Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Identity, Ethnicity, and Masculinity
Silence and Trauma vs. Communication
Family and Coming of Age
Intellectualism and Emotion vs. Physical Strength
Summary
Analysis
On the last day of school, Gina tells Ari that he looks like a hunk after a year of working out. She invites him to a party. They laugh, and then Ari asks if she and Susie would drive him out to the desert so he can get drunk instead. Gina agrees. She and Susie meet Ari at his house after work, and Mom is visibly excited that Ari has friends and is going out. As Ari changes, he whispers to himself that he’s beautiful and wants to believe it. They pick up beer at Gina’s cousin’s house and then drive to the desert. Ari drinks and asks if they think they’ll discover the secrets of the universe. Susie says it’d be beautiful, and they wonder if love has anything to do with it.
This moment makes it clear that Ari does have friends, if only he’s willing to ask them for attention and care. It’s especially telling that Ari lets Susie and Gina in on his desire to understand the secrets of the universe, as this is a more introspective and personal side of him that, thus far, he’s really only shared with Dante. Notably, Susie is onto something when she asks if love is part of it: Ari does come to figure out who he is later, when he accepts that he loves Dante.
Themes
Susie asks Ari if he’s drunk yet and why he wants to get drunk. Ari says he wants to feel something, and Susie says he’s an idiot. They all lie down and look at the sky. Ari listens to Susie and Gina talk and thinks that it’s nice listening to them. He wonders what it’d be like to love a girl and know how a girl thinks.
The contentment that Ari feels as he spends time with Gina and Susie continues to show him that if he opens up to others, he can in turn create opportunities to think more critically about himself and where he fits into the world.
Themes
