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Part Two, Chapter Five
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
Dante comes to visit, even though it’s not much fun. He reads poems out loud and Ari thinks of birds falling from the sky. He wonders if Bernardo ever read a poem and in a pause, asks Dante if he’s afraid of catching the flu. Dante says he isn’t, and Ari declares that Dante isn’t afraid of anything. Dante says that he’s afraid of lots of things, but Ari doesn’t ask what. He doesn’t think Dante would answer.
In this moment, silence is a way for Ari to show Dante that he cares about him and can be respectful. With this, the novel shows that silence doesn’t have to be a universally bad thing. It can be positive when deployed in the service of others, as long as it doesn’t go too far and begin to close off connections between people or prevent them from coping with trauma.
Themes
