Ari And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe By Benjamin Alire Saenz

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Ari and Dante’s Development Through Mutual Conflict. Events in life can change people for worse or for better, depending on the situation. Throughout the novel, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, many characters switch their beliefs after going through tough situations. The three conflicts that alter the two main characters the most, are when Ari saves Dante, when Dante moves and when Dante gets beaten up. Together, Ari and Dante go through conflicts that influence their personalities, interests and views on life. To begin, both Ari and Dante’s personalities take a drastic turn following Ari saving Dante’s life. Ari’s mood changes from neutral to moody, depressed and self-deprecating while Dante …show more content…

I didn’t want to do that. Not that I would like to. I took his sketchpad in my hands and flung it across the room.” (Alire Saenz 132). This citation demonstrates the anger Ari feels with Dante’s unnatural change of personality, and hates that the other can not be genuine with him. As a result of this, Ari’s mental health starts to rapidly decline, as he believes people fail to see him as human. This mindset, Dante and other characters’ failure to help, is what crumbles most of the relationships Ari has, effectively isolating and separating him from the world. This conflict scares both Ari and Dante emotionally, which leads to their friendship deteriorating and their personalities changing. In addition, Dante’s interests unusually switch after he moves to Chicago, from the arts to drugs, substances and girls. Though this change is never shown in great detail, this is an easy conclusion to come to by understanding the letters Dante sends Ari. In those letters, Dante portrays his new attitude with no shame. “She’s talked to me about what she calls, “getaway drugs.” My eyes glaze over when she gives me the drug talk and she gives me one of her looks.” (Alire Saenz 174). In this quotation from the novel, Dante is shown to be disrespectful and troublesome, a

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