Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Book Analysis

People read literature to see the world from another’s perspective. People read controversial books to bring important topics to light and expand their thinking by seeing things in other ways. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saénz is one such novel. By exploring themes that are engaging to young adults, students are encouraged to reflect on themselves and find who they are. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is both an appropriate and influential text for eighth grade students.

One theme that will resonate with eighth graders is the power of what is said and left unsaid. What mainly comes to mind when thinking of this theme is Ari and Dante’s letter exchange or lack thereof. Dante is pouring his heart out and letting Ari know all that is happening in his life while he’s in Chicago while Ari barely replies, and when he does it’s usually shorter. “Seven to one. That’s the ratio of Dante to Ari letters.” (225). This is pretty much how their relationship has been throughout the book. Ari’s lack of reply is driving Dante to read into things way more than he needs to. “Don’t feel like you have to be my friend when I get back.” (228). This quote shows Dantes growing insecurity in their relationship. He’s so worried that he’s going to lose this relationship now that he has revealed that he is gay and Ari hasn’t replied saying anything about it. Dante has no clue how Ari feels about him now that he knows he’s gay. Ari talking to him more would’ve made him feel reassured in their relationship. Another example of this theme that comes to mind is the whole Ari-Ileana situation. She kissed him and lead him to believe that she liked him when in reality she has a boyfriend in a gang who would’ve put Ari in a dangerous situation if he found out about their relationship. “Kissing didn’t mean a damn thing.” (224). This whole situation messed with Ari’s perception of relationships and it all could’ve been avoided with a little communication. Eighth graders, and people in general, struggle with communication. Reading about characters struggling and succeeding with communication can help people know that they aren’t alone and it’s normal to have a difficult time sharing one’s feelings. It can also help people know how to share their feelings, by learning from the character’s mistakes and applying that to their own lives. For example, when Ari and his father started opening up to each other, their relationship started improving. One could apply that to relationships that they want to improve in their life and try to start a conversation. Communication is the most important part of any relationship and showing what can happen when one doesn’t communicate efficiently is important for eighth graders to learn about and understand, therefore Ari and Dante is an appropriate text for eighth graders.

A second theme that will engage eighth graders is companionship as salvation. This is represented throughout the book with Ari’s relationship with Dante impacting Ari’s relationship with his father. At the beginning of the book, Ari’s relationship with his father is barely anything other than biological and by the end, they both started to open up to each other about their lives. Ari’s relationship with Dante has been a large impact on that. Ari frequently copies what Dante does, even if it’s subconscious. After Dante wrote to him about how he was kissing people “And all of a sudden, she leans into me and kisses me.”(176), Ari made a plan to kiss Ileana “I’ve decided that I’m going to find a way to kiss Ileana Tellez.”(179). When Dante tried smoking weed and drinking alcohol, Ari decided he wanted to try smoking weed and drinking alcohol. The same process applies to him and his father’s relationship improving. Ari saw how Dante interacted with his father and was influenced to act similarly. He started to change his behaviors, subconsciously, to be more like Dante. Ari used to be extremely private and didn’t talk much to anyone until Dante came along and brought that out in him. It’s impossible to develop a relationship if one doesn’t talk at all. Now moving on to Ari’s father, he also doesn’t share much about himself because it was hard for him. He didn’t want to open up about his war stories because war is an extremely hard topic to talk about and he’s suffering from PTSD. Now that Ari is friends with Dante, their parents have the opportunity to get to know each other. Sam and Jaime start getting to know each other and, similar to Ari and Dante’s relationship, Jaime probably hears about how Sam and Dante’s relationship is and wants that for him and Ari. Sam influenced Jaime to open up to Ari and put more effort into improving his relationship with his son, the same way Dante influenced Ari to open up to his father. Friends can have a tremendous impact on one’s life and reading about how much a friendship can change their life can inspire people to be healthy influences on their friends. Eighth graders struggle with friendships, making them and breaking them off and Ari and Dante’s relationship can show people that in a stable friendship, the good should outweigh the bad. Over the past two years, many young people have had to experience isolation from friends and maybe even family due to Covid. Being reminded of the importance of friends in one’s life can show people that they should put more effort into their current relationships and rekindle the ones they have lost. Friendships influence so many of one’s decisions, especially in such a developmental stage of life, and it is crucial for young people to understand what makes a good relationship, therefore Ari and Dante is an appropriate text for eighth graders.

Opponents will argue that it is inappropriate to teach Aristotle and Dante in eighth grade, but that is false. Something people could say is inappropriate in the book is the discussion and use of “mood-altering substances”. Ari and Dante are teenagers in the eighties. The majority of people in the eighties experimented with and used drugs and alcohol, so Saénz portraying this happening just makes the book more accurate to the time period. The boys also weren’t necessarily using these substances in an inherently unhealthy way. It’s not like their only coping mechanism was getting high and drunk out of their minds, they were more doing it just to have fun and relax. Ari even had Gina and Susie, who he didn’t like very much, come out with him to the desert so that he could get drunk and they could drive him home. He made plans in advance to get home safely, which if anything, is teaching young people how to drink responsibly. A second thing people could say is inappropriate for eighth graders is the sexual themes such as sexuality and masturbation. Sexuality is such a prevalent part of oneself and reading a book that is largely centered around finding oneself encourages people to look into their own identity in more depth. It’s not a valid argument to say that eighth graders shouldn’t read this book because the main characters are gay. People are gay and if others disagree with that, they should grow up. Not everyone is going to act how one want them to act. The masturbation part of the book is honestly insignificant. There are about 2 chapters that it is mentioned and it’s not like they explain it explicitly. A third argument people could make about the book not being appropriate for eighth graders is the amount of swearing. This is the least worrisome topic that is in the book. If someone were to just walk down the hallway of a middle school they would for sure hear way worse things than what Ari and Dante say in the book. Eighth graders are teenagers and the majority of teenagers swear, they are prepared to hear it. It would be inaccurate for Saénz not to include swearing. Reading about these controversial topics can help eighth graders think more about their identities and also learn from the mistakes Ari and Dante made.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is both an appropriate and influential text for eighth grade students.  The power of what is said and left unsaid and companionship as salvation are significant to eighth graders because they force readers to contemplate their own lives and the quality of their relationships. People read literature to see the world from another’s perspective. Reading these about controversial topics leads the reader to see the world from another’s eyes. To see that the things some folks may find obscure, another may find normal. One can expand their knowledge of the world by seeing the world from a different perspective. Not everyone sees the world through the same lens, people’s reactions to controversial books can prove that.