English 485: Expedition Adolescence

     I think the most powerful thing about Sold is how much hope Lakshmi is able to hold onto. While in the brothel she loses so much: Shahanna, Monica, Harish and his mother, Puspha. Anyone of those losses could have been the nail in the coffin that hollowed her out. Any one of those could have destroyed her and turned her into a husk of a person. Instead, Lakshmi manages to find hope in her book of figures. She uses her notebook and her tally of much she has to work to pay off her debt to Mumtaz as a sort of crutch. She can open the book and see the (slow) progress she is making towards her freedom.     But, later on, when  Lakshmi shows the book to Mumtaz, she learns that there are so many other things that Mumtaz is charging her for. Mumtaz then tells her "'You have at least five more years here with me'" (McCormick, 226). Then, in the next poem, Lakshmi says, "Here at Happiness House, there are dirty men, old men, rough men, fat men, drunken men, sick ...

  All the novels we have read thus far have been emotional rollercoasters, but none as much as Sold . I spent the first half of the novel anxiously waiting for the proverbial anvil to drop and the second half queasy with indignation and horror. Sold is an example of the ways in which the extremes of poverty most disadvantage those who are young and female. The novel is a reminder that the poorest of us can’t even afford the risk of hoping for a better future.   It was ultimately hope, in conjunction with a childlike naivety shared by both Lakshmi and her mother, that made Lakshmi susceptible to the predatory nature of her stepfather and enslavers. “This affliction - hope - is so cruel and stubborn, I believe it will kill me” (McCormick 256). And in that brothel, between the beatings and the disease, it very nearly does. Love, hope, and the lure of money (a way out of poverty) set Lakshmi on her unfortunate trajectory. She goes from a goat, innocent and fresh, waiting for ...

I physically can not stress enough how important  Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda  is and why young readers need to be exposed to it. This book is about a boy named Simon who, throughout the entire book, tries to come to grips with who he is and how he can be confident in his own skin. I won't lie and say that this book didn't emotionally strike me in my core, because it did and it struck me with an eighteen wheel truck. While reading this book, I found myself comparing Simon's experiences to my own and I was both shocked and relieved that they were so similar to mine (I wasn't blackmailed, but you get the idea). It was normalizing. Books like this one are so incredibly important to show to adolescents. Not only could it provide a sense of normality and inclusion, but it can erase stigmas and show people who are not LGBTQ+ a glimpse of what it's like. I have heard people in my life ask why coming out is such a big deal to kids who know their family is supportive a...

I think it is safe to say that most of us spend our four years of High School trying to figure out who we are or who we are going to be.  Maybe you were a cheerleader, an athlete, a mathlete, or perhaps you spent most of your time just trying to be yourself.  Simon is a semi average High School kid who loves Oreos, his best friends, his dog Bieber, and his supportive "making a big deal" family.  I would like to say it's hard to imagine someone who has such a great support system feel the need to hide something about themselves, but High School will do that to anyone. Following Simon around his high school, play rehearsals, waffle house, and a night on the town, you learn about friendship, family, sexuality, and self-acceptance. When Simon found Blue on Tumblr in response to a post-Blue made, Simon said, "I guess it was about loneliness. And it's funny because I don't really think of myself as lonely. But there was something so familiar about the way Blue de...

    With society growing increasingly more diverse racially and sexually, more than ever before there is a need for diverse representation in literature. People need to read about characters who look, feel, act, and love in the same ways that they do. Becky Albertalli's novel,  Simon vs the Homosapien Agenda , is a perfect example of diverse representation in literature. Throughout the novel, Simon continuously questions the concept of sexuality and racial norms.        As Simon struggles with opening up about his sexuality with those closest to him he is constantly calling into question the concept of societal norms defaulting at straight. For example, Simon states  “As a side note, don’t you think everyone should have to come out? Why is straight the default? Everyone should have to declare one way or another, and it should be this big awkward thing whether you’re straight, gay, bi, or whatever. I’m just saying” (Albertalli, 146). Simon bri...

  Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli is a coming of age story about a sixteen year old gay boy. The story follows Simon as he discovers who he is and how to inform the rest of the world of who Simon is. One major theme throughout the whole book is the idea of self identity. In the beginning, Simon acts one way with his parents, a different way with his friends and theater group, and a third way with his online “friend”, Blue. He is caught between all these groups of people and their expectations of what they want him to be. Simon only feels that he can be his true self when he is talking with Blue. When he is afraid that he’ll lose Blue because of how Simon’s sexuality got exposed, he tells Blue, “you’re kind of my best friend in a lot of ways, and I really want to keep you” (209). Simon feels like without Blue, he will lose part of his identity. Part of his identity seemed to Simon to come from Blue, he said “I didn’t really think of myself as interesting until...

