LS 5653 Inclusive Literature: Book 2

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sáenz, Benjamin Alire. 2012. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. New York: Simon & Schuster: BFYR. ISBN: 978-1442408920.

PLOT SUMMARY
Divided into six sections, the first three narrate the summer Dante Quintana and Ari(stotle) Mendoza meet, the car accident, and Dante’s move to Chicago for the academic year. The last three sections focus on Ari’s junior year, Dante’s realization that he is gay, and Ari realizing he too loves Dante.

The most important plot developments are when Ari pushes Dante out of the way of an oncoming car, which runs overs Ari’s legs. He recovers and is able to walk but the incident creates a bond not only between Dante and Ari but their parents. His casts make him stand out when he returns to high school and everyone, including Gina Navarro and Susie Byrd want to know how it happened. Ari does not want admit he jumped in front of a car for his friend because of the feelings that propelled him to do so. However, Ari changes after meeting Dante, and the accident. He gets a job, actively tries to find out about his imprisoned brother, Bernardo, and becomes more social.

The second biggest climax is when Dante and Daniel are caught kissing and is beaten almost to death by four teenagers. Less in tune with his feelings and sense of identity, Ari does not realize he beats up Julian not only out of rage for beating his best friend senseless, but because he loves Dante. Ari’s erratic behavior and Dante’s reason for being hospitalized finally makes his parents open up completely about his brother. At 15 years-old, Bernardo is sent to prison for killing the prostitute he picked up. He beat her to death because she was a transvestite. For nine months, spanning the trial and Mrs. Mendoza’s recovery from her nervous breakdown, four-year-old Ari stays with his estranged lesbian aunt, Ophelia, and her partner, Franny.

Despite Bernardo’s transgression paralleling what befell Dante and his refusal to communicate with or receive visitations from his parents, Ari resolves to reach out to his older brother. With the help of Dante and his parents, Ari takes ownership for his suppressed feelings in the last chapter. Ari had actually felt something with the experimental kissing he and Dante exchanged earlier in the novel. He discloses these feelings only after he is certain they are authentic and has let go of his shame.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
It makes sense that Dante would question and be more in tune with his sexuality than Ari. Expressing himself has never been difficult for Dante. He constantly thinks out loud, reads literature, draws with emotion, and openly expresses how he feels. Within a few days of knowing Ari, Dante admits that he is “crazy about [his] mom and dad” (21), a sentiment no 15-year-old teen would admit, even to himself, much less to a friend he has barely made. His open communication with his parents contributes to Dante’s self-assurance.

Ari, on the other hand, has a father who does not speak. Fighting in Vietnam has made Mr. Mendoza so withdrawn that Ari has no relationship with him. Except for with his mother, Ari is as austere and withdrawn as his father. Although Ari lists them under “school friends. Sort of”(23) at the beginning of the novel, Gina and Susie mostly force him to hang out with them at the beginning of his junior year. Ari is a voluntary loner that does not fit in with the guys or girls. This all changes after meeting Dante. Dante draws Ari out of himself. Especially after the accident, which could have paralyzed him, Ari makes an effort to make decisions for himself. He matures that summer spent with Dante and outgrows the adolescent idea that his life is “someone else’s idea.” He begins attending parties and hanging out with Gina and Susie as friends, not just acquaintances.

