Aristotle & Dante Discover the secrets of the Universe

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The story Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the Universe focused on the different changes of adolescence and the thoughts of a homosexual teen. Ari was always to himself and didn't have many friends until Dante came along. They did friendly things like swim together, play outside and talk about books as well but over time the events in this story show how things become more intimate. 

The author Benjamin Saenz shows how Ari worried about finding his true self and struggled to come to terms with the feelings he had for Dante. For example in the beginning when Ari constantly talked about the dreams he had and the "ghost" that lived within him I thought he would have came out earlier in the story instead of it being announced towards the end. Also, to me, the differences that Aristotle and Dante had with their fathers played a huge role in the way that they responded to their sexualities. Ari and his father would always have small talk and laugh here and there but there was little to no affection, which is why I feel like he would hide his feelings towards dante because he was not used to showing emotion - to a man to be specific. "But me and my dad, we didn't have that. I wondered what that would be like, to walk into a room and kiss my father."(pg. 32) On the other hand, Dante and his father could talk about anything and they exchanged emotions to each other wether it was physical or verbal. "Dante walked up to his father and kissed him on the cheek. I wold have never done that. Not ever."(pg. 30) 

One personal connection I had with this story is like Ari, when I was in my younger adolescent stage, if I would be sad about any situation I often found myself trying to think about something other than the problem to avoid my emotions as well. In my opinion this was a great book, as said in the video we watched in class I believe it can truly inspire someone who faces inner issues like Ari to be who they are or just give them hope to know that they're not alone.

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