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 doctor declares that there’s nothing wrong with Ari. Ari notices a look of rage appear briefly on Mom’s face, which he thinks makes her even more of a mystery. Later, he meets Dante at the pool, but he doesn’t swim. It looks ready to rain. As Dante and Ari leave the pool, it starts to pour. They walk slowly in the rain until they get to Dante’s house. Mr. Quintana lectures them about common sense. Ari apologizes and looks down, but Mr. Quintana lifts his chin and says that they’re summer boys. Ari thinks that Mr. Quintana is kind and brave, just like Dante.
While Mom’s anger remains somewhat mysterious, it’s possible that she feels as though the doctor is questioning what she knows to be true about Ari: he is still ill and needs more than a clean bill of health. Staying silent here, however, means that she’s not able to advocate for Ari and unfortunately, isn’t able to keep Ari from experiencing tragedy mere hours later.
Themes
Later, Ari asks Dante if Mr. Quintana ever gets mad. Dante says that once, he made him mad on purpose to get attention. Ari starts to cough, so Dante makes them tea. They sit outside on the porch and watch it rain and then hail. Dante interrupts the silence and says that they need to talk about who they are and about their parents. Ari declares that Dante isn’t normal. They laugh and decide to make it a game. Dante asks Ari questions like his favorite color, favorite car, and favorite song. Ari gets annoyed and Dante says that Ari is interviewing for the position of best friend. They laugh and discuss that they’d love to shout all the bad words they know.
Though Ari insists that Dante isn’t normal, it’s more likely that this statement is a cover for the fact that Ari finds communication like this wildly uncomfortable. The boys’ desire to shout bad words again situates them as still immature and developing—language is something for them to experiment with and discover how to use, and making sense of the vulgar side of language is part of all this.
Themes
Dante declares that they’re too nice. Ari says he’s not nice, but affirms that he’s not in a gang, doesn’t drink or do drugs, and would like to have sex. Finally, it stops raining. Dante suggests they go for a walk—barefoot, since their shoes are in the dryer. Ari knows that he’s walked barefoot on wet pavement before, but it feels like the first time. Suddenly, Ari comes out of his reverie when Dante says that his family is leaving for a year for Chicago, where Mr. Quintana is going to be a visiting professor. Ari is sad, but he refuses to admit it. A strange look comes over Dante’s face. Dante notices a bird in the street. Its wing is obviously broken. He steps into the street and picks it up as a car comes around the corner. Ari thinks of his bad dreams. Inside, he screams for Dante.
The strange look on Dante’s face when Ari refuses to say that he’s sad suggests that Ari’s silence does indeed have major consequences for all his relationships—here, Dante doesn’t feel valued or cared for. Dante’s choice to try to save the bird speaks to his innocence and his youth, which threatens to be destroyed by the car coming around the corner. When Ari screams for Dante inside, it again shows that his insides betray who he truly is and what he feels: he loves Dante and doesn’t want him hurt, and so will do anything to protect him.
Themes
