In the young adult novel “Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin A. Sáenz, the story follows two boys who struggle with identity, relationships, and family. One summer day, a 15-year-old boy named Aristotle decides to go to the public pool due to how bored he is. While he’s trying to learn how to swim, another young boy goes up to him and introduces himself as Dante. When he asks Ari if he can teach him how to swim, their friendship begins. They quickly become close and start hanging out everyday, until one of them gets into an accident. When Dante wasn’t paying attention while he was in the middle of the road, a car was heading his way. Aristotle noticed and immediately acted, pushing him out of the way and ending …show more content…
His privacy is clearly shown throughout the book because every time someone asks him a personal question, he either dodges the question or responds with a vague answer. As the story progresses, Aristotle slowly starts to open up and share his thoughts and feelings with Dante and his family. He begins to trust people around him to share his innermost thoughts, and eventually becomes a little more open. A good example of who he was before was when he dodged the question of whether he was jealous of his mother’s students during a heated conversation. Afterwards, Ari thinks, “I could avoid questions as skillfully as she could.” (Sáenz 68) While Ari’s avoidance might be interpreted as rebellion towards his mother, it still shows his desire to protect his personal thoughts. Instead of saying the truth or giving a clear response, Ari decides to dodge the question, which can show his immediate reaction to protect his privacy before anything. However, one night when Ari is older, he becomes intoxicated with some friends and has a personal talk with Susie. The author writes, "Susie smiles, 'Did you love Ileana?' 'No. Maybe a little bit.' 'Did she break your heart?'" (Sáenz 231) When Ari tells Susie some of his secrets and thoughts, Susie does not judge him and just asks some more questions. This event shows the reader that although it takes a lot of courage to tell people …show more content…
In Aristotle’s family, the eldest son, Bernardo, is in prison. Bernardo is considered a ghost in the household; he’s never talked about, there are no pictures of him, and Aristotle has no memories of him. However, Ari strives to know more about him, who he is, and why he’s in prison. Unfortunately, his parents aren’t willing to tell him. “I asked [my father] if he ever dreamed about Bernardo. My brother. ‘Sometimes.’ That’s all he said. … I think I upset him by bringing up my brother.” His father’s reaction to the question shows how uncomfortable it is for him to talk about Bernardo, but it’s still difficult to understand why that’s the case for Ari. His parents’ silence only confuses Ari. Unfortunately, Ari’s parents stayed vague until events turned. One day, Aristotle finds out that Dante ended up in the hospital after being beated. When Ari investigates the situation and questions Dante, he discovers that the reason he jumped was because he was caught kissing a man. One of the people who jumped him was Julian Enriquez, an old friend of Aristotle. Ari decides to avenge Dante and goes to Julian's house to fight him. After fighting Julian and returning home, Ari’s mother reveals why Bernardo went to prison due to her worries for Ari. “He killed someone, Ari.” She states, “He killed someone with his