“Do You Remember the Summer of the Rain…”

And it’s happening. The harder Ari tries to shut out parts of himself the worse off he becomes. Ari is in a state of denial. He cannot accept gratitude for saving Dante in the accident. Ari, for some reason, does not want anyone to know how much he cares for Dante. If he says the heroic deed was only instinct than it will discredit any large amount of affection that he holds for Dante. Meaning Ari is protecting his “image” for the public and also, lying to himself which keeps his “image” about himself in line with what everybody else believes he should be. This falls in line with quote that is repeated several times in the book, “The problem with my life was that it was always someone else’s idea”. He is angry with his dad for not talking and angry at his mom for rules. He is mad at himself and just about everything else. Ari starts to become a loner. Keeping to himself, he thinks that his state of confusion will go away if he bottles everything up. Then Dante leaves and school starts up. Ari has a pessimistic attitude at just about everything as his depression grows. It may not even be depression. Ari is trying to be someone else. He is trying to abide by his mother’s rules, keep up with the experiences Dante is having, and find a way to talk to his dad. It all seems futile to him though. He starts working and even has his first adult beverages all the while never letting anyone in. Ari remains a constant occupant of his thoughts. They never go away and things never seem to get any clearer.