Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz an amazing book that has won four awards. Yet it has a simple plot a Young-adult fiction coming of age novel of two unalike teenagers that become friends and their adventures from there on(goodreads). Though it much more than that it hits themes such as friendship, family, self-love and acceptance. Although it is targeted to young adults anyone can fall in love with this story.
Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe is an amazing book about growing up, self- acceptance, opening up, family, friendship and love. Aristotle is a fifteen-year old Mexican American angry loner who has a brother in prison and a withdrawn father with PTSD(Saenz).
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Like he is very friendly, outgoing, talkative, open, and loving. For anyone that cannot relate to Aristotle can relate to Dante. But most people can relate to both because Dante is representation to the good parts in a person. He does not struggle with communication, he knows who he is and is fine with that person and he lets himself love who he chooses. Although the story is told in Aristotle’s perspective the reader still learns a lot and watches Dante develop. One theme that occurs in the book that I have yet to talk about is homosexuality. This book has four awards two of them have to do with the LGBT+ aspects of this story. Those awards are Stonewall Book Award and Lambda Literary Award. Dante comes out to Ari early in the book and quickly catches feelings for Ari. Although Ari is ok with Dante being gay he is not ok with Dante’s feelings being targeted towards him. This book added the LGBT+ aspect so well it was not too much but it was enough to be a reoccurring theme. It was the perfect add to this story because it really shows how uncomfortable Ari is with himself. It shows teenagers his age that its ok to be gay someone out there still loves you for who you
Edmond Dantes was a 19 year old man who became captain of a ship name the Pharaon. He was much loved by everyone. He is pretty gullible and becomes vengeful when the one guy he considered his friend betrayed him the other two who he was not to fond of ruined his life. He was a respectable young man who showed that numerous times like when he had to leave Morrel while he was talking to him; he said “I beg you excuse me, Monsieur Morrel (Dumas 5). He was to be betrothed to a girl named Mercedes who he’d loved very much but he loved his father most of all. He felt bad when he found out his father was broke from paying his debt causing him to fall to his knees and said “may God forgive me” (Dumas 9). Dantès is a pretty unique character who
One major theme in the book is coming of age. Both Alex and Dean are pushed into situations where they must make life or death decisions on the behalf of a group of children. This forces them to leave behind all of their childish notions of how the world should
One element of the author’s style that I noticed and enjoyed about this novel is how the author properly characterizes each member of the story interestingly, and successfully manages to make the story more appealing due to his use of multiple literary elements. One opening property in this novel is the use of characterization. Aristotle, the protagonist and narrator of this story, is considered a dynamic character. Through the beginning of this novel, Aristotle was very shy, and had a limited amount of friends; moreover, he portrayed himself as timid, antisocial, and basic compared to other of his “peers.” This all changed, however, shortly into the novel, when Aristotle stumbled into a new individual. The book continues by letting the reader understand that Aristotle likes feeling sorry for himself. A passage in the book to support this claim goes as follows,”Feeling sorry for myself was an art. I think a part of me liked doing that.” (Saenz, 13) We also discover that Aristotle’s dad seems far away to him regardless of living in the same house. Moreover, we get some small backstory of Aristotle’s father, and we understand that his father feels distant to him because of the Vietnam war; a war in which Aristotle’s dad was a part of. A line
In Dante’s Inferno, the relationship between Dante the Pilgrim and Virgil the Guide is an ever-evolving one. By analyzing the transformation of this relationship as the two sojourn through the circles of hell, one is able to learn more about the mindset of Dante the Poet. At the outset, Dante is clearly subservient to Virgil, whom he holds in high esteem for his literary genius. However, as the work progresses, Virgil facilitates Dante’s spiritual enlightenment, so that by the end, Dante has ascended to Virgil’s spiritual level and has in many respects surpassed him. In Dante’s journey with respect to Virgil, one can see
At first glance, Aristotle seems like a moody teen, sorry for himself and for every
To begin with, one major theme that continuously played a part throughout the entire book is desire. To many of the characters, it was the one urge that they could never overcome. One
And in so doing, we also are running from the only possible way to gain that Joy: The reason and faith that have the power to guide us.
Often when we set out to journey in ourselves, we come to places that surprise us with their strangeness. Expecting to see what is straightforward and acceptable, we suddenly run across the exceptions. Just as we as self‹examiners might encounter our inner demons, so does Dante the writer as he sets out to walk through his Inferno. Dante explains his universe - in terms physical, political, and spiritual - in the Divine Comedy. He also gives his readers a glimpse into his own perception of what constitutes sin. By portraying characters in specific ways, Dante the writer can shape what Dante the pilgrim feels about each sinner. Also, the reader can look deeper in the text and examine the
Seven hundred and three years ago Dante published his Inferno, still today many years later it is analyzed by many.
Dante is a poet who wrote an epic poem called The Divine Comedy. This epic poem is about Dante’s journey as he goes through 3 levels, which he calls Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise. In the Inferno, he meets Virgil, his guide throughout his voyage. They both pass through the nine circles of Hell, where they witness many different punishments for those who have done awful things in their past. Good versus evil is a major theme that occurred throughout Hell. In the Inferno, there are times where Dante sees good and evil and also represents it himself.
Furthermore, those he converses with had impacted Dante in some way during his lifetime. The combination of religion and nationality begin to form the prominent factors of Dante's identity as he commences his journey through Hell in order to reestablish himself as a committed Catholic.
When Dante first begins in this story he was lost and clueless physically and mentally. Dante was located in a forest with his life ruined and not knowing what was in store for him. Dante had given up on his future and had given up on finding the correct path of life for himself. However, when he sees a sunset and a very important mountain that represent Heaven he will soon change. Dante is given an opportunity to change and turn his life around but to do so he must first experience the darkness of Hell with the assistance of Virgil who helps him and guides him through what is right and wrong.
Ever since I was little I have been an avid book reader. I have read many books of all types of genres. I really like books that touch on issues that people, especially teens, have in everyday life it makes the book relatable and gives it more meaning. “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is one of my favorite books. I would not say it is my all-time favorite because I have read many books and a lot of them would rival for that number one spot. This book is different from many books I have read mainly because the themes in this story are not as common in other stories I have read. I think the title “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” talks about how throughout the
With his writing style and the implementation of some literature firsts, Dante assured his name in history. His mastery of language, his sensitivity to the sights and sounds of nature, and his infinite store of information allow him to capture and draw the reader into the realm of the terrestrial Hell. His vast store of knowledge of Greek mythology and the history of his society assists Dante in the
The time in which Aristotle lived was one where to be heard one had to