98 pages • 3-hour read
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
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Character Analysis
Aristotle Mendoza
Aristotle (or Ari) wants to know who he is. He seeks answers from his parents, but their silence offers no help. His turbulent emotions are hidden beneath his cool, quiet exterior. He tries to make his life simple because “everything inside […] felt so confusing” (202). He suffers from bad dreams about Dante, his father, and his older brother, Bernardo. After saving Dante from an oncoming car, Ari’s reluctance to accept the title of hero shows his humble nature, dislike of attention, and embarrassment at the sacrifice he performed for Dante.
Ari is deeply loyal to those he loves and constantly worries about Bernardo. His brother’s absence makes Aristotle feel an even greater burden as “the only son […] in a Mexican family” (93). He thinks that the reason he is “melancholy”—as Gina calls him—is because he’s “missed [Bernardo] all [his] life” (206). He is constantly torn between fulfilling his own desires and being who he believes people expect him to be.
Through Dante’s influence, Ari learns to explore his feelings and articulate himself. He becomes interested in writing and enjoys his English class. He is able to escape his personal chaos through the written word, and this realization is assisted by Dante’s love for poetry. He realizes that his father seems content with their silence, but that he is more like Dante because he needs words “to get by in the world” (200).
Ari worries that he is “mean” and “cruel” sometimes (143-44). He fears he is like his brother because of the anger and violence he feels in moments of distress.
He expresses his dislike for relying so heavily on others. He admits that he doesn’t know how to ask for help and that appearing vulnerable is terrifying for him. His self-sacrificing act for Dante is paralleled when he seeks revenge on Dante’s attackers. His generous and thoughtful nature is demonstrated by the Christmas gift he buys Dante with the money from his job: an art book about Dante’s favorite painting.
Dante Quintana
Dante wants to change the world someday. He is idealistic, artistic, and wears his heart on his sleeve. He flouts the rules that others make for him and prefers to create his own rules for life. Dante cries at the sight of a dead bird and inadvertently causes Ari to get injured when he is saving a bird. After he is beaten up by a group of boys for kissing another boy, Mrs. Quintana puts on a brave face initially but eventually breaks down crying, asking Ari, “Why didn’t he just run?” Ari explains, “[B]ecause he’s Dante” (309). Although Dante is sensitive, he is not weak. When he and Ari first meet, he encourages Ari to read poetry and they argue about literature and comic books. Dante loves the Beatles and sings with his father in the car. He helps Aristotle because he can’t suffer in silence: he feels a compulsion to talk. While Ari talks too little, Dante talks too much. Dante struggles with his Mexican heritage; he believes he’ll “never be a real Mexican” (245). Moreover, he bemoans the fact that they are “nice boys,” experimenting with pot and alcohol before Ari does (104).
The Mendozas
Ari’s parents avoid discussing difficult matters with their son, which forms deep rifts between Ari and his father. Over the course of the story, Ari and his father make great strides in their relationship, and Ari begins to appreciate his parents. A high school teacher, Ari’s mother is strict but down-to-earth; education is very important to her. She explains to Ari how important it was for her to go back to school and earn her degree after marrying his father. She banters with Aristotle and they get along well. Ari resents her rules, but he loves his mother and obeys her. After the Mendozas give Ari a truck for his birthday, Ari’s mother tells him that if she ever finds out that he is drinking and driving she will take the truck away. She harbors deep emotional wounds due to her son Bernardo’s imprisonment, but she does not share this with Ari until much later in the story.
Ari’s father is even more quiet and reserved than Ari. When Ari’s father hears him calling for him as he sleeps, a rare personal connection sparks between the father and son. Ari is pleased simply that they have something in common, even if it is something as negative as their nightmares. During their first driving lesson, Ari asks his father if he ever dreams about Bernardo and they drive home in silence. Ari later learns the cause of his father’s dreams is a traumatic incident in the Vietnam War when he had to leave a man behind.
The Quintanas
Dante’s parents do not keep secrets—not from each other and not from Dante. Mr. Quintana, Dante’s father, is an English professor and his mother, Mrs. Quintana, is a psychologist. Dante’s father goes by “Sam.” Sam is a kind and lenient father with a bright and happy spirit. Dante’s mother is stricter and has a more serious demeanor. Dante curses in front of his mother and she begins to reprimand him, but Sam intervenes to prevent Dante from getting in trouble. Sam merely laughs at Dante’s shoe-throwing game and tells him to go play at the park, but he still commands his son to tell his mother. Though she is reserved and difficult to read, Mrs. Quintana tells Ari, “I will love you forever” after he saves Dante’s life, and Ari is confident that she means it (126). Although Dante argues with his parents often, he usually obeys them. When he tries to keep secrets from his mother, such as smoking pot, she always finds out. He jokes to Ari that she is “like God. She knows everything” (333).
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