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda  by Becky Albertalli is a typical coming of age story, except the main character Simon is gay. Albertalli places Simon in a sea full of support and resources, but Simon is still uncomfortable to be who he truly is. This is intentional, so readers are aware of the struggles of those who identify as LGBTQ+. Our society has forced people to consistently "come out" to those around them instead of accepting all sexual orientations and preferences.  Simon has two sisters, three best friends, and two supportive parents. Simon's mom is even a child psychologist. Everything about Simon's environment suggests to readers, that Simon will have no problem "coming out". As the book goes on, we see this is NOT the case. Once becoming blackmailed by Martin, Simon begins to think about who he truly is. "It's a weirdly subtle conversation. I almost don't notice I'm being blackmailed" (Albertalli 1). Simon has to not only...

  Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli details the captivating story of Simon, a typical teenage boy with a secret budding online relationship. This coming of age novel not only provides us with insight of the difficulties of "coming out" as an LGBTQIA+ teenager, but it also provides us with an authentic account of what it means to be LGBTQIA+ in a typical high school setting.  Simon's account throughout the novel is no different than that of a typical teenager. He has no qualities that stand out. He is not eccentric or loud, or anything else that would make him different from the others at his school. His only difference is that he is gay. So why do have to teach this novel as a "gay novel"? The answer is, we don't! Yes, it is important to discuss the different pressures that the LGBTQIA+ community have when "coming out" to their friends and family; however, we should not make this novel seem like it is so different than any other...

   In the works of Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, the challenges and struggles that the LGBTQ+ community experience, especially during adolescence is beautifully highlighted through the narrative of Simon.  “But I'm tired of coming out. All I ever do is come out. I try not to change, but I keep changing, in all these tiny ways. And every freaking time, I have to reintroduce myself to the universe all over again" (Albertalli, 56).     I have a personal connection with this reading selection. Not many know, but I am proudly apart of the LGBTQ+ community. I came to terms with my sexuality the summer before my freshman year of high school. Similar to Simon, I decided to keep my right of choice  to myself. Just like Simon, I had the supportive friends who wouldn't have looked at me a ny differently. I also had my mom and brother who didn't love me any less, if anything they loved me more because I could finally be happy and open about my...

Simon's favorite song is Waltz #2 by Elliott Smith. I'm posting a video from Youtube of it in case you haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. It's great. Anyway, in one of Blue's e-mails, he says that the song reminds him of Jacques (Simon). He writes, "It surprised me, because it's a really sad song, and that's not what I would expect coming from you. . .  It really does remind me of you somehow. It's not the lyrics or even the overall mood of the song. It's something intangible" (page 103). Having quoted Blue, I think we must consider that Blue does not really know Simon at this point. He only sees what Simon has put forth in his e-mails. The reader knows Simon better than Blue does, because we get to see Simon inside and outside of his e-mails. Because the book is in first person, we are inside Simon's head. For my blog entry today, I want to examine this song and discuss how I think it relates to Simon, and maybe figure out why ...

  Simon v. The Homo Sapiens Agenda  written by Becky Albertalli is a love story narrated by main character Simon Spier who spends the majority of the novel uncovering the mystery of his secret lover's identity. Simon communicates through emails with a person named Blue who is the young man Simon has an interest in. This was textbook teenage romance. The poetic nature of the back and forth emails, the bubbly mystery of discovering Blue's true identity, and the trials and tribulations of high school drama.  This novel has a classic, cheesy teen romance feel to it. Realistic enough to keep you engaged but unrealistic enough to make you feel a couple butterflies. In my opinion, that is the best thing about this book. Simon is a normal kid who does normal high school things; involved in school theater, finds his parents just annoying enough to love them, has a group of friends who are relevant enough to keep up with, and even a high school bully. There needs to be so many more...

  Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda is a coming of age story that reveals the struggles of young love, stepping out of one’s comfort zone, and the difficulties of being yourself in a world that does not have the same views as you. This story reminded me of all the other love stories that I have read and watched on TV; the only difference is that that the main character (Simon) is gay. Towards the end of the book I could not stop smiling, every page was so sweet and his love for Blue (aka Bram) was inspirational. A major theme in the book that I noticed is perpetual love; this is shown throughout the book between not only Simon and Bram but also through Simon’s family and friends. Despite the hardships that Simon is faced with, his feelings for his secret lover remain constant and his friends and family support him the entire time. The theme of love is shown from the beginning of the novel to the end with Simon’s friends and family. His friends show their love for him on his birth...

