Aristole and Dante Reflection: Parents

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In the novel “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Saenz, we are introduced to a young teen named Aristotle. Throughout the book we are able to see how he struggles to find himself, while keeping everything he feels inside. One of the main issues during the novel is that Ari feels as if he can’t come to anyone in his life about his problems because he feels like his own parents shut him out the majority of the time. For many adolescents its very important to have a good, and open relationship with their parents because they will always have someone to turn to no matter what happens in their life. Without this relationship adolescents will be afraid to come to their parents, which is one of the problems we see with Ari.
One of the main things we see Ari deal with throughout this novel is the fact that he doesn’t know much about his older brother. The only thing anyone has ever told him is that he was sent to prison many years ago. He struggles with the fact that even when he wants to know about his brother, his parents won’t tell him anything about it. This leaves Ari always wondering about him, dreaming, and questioning why his parents are keeping the truth from him. He also tries his hardest never to be a bad boy because he is always worried he will end up like his brother, and his parents will be extremely disappointed in him. Here it states, “I think I upset him by bringing up my brother. I don’t want to upset him, but I do” (194). Here we can see that when Ari tried to talk to his father about his brother, he immediately thinks he has upset him. This continues to make Ari feel like he is being left in the dark, which builds up his anger even more about his brother as the book goes on.
Towards the end of the book Ari’s parents seem to understand that their son has been struggling to find himself all this time. They realize that they can’t keep him in the dark anymore because it is hurting him more, and more every day it goes on. They are able to see that Ari’s anger has built up overtime because they haven’t let him in enough. They understand that he is beginning to lash out because he can’t control the feelings he has inside anymore. Here it says, “Ari, the problem isn’t that Dante’s in love with you. The real problem for you, anyway, is that you’re in love with him” (348). At this point in the novel Ari’s parents have already told him about his brother, but this quote shows that his parents are accepting of him no matter what. It allows Ari to realize that it doesn’t matter if he likes another boy, his parents won’t ever be ashamed of who he is as a person. Because Ari’s parents opened up to him, it allows their son to be free from all the darkness that surrounded him.
For adolescents it is very important that their parents are open and accepting of them as they go through this time in their lives. At this stage every adolescent is trying to figure out who they are, which is a very difficult and confusing time for them. If the parents make the child feel like they are closed off from them, it will cause the child to be afraid to come to their parents and bottle up feelings within themselves instead off expressing them. While if the parent is open and accepting the child will feel like they always have someone to turn to when they feel like no one else is there for them. Adolescents need that parental support because it will allow them to be their selves instead of being someone their not.


Comments

  1. Anna GilfillanSeptember 16, 2019 at 11:32 AM

    I agree with you on the fact that parents need to be open and accepting of their children when they are going through the adolescent phase. I think that parents can make or break their adolescent based on how they handle them in that phase. Do you think there is a limit to how open the parents should be?

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  2. Eva YoussefSeptember 16, 2019 at 2:59 PM

    I agree that it's very important for parents to have open communication with their children as its so necessary for their development. If Ari's parents hadn't changed and talked to Ari about his situation, it's most likely that Ari would have never come to terms with his true feelings.

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