Identity, Ethnicity, and Masculinity
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe follows two teenage boys, Aristotle “Ari” and his best friend Dante, as they grow up over the course of two years in late-1980s El Paso, Texas. When the boys first meet at the local pool, they’re 15 and in many ways, have no idea who they are—Ari even suggests that until a person turns 18, their parents and teachers are the ones who…
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Silence and Trauma vs. Communication
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe presents two opposing visions of how people can relate to others: Ari and his family are overwhelmingly silent and ignore past trauma, such as Dad’s experiences in the Vietnam War and the reason why Ari’s older brother, Bernardo, is in prison. Dante and his family, on the other hand, are open, communicative, and affectionate with each other and with others. Especially as Ari begins…
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Family and Coming of Age
When the reader meets Ari, he shares that one of his deepest desires is to know his father, Dad. Dad, a Vietnam War veteran, came back from the war emotionally scarred and Ari, who was born in the year after Dad’s return, has only ever known his father as silent and closed-off. Through Ari’s journey to get to know his dad and through the novel’s other explorations of family, the novel shows that…
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Intellectualism and Emotion vs. Physical Strength
One of the reasons why Ari and Dante become friends so quickly is that, though Ari doesn’t know it at first, they’re both intellectuals. Dante is interested in art, literature, and poetry, and he encourages Ari to develop his taste for the written word in particular throughout their friendship. Though Ari follows Dante’s example and genuinely enjoys writing, reading, and thinking—he is, after all, interested in figuring out the titular secrets of the universe—Ari leans…
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