     When you look at the list of awards Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda won you might expect it to be a powerful, poignant, incredible story about a LGBTQIA+ teenage boy—and that is exactly what it is. But the amazing thing about Albertalli's book is that it doesn't try to be any of those things.     Simon vs.... is like any other contemporary Young Adult romance book. Its main character, Simon Spier, is a teenager in high school. He has close friends, parents he finds somewhat annoying at times, siblings who frustrate him, but he adores nonetheless. Simon also has a secret relationship with the mysterious Blue through email. The only thing that sets this book drastically apart from all the others that were published five years ago, is the is features a gay main character.     Representation for  LGBTQIA+ characters in YA books is something people have fought for for years now, and only now are we starting to see enough queer representation tha...

When push comes to shove, Simon vs. The Homosapien Agenda is just another lame high school romance pocked with moments of adolescent self-discovery. Even “the great conflict” of Martin’s blackmail is relatively underwhelming. Simon does encounter some bullying as a result but it’s relatively standard fair. Don’t get me wrong, his peers’ behavior is highly offensive, bigoted, and inappropriate but it just doesn’t seem to get enough of a reaction from Simon to really warrant classifying his outing as a disaster. In fact, Simon himself seems more enraged by the fact that his moment was taken away from him than the taunting he endures from his classmates. He says to Martin, “This was supposed to be - this is mine. I’m supposed to decide when and where and who knows and how I want to say it” (Albertalli 196). But as I reflected on Simon’s experiences, it occurred to me that the book’s (relatively) unremarkable nature was what made Simon vs. The Homosapien Agenda a genius piece of YA fic...

     I was in theatre almost the entirety of high school. In that program, you can see all kinds of people from all different backgrounds, financial statuses, ethnicities, and religions. No two people were alike. Because of this, a lot of people, along with myself, adopted the idea of being "color blind." I believed it to be the best way to approach seeing people as people instead of their race and, until the past couple years, believed that's what i needed to preach to others. I've since come to realize that that couldn't be further from how we need to view things and the BLM movement as well as Angie Thomas' The Hate You Give provides perfect examples why we can't simply be blind to race.     Purely based off of her skin tone and neighborhood, Starr automatically feels the need to code switch so she isn't seen as the "angry black girl" or "ghetto." She knows that prejudices and preconceived biases are already placed on her as soon...

The Hate You Give  by Angie Thomas is a story that highlights the story of a young Black adolescent named Starr. Starr handles death, gang violence, and racial inequities. To think this was enough, Starr must navigate these traumatic situations while code-switching. Angie Thomas does a great job of portraying how people of color, especially Black people, must code-switch to protect themselves. Many will code-switch while speaking to a Professor or during a job interview. People of color must code-switch to protect themselves from stereotypes and potential harassment.  Readers see Starr navigating two distinct personalities to protect herself in her society. Readers are introduced to Williamson Starr and Garden Heights Starr. Williamson Starr is the approachable kind, Black girl. Garden Heights Starr is the real her, the sneakerhead that feels comfortable using slang. "Williamson Starr holds her tongue when people piss her off so nobody will think she’s the “angry black girl.” ...

 I grew up in South Florida, Palm Beach County if we're being specific. I grew up in what I would call a melting pot and I was always surrounded by my African American and Latina friends on the weekends.  While I do believe it is important to see color and recognize the differences, I'm going, to be honest, and let it be known that my parents never taught me this.  I was raised to "see no color" and before actually taking time to educate myself on the Black Lives Matter Movement, I thought this would be a great way to raise my children too.  "You're so lucky you go to that white - people school" (Thomas 7) my friends would often say to me.  At this time I lived in a not so great neighborhood but my Uncle Tommy, an attorney, just so happened to live in a great school district.  We used his address for years so we could "get a better education" but I was just glad I didn't have to wear a clear backpack to school.  For the next 5 years, I woul...

    The novel, The Hate U Give , touches on racial issues that are all too pertinent in America today.  The Hate U Give  gives insight into stereotypes and how they reinforce outdated ideas that prevent us from achieving social equity. The novel provides some compelling and thought-provoking ways to combat stereotypes. The novel also points out how easy it is to unintentionally give in to stereotypes of races and cultures different from our own.       An example that captures unintentional belief in stereotypes in the novel is when Chris asks "Why do black people give their kids odd names?" (Thomas, 401). Chris, who is white, does not understand the validity and meaning behind names in a culture different than his due to the institutionalized stereotype that "black people have weird names." The novel further examines the stereotype around black names by calling to question the validity and truth surrounding the stereotype. Seven calls into questio...

