Individual Text Feature “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe”

“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” (“Aristotle and Dante”) by Benjamin Alire Sáenz was originally published in 2012. It is an adolescent, coming-of-age novel that centers on themes of sexuality, racial identity, and family dynamics. The novel follows Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza and his relationship with his neighborhood friend Dante Quintana; both are Mexican-American teenagers living in Texas in the mid 1980’s.  

The story is divided into six parts; part one “The Different Rules of Summer” opens with the boys meeting for the first time.  From their initial meeting the boys become fast friends and soon introduce each other to their respective families.  Dante is an only child while Ari comes from a large family, but he is younger than his siblings by many years. Ari’s older sisters are both grown and married with families of their own, while his brother, Bernardo, remains a constant mystery to him. Bernardo was arrested and imprisoned when Ari was still a small, but Ari doesn't know why.  The boys spend the summer together and bond over their appreciation for music, art, and poetry. They also try and help each other with their own personal struggles. Dante has difficulty with his Mexican identity while Ari has a strained relationship with his distant father, a Vietnam War veteran.

Part two “Sparrows Falling From the Sky” picks up towards the end of summer.  Ari suffers a serious case of the flu and spends several days overcome by a raging fever. In the midst of his illness Ari becomes haunted by dreams of his mysterious older brother, but his parents nurse Ari back to health. Dante frequently comes to visit Ari during his illness and leaves behind drawings from his sketch book. When Ari recovers from his illness Dante comes to him and reveals that his family will be moving to Chicago at the end of the summer. As the boys try to process their impending separation, Ari saves Dante from being hit by a speeding car, but is gravely injured.

Part three “The End of Summer” is the immediate aftermath of the car accident. Ari broke both his legs and his left arm and is hospitalized while Dante is racked with guilt over Ari’s injuries. Ari meanwhile enters a state of denial over the incident and forbids Dante from talking about it or telling any of their friends the truth about how Ari was injured. Meanwhile the accident brings Ari and Dante’s families close together with their mothers and fathers bonding. Dante’s mother sends Dante to see a therapist after Ari’s accident and Ari’s mother wants Ari to see a therapist as well. Ari becomes angry and says that he will see a therapist if his parents talk to him about his older brother. Once he his home from the hospital, Ari and his father begin to bond. The time has finally come for Dante and his family to move to Chicago and before he leaves Dante reveals that he loves Ari. Ari responds with anger towards Dante’s words, but the boys promise to stay in touch and remain friends.

Parts four and five “Lettres on a Page” and “Remember the Rain” detail Ari’s physical recovery from his accident and his life at school without Dante while Dante writes letters to Ari to describe his life in Chicago. Ari’s life remains static and full of tedious routine while Dante goes on a journey of self discovery. In his letters, Dante tells Ari about his experimentation with drugs, alcohol, and sexuality. Dante tells Ari that while he tried kissing a girl, he is more attracted to boys, but worries that his parents won’t approve of his homosexuality. Ari meanwhile has a short lived crush on a girl at school and adopts a dog he names Legs. The next summer, after almost a year apart, Dante and his family return to El Paso and the boys are together again. Dante’s mother is pregnant and Dante is hopefully that the new baby will be a heterosexual boy so that his family won’t be disappointed if Dante fails to give his parents grandchildren because he is gay. Ari makes it clear to Dante that while he supportive of his friend’s sexuality, he is not attracted to Dante and does not want Dante making any romantic advances. Dante however, convinces Ari to let him kiss him as an experiment. Dante reacts positively towards the kiss, but Ari becomes angry and claims not to have felt anything. A strain is put on their friendship as it becomes clear that Dante is in love with Ari, but Ari claims not to have feelings for Dante. The section ends with Ari and his family attending the funeral of his mother’s sister and when Ari questions why the rest of his extended family is absent his parent’s reveal that his aunt was a lesbian and they were the only family members who accepted her after she came-out. His mother also decides that it is time for Ari to learn the truth about his mysterious brother.

In the final section “The Secrets of the Universe” Ari learns that when his brother was fifteen years old he tried to hire a prostitute, but when it was revealed that the prostitute was transvestite, Ari’s brother became so enraged that he killed the prostitute and was sentenced to life in prison. When Ari and his family get home from the funeral, Ari still processing the story of his brother’s imprisonment, learns that Dante was mugged and is in the hospital. Dante reveals that it was a hate crime because his attackers knew he was gay. In retaliation Ari attacks the man who attacked Dante. Ari parent’s sit down with him and Ari’s father finally opens up to Ari about his experiences during the Vietnam War. Ari’s parents also tell him that they know he attacked Dante’s attacker because despite what he says, they believe that Ari is in love with Dante. Ari is finally able to confront his own feelings for Dante and come to terms with the idea that he himself is also gay. Ari and Dante are reunited and confront each other about their feelings before beginning a romantic relationship.

In terms of adolescent literature this novel is highly significant as it is one of only a few contemporary YA novels to portray inter-sectional diversity. “Aristotle and Dante” is rare for it’s portrayal of LGBTQIA characters who are also ethnic minorities. While there is no shortage of contemporary adolescent novels that include LGBTQIA characters, for example:  “Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda”, “The Raven Boys”, and “Carry On”, these stories predominately focus on white anglo-saxon males. Meanwhile novels such as “The Sun Is Also a Star”, “Written in the Stars”, and the “The Wraith and the Dawn”, have been notable for their focus ethnic minorities, however, the narratives focus exclusively on heterosexual adolescents. “Aristotle and Dante” succeeds in creating a bridge between these two sub-genres of adolescent literature.  In my research paper I will use “Aristotle and Dante” to explore ethnic representation in LGBTQIA adolescent literature.

Erin Brandenburg