Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. When Ari first meets Dante at the local swimming pool, how does he describe Dante’s personality?

A) Flirty, fun, and forceful

B) Funny, focused, and fierce

C) Frisky, fervent, and ferocious

D) Fancy, furious, and fresh

2. When Dante reads aloud the poetry of William Carlos Williams as Ari cleans his room, what feeling does Dante express?

A) Lightness

B) Freedom

C) Realness

D) Sadness

3. Which of the following best describes why Part 1 is titled “The Different Rules of Summer”?

A) It is a quote from Ari, when he says that he loves the different rules of summer.

B) It refers to a t-shirt that Dante always wears, with bold, colorful lettering.

C) It is a reference to an Emily Dickinson poem, about the slow days of summer.

D) It is something Ari’s father said when Ari was a small child, about how he was quitting his job during the summer.

4. When Ari’s mother tells him she wants him to be happy, he retorts that he is “supposed to be miserable.” Why does he tell his mom that he’s supposed to be miserable?

A) Because he is plagued by nightmares

B) Because he has no friends

C) Because he is bullied at school

D) Because he is 15 years old

5. In one of Ari’s dreams, what naturally occurring dividing line separates his family (specifically, his brother and father) from Ari?

A) A mountain

B) A pile of rocks

C) A row of hedges

D) A river

6. What profession does Ari’s mother tell him that she always wanted him to have when he grows up?

A) A lawyer

B) A doctor

C) A teacher

D) A musician

7. Where does Dante’s father get a job as a visiting professor, causing Dante’s family to move to Illinois for a year?

A) DePaul University

B) University of Chicago

C) Loyola University Chicago

D) Northwestern University

8. What reason does Ari give his surgeon for saving Dante from the car?

A) Dante is his best friend.

B) Dante would do that for anyone—he would hate to see a human life go to waste.

C) It was actually a mistake; he did not mean to jump in front of the vehicle.

D) There wasn’t any reason; it was just a reflex.

9. To what does Dante compare Ari’s fragility when he gives Ari a sponge bath?

A) Glass

B) Butterfly wings

C) Porcelain

D) Eggshells

10. In the wake of the accident, how do Ari’s similarities to his father come to life?

A) He refuses to open up about his emotions, defaulting to moody silence and distance.

B) He takes to drinking, drowning his sorrows in as much alcohol as he can consume.

C) He seeks refuge in church, embracing religion as he has never done before.

D) He turns to the women in his life (his mother, his aunts) to help shoulder his burden.

11. Ari writes in his journal about how Dante taught him how to swim. What does he then do with this journal entry?

A) He sprays it with cologne.

B) He stamps it with his family’s Mexican family crest.

C) He smears a drop of blood from his finger on it.

D) He tears the page out of the journal.

12. To what natural scene does Ari compare Ileana’s eyes?

A) A clear pond in the forest

B) A mountain ridge

C) The night sky in the desert

D) The green grass on a hillside

13. Ari’s mom tells him that he is in a “natural borderlands” between childhood and adulthood. What term does she use to refer to this place?

A) A fencerow

B) A marshland transition

C) An ecotone

D) A riparian zone

14. In what southwestern city does Ari’s Aunt Ophelia live?

A) Tucson

B) Santa Fe

C) Tempe

D) Phoenix

15. What happens when Ari smokes pot for the first time in the desert with Dante?

A) They lie under a blanket, staring up at the night sky together.

B) They play music as loud as the volume will go in Ari’s pickup truck.

C) They run around nude in the rain, having a fantastic time.

D) They hold hands in silence, at the bank of a nearby river.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. How is Ari’s self-acceptance and self-awareness linked to his parents’ self-acceptance? Cite evidence from the text.

2. After Ari’s father opens up about his experiences in Vietnam, Ari notices that his father seems younger. What is meant by this? What does this admission mean for Ari and Mr. Mendoza’s relationship?