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Part One, Chapter 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
Ari feels like the last boy on earth until a pack of neighborhood boys rides by on bikes and taunts him about having so many friends. Ari waves and flips them off, so the boys circle him. Ari flips them off again, thinking that he’s not afraid and has a temper. Ari points his middle finger at the boy’s face like a gun and the boys all ride away. Ari explains that most boys don’t mess with him and starts to feel sorry for himself. He does this often and thinks it has to do with being a pseudo-only child.
That Ari mentions his temper and that other boys don’t mess with him indicates that he relies heavily on elements of traditional masculinity to keep himself safe in the world. He’s clearly very successful at this, given that he scares off a pack of boys without having to really do anything. This shows that being masculine in this way is an important part of his identity.
Themes
Ari’s twin sisters, Cecelia and Sylvia, are 12 years older and always treated him like a pet. Ari’s brother, Bernardo, is 11 years older and in prison, so nobody speaks about him. Ari thinks that not talking makes him lonely. He tells the reader that some time after Cecelia, Sylvia, and Bernardo were born, Dad fought in the Vietnam War and came home changed. Ari thinks that Dad has scars everywhere and has heard Mom say that the war will never be over for Dad. Once, Ari asked his Aunt Ophelia if that’s true, and she said it was. She told Ari that this is because Dad has a conscience, but he won’t talk about what happened. Ari thinks that being Dad’s son is tragic, but sometimes he thinks that being 15 is the most tragic aspect of his life.
Again, Ari makes it clear here that he doesn’t actually like silence or keeping secrets, even as he goes on to insist that he’s not interested in talking about deep or important things. It’s also worth noting that Ari struggles with all of this in part because he feels as though he has to bear the weight of trauma that didn’t even happen to him, such as Dad’s experience in Vietnam and Bernardo being in prison. This shows that family trauma can be passed down through generations via silence.
Themes