Regarding cultural values, there are questions about what constitutes a real Mexican and how it is tied to masculinity. Living in El Paso and so close to the Mexican border, most classmates and neighbors are Mexican. Both boys feel like pochos, or “half-assed Mexicans.” Dante’s father, Mr. Quintana is the only Mexican English professor Ari knows. As a practicing psychologist, Mrs. Quintana and her husband are different than the rest of the family, and Dante does not fit in with his cousins. Mrs. Mendoza, a college educated high school teacher, speaks fluent Spanish but Ari does not, although he appears to speak enough to use basic phrases and understand insults. She reminds Ari that Mexicans can be smart and economically thriving.  Although their parents have seen struggle, Ari and Dante have grown with more privilege and this makes them feel not Mexican enough. Dante feels so far removed from the culture he resents being called Mexican at all, and even asks “Do real Mexicans like to kiss boys?” (273). Despite the duo’s parents being more open-minded for many Mexicans and Mexican Americans in 1987, it is true that culturally Mexicans are very macho. This hyper-masculinity is what gets Ari called a “pinchi joto” (205) by Charlie Escobedo for not wanting to do drugs, Dante beat up for being caught kissing Daniel, and what drives Bernardo to kill a transvestite prostitute. Man are man in Mexican culture, especially back in the 1980’s AIDS epidemic and the stigma associated with the disease and homosexuality. Ari is darker skinned and perhaps this makes him solidify this part of his identity better than Dante. When Charlie Escobedo calls him Mr. Gabacho, Ari gets more offended than for being called gay and says “I was as Mexican as he was” (205). Classmates have noticed Ari is different, and Charlie seems to follow the same logic as Dante, saying that no real Mexican would be gay.

Aside from analyzing homosexuality within the Mexican culture, the novel also considers wider gender roles. Ari realizes he is not like the boys in the pool that would say “a girl is like a tree” (16). Yet he doesn’t have enough forethought, or “good thinking” (232) to bring a blanket to spend a cold night out in the desert, like Gina does. Ari muses: “maybe [girls] knew more than boys. Maybe they understood things that boys could never understand” (232). Dante seems to cry as much as Susie Byrd. He has a gentler and more fragile spirit than any “normal” teen boy. Ari knows this and he wishes he and Dante had met in the world of boys instead of almost-men. Only then would Dante’s tears be received with more empathy, and they could hang out unencumbered by what their friendship may seem like to others.  The last time Ari is happy is at ten years old (93). Puberty depresses Ari because this is when sexual attraction begins and the unspoken gender roles settle in. When he does not seem to fit in with either teen boys or girls, or their interests, it leaves him isolated.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe creates empathy for the LGBTQ+ community. Just like Ari’s parents and classmates somehow know that he is gay before he ever realizes it, oftentimes, even as children, we grew up with individuals we knew were different before they ever publicly came out of the closet. The novel makes readers realize why some parents allow trans children to dress according to their gender identity versus their birth gender because it will cement their sense of self, developing their self-esteem and maintaining their self-worth before they ever reach puberty. Having a better sense of self greatly reduces any self-destructive tendencies that may arise in puberty. Coming of age can be a violent transition for LGBTQ+ members, especially when, as Ari, they suppress their true essence. Sáenz’s quiet narrative demonstrates that despite teenagers not being sexually active, attraction, connection and soul carry a bigger weight when it comes to loving someone.

AWARDS
2013, Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, Finalist, Young Adult Literature
2013 Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, Nominee, General Fiction
2013 International Latino Book Award, Honorable Mention, Young Adult Fiction Book
2013 Lambda Literary Award, Winner, LGBT Children’s/Young Adult
2013 Michael L. Printz Award, Honor Book
2013 Pura Belpre Award, Winner, Narrative
2013 Stonewall Book Award-Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, Winner, Children’s (Young Adult Literature)

REVIEW EXCERPTS
From Kirkus: “Plot elements come together at the midpoint as Ari, adding up the parts of his life, begins to define himself. Meticulous pacing and finely nuanced characters underpin the author’s gift for affecting prose that illuminates the struggles within relationships.”

From Children’s Literature: “As much about family, friendship, communication as it is about sexual identity, this is a truly powerful story.”

From CLW: “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a novel for a young adult reading audience which handles the issue of sexual awakening and homosexuality respectfully.”

From Bulletin: “While there are lots of plot twists and some homophobic violence, there is little real conflict; instead, this is primarily a character- and relationship-driven novel, written with patient and lyrical prose that explores the boys’ emotional lives with butterfly-wing delicacy.”

CONNECTIONS
Read the 2021 sequel: Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World.

Another YA novel by Saenz, with similar characters: The Inexplicable Logic of My Life. 2018. Sal and Sam start senior year. With approaching adulthood, Sal has to find himself.

Read Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram and its accompanying connections.