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Part Three, Chapter Seven
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
One morning, Dante arrives and asks if he can give Ari a sponge bath. Ari insists that it’s Mom’s job, but Dante says that she gave him permission. He quietly says that he won’t hurt Ari. Ari wants to spit that Dante has already hurt him, but he agrees to the bath. Ari closes his eyes as Dante carefully bathes and shaves him. When Dante is done, Ari opens his eyes and sees that Dante is crying. Ari wants to yell at him for looking so sad and beautiful. He can barely stand how cruel he feels.
The anger that Ari feels likely stems from how helpless he feels. Being on the cusp of independence and then having all of that disappear in an instant is certainly not easy, especially since Ari isn’t comfortable being vulnerable and his injuries require him to be vulnerable for everyone who wishes to help him.
Themes
