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Part Five, Chapter Eight
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
Dante and Ari argue about whether or not Ari should be upset that Gina and Susie found out about Dante and the accident. Ari gets up to go and thinks about Dante chasing the boys who shot a bird. As he gets in the truck, Dante asks if Ari wishes he hadn’t saved him. Ari says he doesn’t regret it and Dante says that Ari is “inscrutable.”
Notably, Dante understands the positive power of being open and truthful about things, something that is still wildly uncomfortable for Ari. This suggests that the two won’t be able to truly connect until Ari opens up and begins to communicate better.
Themes
Ari and Dad quietly eat dinner together and feed Legs scraps. Dad invites Ari to go bowling with him and Mr. Quintana, so Ari calls Dante to invite him. Dante says to say no so that he and Ari can do something else. Once Mr. Quintana and Dad drive away, Ari and Legs pick up Dante and greet Mrs. Quintana. She explains that Dante is making lists of names for his baby brother. When Ari asks what happens if it’s a girl, Dante says that it’ll be a boy and they’ll give him a Mexican name so he feels more Mexican. Mrs. Quintana asks if Legs can stay with her and Ari agrees. She makes Ari promise to be careful and to remember the rain before he and Dante drive away.
Again, Dante shows here that he’s channeling all of his own anxieties about his sexuality and his cultural identity into the new baby. However, it’s worth noting that simply having a traditional Mexican name doesn’t guarantee that the baby, male or female, will feel more Mexican. Mrs. Quintana’s warning to remember the rain shows Ari that she recognizes how meaningful of an experience the accident was for all of them. She warns him, in effect, that things can change in an instant.
Themes
