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Part Four, Chapter Twenty-Two
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
While Ari is wrapping Christmas presents, he goes to the junk drawer to find scissors. In addition to the scissors, he finds a big brown envelope with Bernardo’s name on it. Ari knows that it contains everything about Bernardo. He wants to open it, but he pretends that he didn’t find the scissors and asks Mom for some. That night, Ari writes Bernardo’s name over and over again in his journal.
Ari’s unwillingness to open the envelope without permission shows that he truly values communication. He’d like this discovery to be a conversation with his parents, not another thing that he figures out in silence and despite their unwillingness to talk about it.
Themes
