Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

The final section of the book is titled “All the Secrets of the Universe” and the epigraph is “Through all of youth I was looking for you/without knowing what I was looking for,” a quote from the poet W.S. Merwin. The section title refers to Ari and Dante’s first trip to the desert to stargaze. As Dante stares up at the night sky through his telescope, he tells Ari that he’s going to “discover the secrets of the universe” (43). After this, Ari continuously refers to the mysteries of the universe and his desire to understand these mysteries. In the final section of the book, many of the secrets of Ari’s personal universe are revealed: He learns why Bernardo went to prison and why he feels so many complicated feelings toward Dante. Ari realizes that what he’s been looking for this entire time is Dante.

Fear of disappointing one’s parents is a recurring theme. Dante’s parents find out that he is gay after he is beaten up by a group of boys that see him kissing another boy. Dante’s father and Aristotle have a heart-to-heart conversation, and Mr. Quintana doesn’t understand why Dante didn’t tell him. Ari tells him that “talking to dad isn’t that easy. Even you, Sam” (303). From his issues with his father, Ari gleans wisdom and is able to help Mr. Quintana understand why Dante feared telling him that that he is gay. This is the only time that Ari calls Mr. Quintana by his first name, Sam, symbolizing a new dynamic between them as Ari acts more like an equal adult rather than a child during this tough conversation.

When Ari’s mother tells him that he helps her “bear all of [her] losses,” he says he is afraid he will disappoint her (322). Like Dante, Ari fears disappointing his parents, though for a different reason: He worries that he will disappoint them in the same way that his older brother Bernardo disappointed them. Given Bernardo’s violent crime, Ari’s mother’s reaction to Ari beating up Julian makes more sense. She is so emotional because she is worried that Ari is violent like his older brother. However, once Ari explains why he beat up Julian, his mother understands and this spurs her to show him the envelope with Bernardo’s name on it. As he and his mother look at photos of his older brother from his childhood, Ari thinks, “I had never loved her more” (322). They hang up a picture of Bernardo in the living room and Ari rejoices: “That was the day that my brother was in our house again. In a strange and inexplicable way, my brother had come home” (324). Ari is finally able to feel some peace toward his older brother as one of the “secrets of the universe” is revealed.