Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World

Ari writes a journal entry. He writes about a dream he has in which Bernardo refers to Ari and Dante as an anti-gay slur. In the dream, Ari realizes that Dante is dying of AIDS. He wakes up to his mother sitting on his bed, trying to calm him. Ari spends the rest of the day wondering if he and Dante are going to die from AIDS.

Ari is talking with his friends about one of his teachers, Mrs. Livermore. People call her Mrs. More Liver after Gina makes up a story that she is “the kind of mean mother who served her children liver on special occasions” (195). Susie says she cannot stand Mrs. Livermore and deems her a racist person. Susie is always annoyed by Mrs. Livermore’s pointed comments on Mexico and Mexican people.

Cassandra and Ari are sitting on his front steps talking about their interests. Cassandra is interested in both music and acting. Later in the day, Ari decides to go for a run, so Cassandra joins him. Though he regards running as a sacred and private practice, he enjoys having Cassandra as a running partner. Like him, she does not like to talk when she runs. They fall into a comfortable silence with one another, which Ari appreciates.

Ari’s life falls into a comfortable pattern. For the first time in his life, Ari feels comfortable and happy at school. Having friends to sit with at lunch at talk to during and between classes gives Ari a unique sense of belonging. Even though he is still confused about many things, Ari is the happiest he has ever been. His friends often come over to his house to study, which makes his mother happy. On Tuesday nights, Ari and Dante study alone, just the two of them. During these study sessions Dante often takes a break from his books to study Ari instead. What they had made Ari feel safe. Ari still has a better time loving others than he does letting himself be loved.

Ari writes a journal entry. He has been thinking about Bernardo a lot. Ari thinks that his brother might be a very violent and disturbed man. Ari often wonders about the transgender woman that Bernardo beat to death.

Chaos ensues in Mrs. Livermore’s class when she makes a comment suggesting “Hispanics are uncomfortable in educational settings” (203). Susie immediately challenges Mrs. Livermore and tells her she is racist. Mrs. Livermore is deeply offended by Susie’s accusation, but Susie refuses to back down. When Susie insists Mrs. Livermore is racist, Ari and Chuy Gomez jump to Susie’s aid. The kids get sent to the principal’s office, where they defend their actions to Mr. Robertson. In the end, he lets them off with a warning.

At home, Lilly tells Ari she got a call from Mr. Robertson. While she believes Ari and his friends are brave for standing up to Mrs. Livermore, she maintains that they could have handled the situation in a better way. Ari argues that running to their parents would not have been an ideal solution: “This is the way we grow up, Mom” (209).

One night while studying, Ari realizes that his vision is blurry. His mother makes him an appointment with her optometrist so that he can get fitted for glasses. When Ari starts wearing glasses, he feels like a different person.

Ari goes to Dante’s after getting his glasses. Dante and his parents all agree that the glasses suit him. While there are talking, the baby Soledad is carrying begins kicking. She invites Ari to feel the kicking by putting a hand on her stomach, telling him, “this is life” (212).

Though he agrees to go to a party with his friends, Ari refuses to wear a Halloween costume. Cassandra goes to the party as the goddess Athena; Dante goes as William Shakespeare. Ari thinks Cassandra truly does look like a goddess, and he tells her so. Ari and Cassandra dance together, even though he does not feel like a great dancer. Ari realizes that his relationship with Cassandra is very natural and comfortable; something about being with her “felt right” (215).

On the first day in November, Dante and Ari take a trip to the desert in Ari’s truck. Ari wants some time away from people, and some time alone with Dante. Being alone with Dante makes Ari “feel that thing we call life running through me” (217).

Ari wakes up in the middle of the night. He had had a dream in which he was running from Bernardo, and he was scared. Lying in bed trying to calm down, Ari wonders when the dreams about Bernardo will end.

The next day when Ari is eating dinner with his parents, he tells them that he wants to visit Bernardo in prison. He explains that he needs to see Bernardo in order to find closure. His parents understand his reasoning, but they do not want him to get hurt. When Jaime recalls the one time he visited Bernardo, Ari bursts into tears. He feels overwhelmed by all the things in his life that he has no control over, and just wants to “shut the door” on Bernardo (220). Jaime tells Ari he is proud of him for not running away and for “facing the things you need to face” (220).

By late November, Ari and his friends are beginning to feel tired out by the semester. The teacher steps out one day during class. When she is gone, a student teases Ari and calls him an anti-gay slur. Ari tells the boy “that is an ugly word used by ugly people” (222). When another girl uses the same anti-gay slur after Ari writes the assignment down on the board, another classmate comes to Ari’s aid and tells the girl to shut up.

Ari writes a journal entry in which he describes the incident that happened in class when Mrs. Hendrix left the room. Seeing that it is Thanksgiving week, Ari thinks about what he is grateful for and decides, “I’m not grateful that I’m gay” (223), which confuses him because he is grateful for his relationship with Dante.

Dante calls Ari to tell him that their families will be having Thanksgiving dinner together. Wanting to contribute, Ari buys a boutique of flowers for the Quintanas. When he arrives on the Quintanas with the flowers, Soledad and Sam are very impressed.

Dinner takes an unexpected turn when Soledad’s water breaks. She is determined to enjoy her Thanksgiving but eventually tells Sam to drive her to the hospital for delivery. Panicking, Jaime offers to drive.

Sophocles Bartholomew Quintana is born on Thanksgiving Day in 1988. The next morning, Ari watches Dante hold his brother, happy that the baby was a boy like he had hoped. Soledad says that the name Bartholomew comes from her and Sam’s best friend in graduate school, who died of AIDS recently.

Ari and Dante are hanging out together, and Dante is reading Ari a sad poem. They get to talking about college. Dante says he is only interested in going to Oberlin, whereas Ari will likely end up at UT. Wanting to change the subject, Dante says Susie told him that The Raft of the Medusa is Ari’s favorite painting; Dante teases Ari for having the same favorite painting as him.

Cassandra and Ari go to Rico’s funeral together. They sit next to Danny in the back. After the service, the three of them go to the Charcoaler. Ari watches Danny and Cassandra dance in the parking lo to Tears for Fears. It is a quiet moment that Ari is happy to experience.

Dante asks Ari if he is scared to see his brother. Ari is not scared, but admits he is feeling a little nervous about it.

Dante will be spending the holidays in California with his family. He tells Ari that when they are apart it “seems like forever” (234). They promise to spend Christmas together sometime.