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Part Three, Chapter Eight
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
Three weeks after the accident, Dad takes the day off work to drive Ari to get his casts changed. In the car, Dad points out that Ari’s birthday is coming up and asks if he’d like a car. Ari says he’d like a low-rider, but Mom refuses. They all laugh, and Ari amends his request to an old pickup truck. Mom and Dad agree. Ari asks if they’re doing this because of his legs, and Mom says that he’s only going to be in casts for another few weeks and then will be back to normal. Ari asks who’s teaching him to drive, and both Mom and Dad say that they will.
Either a low-rider or a truck would help Ari feel more masculine and more stereotypically Mexican, which offers several possible readings of his requests. He could be trying to escape the fact that he’s gay and therefore, not “properly” masculine, though it’s also possible that he recognizes that there’s no one correct way for a man to be. He can, in other words, simultaneously embrace cars and be in love with Dante.
Themes
