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
The months start to run together. Ari drives his truck into the desert some Friday nights, and tries to see Ileana. One day he asks her out on a date, but she refuses. They still talk after Ari is done with work. When prom approaches, Ari decides to ask her again. She refuses and says that she has a boyfriend who’s in a gang. Ari thinks of Gina saying that Ileana is playing with him, and Ileana says that her boyfriend will hurt Ari. Ari asks why Ileana kissed him if this is the case, and she apologizes. On Monday, Ari can’t find her at school. Gina discovers that Ileana dropped out. Later, Ari goes to Ileana’s house. Ileana’s brother says that Ileana is pregnant and got married. Ari thinks that kissing doesn’t mean anything.
Choosing to think that kissing is meaningless allows Ari to at least vow to close himself off from emotional intimacy with other people, something that falls in line with his habit of remaining silent and solitary about things that bother him. Ileana’s choices, meanwhile, remind Ari and the reader that their world isn’t as safe or secure as they might think. Ileana appears to be at the mercy of peer pressure and her own poor choices, something that Ari, who’s not involved with a gang, can avoid.
Themes
