Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Birds feature prominently throughout Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, appearing at several points in the narrative. For example, when Ari and Dante bury a bird and stand in silence, Ari asks, “Why do birds exist?” Dante replies, “[T]o teach us things about the sky.” Later that day, when Ari thinks about Dante’s answer, he realizes that birds can teach humans “to be free.” Dante loves birds because they represent freedom. Dante is willing to risk everything to be free, while Ari doesn’t yet understand what it means to be free.

Unpack the symbolic significance of birds—and particularly sparrows—as seen throughout the novel. If birds represent freedom, what are they freedom from? How are birds used as a way of foreshadowing key moments that later occur in the novel?

Teaching Suggestion: Ari and Dante seek freedom from many things: from heteronormative social conventions, from their own self-hating tendencies, from the confines and restrictions of youth. The symbolic significance of birds, especially sparrows, is explored through Ari’s frightening dreams. His dreams of sparrows covering him in blood are prophetic. These violent visions foreshadow the accident that will change Ari’s and Dante’s lives, forever connecting them through a bond of self-sacrifice and love. The author creates a symbolic connection between Dante’s freedom and birds, and Ari learns to be free himself through his relationship with Dante.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who may need assistance in making abstract connections between birds as symbols and how they affect the novel’s narrative arc, it may be useful to represent the novel graphically, as follows: Draw on a line on the board with “Start” on the left end and “Finish” on the right end, representing the chronological beginning and conclusion of the novel. On the line, mark three kinds of moments in the novel: first, major “action” plot points (big events that push the plot forward); second, character developments (when characters have internal emotional changes and/or revelations); and finally, moments when birds appear in the novel. Use their input to chart the various points on the graph, and then talk through this graphic representation of the novel. Once your graph is complete, look more closely at the bird moments; ask students to consider what is happening in terms of events/character progression and have them consider why the author would choose to write a bird scene at this moment.