Call Me by Your Name: How André Aciman explores gender, sexuality and religion through a coming of age text

Abstract

This article review explores how André Aciman represents a young American-Italian Jewish teenager, Elio, and his awakening sexual desire for Oliver, a 24-year-old male who also shares the same cultural and religious background in the early 1980s. The themes I will be discussing are gender, sexuality and religion in relation to a coming of age genre. Further, I will be discussing how Elio and Oliver come to awaken this sexual desire for each other despite the relationship being a taboo in their culture and the inappropriate relationship that blossoms as Oliver is a doctoral student who is working as an intern for Elio’s father. Finally, in this article review of Call Me by Your Name, I will examine Elio and Oliver’s resilience opting to stay together against all the odds.