     The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas is a story written out of grief and anger. It tells the narrative of racism and injustice. Thomas could have chosen to write a political article or started a petition. She could have led a social justice group or even ran for office. However, she chose to fight the injustice in this world by telling her story through the voice of an adolescent girl. Her choice to use a teenage girl impacts the text in several ways.        One way that using an adolescent effects the text is through the tone. The tragic mood of the book due to it’s theme and events is juxtaposed with a sarcastic and at times upbeat tone. Starr is constantly giving the reader social commentary on the events in Garden Heights and at Williamson. Thomas is able to lighten the mood with stereotypical teenage drama like dealing with Starr’s boyfriend, Chris. Right after Khalil is shot, Thomas uses Chris to lighten the mood by singing the theme song to S...

 "The Hate U Give Little Infants F---s Everybody... 'Khalil said it's about what society feeds us as youth and how it comes back and bites them later,' I say. 'I think it's more than youth though. I think it's about us, period.' 'Us who?' he asks. 'Black people, minorities, poor people. Everybody at the bottom in society.' 'The oppressed,' says Daddy" (Thomas, 168).  Not only does the novel The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas address the issues of social injustice, but it also shows the hard truth of what minorities are faced with. The issues faced in the novel are too close for comfort when we compare them with what is happening in today's society. As educators of all types of youth, this book describes what our students face everyday. So many students are like Starr in the sense that they have seen death with no justice. They have heard the same excuses as to why their family members were shot and killed, and they have had...

     Code switching refers to the act of changing the way one presents themselves in a particular environment or different surroundings. In the works of Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give,  Starr Carter and her family demonstrates code switching by altering their tone of voice, vocabulary and attire depending on who's conversing and/or where they are located at the time. They are always considering their surroundings, whether it's around their residents off Garden Heights, white people or even law enforcement. Starr expresses, "my voice is changing already. It always happens around "other" people, whether I'm at Williamson or not. I don't talk like me or sound like me. I choose every word carefully and make sure I pronounce them well. I can never, ever let anyone think I'm ghetto." (Thomas, 95)      Starr feels as if she needs to maintain "two selves" in order to protect herself from the typical stereotypes and frustrations that are ine...

    "What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be? Brave doesn't mean you're not scared. It means you go on even though you're scared." (Thomas 252)     Starr must either raise her voice to speak against injustice or stay silent and feel the oppression. In  The Hate U Give  the primary theme develops as Starr learns how to use her voice to advocate for justice and peace. Every voice is powerful, the challenge is just getting the courage to use it.     " 'That's why people are speaking out, huh? Because it won't change if we don't say something.' 'Exactly. We can't be silent.' 'So I can't be silent.' " (Thomas 171) It is important to know that no matter your colo r, age, height, or figure  you have a voice . If  needs and/or basic civil rights  are  not being met,  then  everyone  should have som...

     The Hate U Give is a powerful book that describes how life is like living in a low-income neighborhood versus living or going to school in a middle/upper class area. The main character, Starr Carter, constantly struggles with her identity throughout the novel by being torn between being herself “Garden Heights Starr” and being “Williamson Starr.” Starr attends Williamson high school, which is primarily a white school; at school she code switches so that her friends, peers, and boyfriend do not see who she really is, with fear that she will be called “ghetto”. “Williamson Starr doesn’t use slang-if a rapper would say it, she doesn’t say it, even if her white friends do. Slang makes them cool. Slang makes her “hood.” … Basically, Williamson Starr doesn’t give anyone a reason to call her ghetto.” (Thomas 71). This quote shows Starr’s fear of being judged by those around her, and this is why she sees fit to code switch around these people, to eliminate the fear of them ...

So, a little backstory before I dive into this entry: When I was growing up, I loved Drew Barrymore, and Ever After was one of my favorite films starring her. Drew Barrymore's character, Danielle De Barbarac, loved books, and the last book her father gave her before he died was Utopia by Thomas More. She quotes Utopia  in the movie and lives by More's ideals. She uses the book as a defense against selling servants, quoting More: "For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them?" ( https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2130/2130-h/2130-h.htm ) The book was published in 1516, so it is old, to say the least. What I find interesting is the idea of an "appearance of justice" More wrote about back then is remarkably similar to the "just...