Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

by

Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe: Part One, Chapter One Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Ari falls asleep one summer night, hoping that things will be different when he wakes up in the morning. Unfortunately, nothing is different when he wakes up. He turns on his radio. The song “Alone” by Heart is playing. Ari doesn’t like the song and thinks that he’s 15, bored, and miserable. The DJ annoyingly plays the theme song from the Lone Ranger. Ari groans as the DJ announces the date—June 15, 1987—and then wishes Waylon Jennings a happy birthday. Ari feels better when the DJ talks about how Jennings survived the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and Richie Valens. The DJ puts on “La Bamba” and Ari wonders what Valens was thinking when the plane crashed.
It’s a bit of a stretch that Jennings “survived” the 1959 plane crash, as he luckily ended up not being on the plane in the first place. Framing it like this, however, allows Ari to feel like there might be some good in the world, a difficult prospect given how disaffected and unmoored he feels. Trying to think of what Valens felt drives home that Ari is empathetic and can connect to others, but at this point, he’s bogged down in his own misery and that of others.
Themes
Silence and Trauma vs. Communication Theme Icon