Martyr! Essay Questions

How does Akbar explore the tension between faith and disillusionment in the character Cyrus Shams?

Akbar presents Cyrus Shams as a character steeped in a personal and spiritual crisis. His longing for divine revelation is in constant tension with the crushing weight of disillusionment. This theme is introduced in the scene where Cyrus begs for a sign from God (Chapter 1). The light flickers, but he is left questioning whether it was a divine response or merely a product of faulty wiring. Akbar uses this moment to capture the precarious nature of faith in a secular world. Cyrus's frustrations echo his perception of religious figures who received miraculous revelations—such as the Prophet Muhammad and Saul of Tarsus—whom he envies for their unshakeable certainty. In contrast, Cyrus is stuck in a world where faith is muddied by personal failures, drug-induced visions, and his spiritual and existential crises. This conflict is further examined through his mock prayers and half-serious promises to abandon his material life in exchange for a clearer divine vision. Akbar’s portrayal of Cyrus’s struggle speaks to contemporary spirituality: the desire for certainty in a world where certainty is elusive.

What role does martyrdom play in shaping the identities of the Shams family, particularly Cyrus and Ali?

Martyrdom shapes Cyrus and Ali's perceptions of identity and belonging. Ali’s experience of loss—thinking his wife was killed when the U.S. military shot down an Iranian passenger plane—infuses the idea of martyrdom into their family narrative. This event turns Roya into a literal martyr of geopolitical conflict. Cyrus grapples with the legacy of this supposed martyrdom in an existential sense. The weight of his mother's death defines his relationship with faith and national identity. His existential crisis throughout the novel can be seen as a search for a meaningful way to reconcile the concept of martyrdom with his life. Cyrus envies the clarity that comes with martyrdom, particularly the faith required to die for a cause. Overall, Akbar's treatment of martyrdom goes beyond its traditional religious or political connotation since it extends into the psychological realm. For both Ali and Cyrus, martyrdom becomes a symbol of sacrifice that shapes their fractured identities as immigrants and survivors of personal trauma.

How does Akbar use addiction as a metaphor for spiritual yearning and loss in Cyrus' character development?

In his experience with addiction and later sobriety, Cyrus confronts his lack of faith and his hunger for something transcendent. Cyrus’s drug and alcohol use is presented as an escape from his existential dread and a misguided attempt to fill the spiritual void. The novel juxtaposes addiction with spiritual seeking. His dependency on substances mirrors his hope for divine intervention. Alcohol in particular offers temporary relief but ultimately leaves him unfulfilled. Moreover, Akbar’s treatment of addiction also ranges into the theme of recovery, which Cyrus approaches with the same ambivalence he feels toward faith. Sobriety does not bring him the spiritual peace he had hoped for but rather exposes the depth of his existential pain. His recovery is framed as a palliative measure, just as his faith offers brief flashes of hope without ever resolving his deeper questions about life.

What role does imagination play in Cyrus's life?

Imagination was Cyrus's first solution to his incessant childhood insomnia. He created a lifelong habit of imagining conversations between family members and historical or cultural figures. For instance, these scripted conversations might occur between Ali Shams and Michael Jordan, Roya and Lisa Simpson, Orkideh and President Invective (a caricature of Donald Trump), Cyrus's imaginary brother Beethoven and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, etc. Utilizing his mind in this way staved off anxiety enough for Cyrus to fall asleep and continue dreaming of the interaction.

Cyrus's imagination blurs the line between reality and dreams, particularly in the final surreal scene in which he and Zee sit in a vibrant and fantastical version of Prospect Park. As the mundane world warps and morphs, Cyrus embraces the void that opens up, and seeks Zee's companionship. Readers are left to speculate whether this abstract ending is a product of Cyrus's imagination or if he actually died.

In what ways does the novel challenge heteronormative conventions through its portrayal of queer relationships?

Queerness is not presented as a spectacle in the novel Martyr!—instead, it is portrayed without extra fanfare. In this way, Akbar normalizes queer experiences by avoiding sensationalized anomalies and narrative tropes. Although Cyrus suffers from existentialism and subsequently struggles to connect to others, it is not a result of his queerness. Over the years, his relationship with Zee organically progresses and deepens, but Akbar subverts the "tragic queer" narrative by not framing Cyrus's queerness as the singular source of his suffering.

Akbar further normalizes queerness by depicting multiple generations of queer relationships. Roya and Leila fall in love in a society where homosexuality is criminalized. Despite social pressure and a tragic event resulting in Leila's death, the narrative clarifies that this outcome is the result of external repression and sociopolitical factors.