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
Ari feels like he’s in the hospital forever. They run tests and check his vitals all night long. Ari’s room is full of flowers, and he decides that he doesn’t like flowers. He does like his surgeon, Dr. Charles, a young man who looks like he was once a jock. Sometimes, in Ari’s dreams, Dr. Charles heals Dante’s bird. When Ari is awake, Dr. Charles answers all of his questions about his legs. He insists that Ari is tough and, to Ari’s disgust, explains that Ari will be in casts for eight weeks. Ari wants to cry.
Ari’s dreams about Dr. Charles healing the bird symbolizes Ari’s buried, internal recognition that he does need to ask for help from others and be open in order to heal and move forward healthily into adulthood. When he’s awake with Dr. Charles, the way they communicate allows Ari to practice being honest with a person whom he won’t have to see much after this.
Themes
Dr. Charles says that Ari did an amazing thing for Dante—he could’ve died. Ari says that it was just a reflex. He doesn’t remember making the choice to save Dante. Dr. Charles says that he has a different theory and suggests that Ari think about the fact that he dove in front of an oncoming car for someone else. A bit later, Mr. Quintana and Mrs. Quintana visit. Mr. Quintana kisses Ari and they thank him over and over. They discuss the move to Chicago. Mr. Quintana says that Dante doesn’t want to miss swimming and even suggested that he could stay with Ari for the year. Ari closes his eyes and tells Mr. Quintana that he closes his eyes to escape the itching in his legs, but he doesn’t say that he thinks about Bernardo when he does this.
Again, insisting that he didn’t save Dante because he loves Dante or because he’s simply a noble person means that Ari doesn’t have to engage with who he really is on the inside. It allows him to portray himself as a tough but unthinking person who doesn’t feel the same kind of compassion as someone like Dante demonstrates. Thinking of Bernardo when he closes his eyes suggests that Ari is receding further into himself, as Bernardo is one of the main sources of silence in his household and thinking of him entails dwelling on silence.
Themes
Mr. Quintana says that he’s not leaving Dante behind and that Dante is going to miss Ari. Ari says he’s going to miss Dante, but feels weird immediately. Mr. Quintana says that Dante doesn’t have many friends and that Ari should know that he’s Dante’s best friend. Ari doesn’t want to hear this but doesn’t know why he doesn’t want to hear it. He feels as though he has to keep talking to Mr. Quintana. Ari says that he’s boring and doesn’t know what Dante sees in him. Mrs. Quintana steps up and asks Ari why he thinks this. Ari closes his eyes again and wishes that he and Dante didn’t have parents who cared. They talk about Chicago again and mention that they’re taking Dante to a counselor. They suggest that Ari see one too.
When it feels weird to admit that he’s going to miss Dante, Ari shows that he’s really not comfortable with his emotions, especially when they suggest that he’s more introspective and compassionate than burly and masculine. Similarly, insisting he’s boring and not worth Dante’s time is a way for Ari to play down his heroics and deflect attention anywhere else, though Mrs. Quintana—who’s a therapist—likely sees through it. This is Ari’s first clue that continuing to deny his emotions will be harmful for him in the long run.
Themes
Ari can’t deal with Mr. Quintana’s gratitude when they leave. Mrs. Quintana is even worse, however: she doesn’t wear her emotions on her sleeve and before she leaves, she tells Ari that she’ll love him forever. Ari understands that she doesn’t say things like that often and that she loves Dante more than Dante knows. He doesn’t know what to do with this information, so he keeps it inside.
Even if Ari doesn’t know what to do with this information now, that doesn’t mean it won’t become useful later in the novel. Ari’s inability to recognize this suggests that he still sees silence and speech as a dichotomy, when in reality, silence doesn’t have to be bad—it just can’t last forever.
Themes
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