the migration of immigrants to the US. Invite students to form groups and choose from the following countries: Ireland, Poland, Italy, China, India, the Philippines, El Salvador, Iran, and Vietnam. Some guiding questions to consider include the following: Which nationalities or ethnic groups came from the country? In which years did they immigrate to the US? Was their entrance linked to a particular event or phenomenon? In which states did they settle? Groups may then present their findings to the class.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Consider the phrase “code of honor.” What does this phrase mean to you? Do you have a code of honor that you live by? If so, what is it? If you don’t, brainstorm your own code of honor here.

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt directly correlates to the central motif in the book: the code of honor that Darius and Kamran developed as children. This code is one of the primary reasons Kamran doubts that Darius is a terrorist since they both swore to live by it. This prompt links to the theme Brotherhood and the “Code of Honor.”