It is common for teens to not want to feel connected to their parents in their teen years. While this phenomenon is common, it does not often have positive results. The coming-of-age novel, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Sáenz illustrates how parental communication is most important to a developing teen. This is seen through the positive aftermath of Aris's much-belated conversation about his sexuality with his parents, and how they help to not feel ashamed about his own identity.
The theme of sexuality is ever-present throughout the novel, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe; however, it reaches a climax as Aris's parents help him to make a realization that he may be a homosexual.
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Ari initially reacts negatively to this insight, saying, “I'm so ashamed” (Sanez 349). Ari further elaborates as to why he is ashamed: “‘I'm a guy. He's a guy. It's not the way things are supposed to be.’”(Sanez 349). Although Ari initially feels ashamed, with the help of parental communication, he becomes able to overcome his feelings of shame. His mom helps him with this, giving him some reassurance through stories of his aunt. She says “‘Orphelia taught me some things, you know? All those letters. I've learned some things. And your fathers right? You can't run. Not from Dante’” (Sáenz 349). The beneficial effect of Ari's conversation with his parents is not shown immediately after this conversation but instead is displayed once Ari is alone with Dante in the desert. After Ari expresses his feelings to Dante, he takes a second to reflect back on his conversation with his mom, showing how important that conversation was to him. Ari, “thought of that look on [his] mother's …show more content…
Their arbitrary reasoning often includes instances from their personal life of a teen gaining more knowledge from communicating with their friends than their parents. One may use the character Phuc Train from his memoir “Sigh, Gone” as an example. Phuc Tran, the main character in the memoir, is a new American immigrant. Phuc experiences many difficulties with his dad’s poor teaching of the English language, as described in the quote: “‘Also, you know the story 101 Dalmatians? That dog's name is not Col-o-nel, Dad’… ‘At show-and-tell last week, I brought 101 Dalmatians into school, and I told them that my favorite character was Col-o-nel, and Derek Elkins laughed at me, everyone laughed at me!’” (Tran 15). Though it is possible to learn things from communicating with friends, talking to parents is always more important. Even though this mistake in English pronunciation may temporarily distance Phuc and his dad, it is important to recognize, this anger that Phuc has towards his dad will not last forever. Eventually, as the two learn English better, the communication that Phuc has with his dad will nevertheless increase in value. Communicating with parents is far more important as seen through the negative impacts of miscommunication with parents. Real, long-term, lapses in parental communication have far more