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Part Five, Chapter Nine
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
As they drive, Dante pulls out two joints. They laugh that they’re bad boys now. Dante says he got the joints from Daniel, a guy he works with who might like him. Dante isn’t sure he wants to kiss Daniel. When they get to their spot in the desert, they pass the joint until it’s gone. They can smell rain and hear thunder in the distance. The wind picks up and the boys run into the truck as it starts to rain. They laugh and laugh, and Dante suggests they get out. He strips naked except for his shoes, and Ari follows suit. They laugh and then run into the rain. Finally, they climb back into the truck and the rain stops.
This moment of wild, gleeful abandon shows that Ari and Dante are still kids—and furthermore, that while rain can signify difficult change, it can also be a cleansing and fun experience. In this sense, it parallels the transition to adulthood as something that is both challenging and enjoyable. Dante’s choice to keep his shoes is an important way that the novel shows how he’s growing up. He now understands, to a degree at least, the importance of protecting his feet out in the desert.
Themes
Ari closes his eyes and Dante comes around to stand next to him. Dante doesn’t touch Ari, but Ari isn’t sure what he’d do if Dante did. Dante says that he’s hungry for menudo, which Ari says makes Dante a real Mexican. Dante isn’t sure that it’s Mexican to want to kiss boys. They giggle about their dads bowling and when their eyes aren’t red anymore, they decide to go home and laugh about how much fun they had.
When Ari isn’t sure what he’d do if Dante were to touch him, it reminds the reader again that Ari is fighting hard against his attraction to Dante. In this sense, even as he and Dante communicate relatively openly, Ari is still insisting on silence in this one, extremely important way—and it’s not serving him.
Themes
