Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
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 I was interesting to Blue” (19). Blue made Simon see himself in a different light and Simon didn’t want to lose that part of himself that he had just found.
It is important that adolescents get the chance to discover who they are and what it is that they want. Through Simon we find that students may act one way on the outside but could be going through completely different struggles on the inside and we, as teachers, need to help them navigate through this difficult process. It is important that we value every student and help each of them find their own voice inside and outside of the classroom. Students need support and guidance to help them discover who they are and feel comfortable in their own skin. Every student should feel valued and wanted. We can also learn from Simon that students can draw parts of their identities from other people. So, we need to be good examples for our students and teach them the importance of standing up for what is right. We need to invest in our students, advocate for them, and inspire them to be their true selves.
Candance, I really like your point about how Simon feels that if he loses Blue, then he will lose apart of his own identity. I think that is really interesting and something that I had not thought of before. I think that Simon and Blue's relationship is one that makes them both feel safe and secure because they share the same secrets. I think that their budding relationship gives them both the strength to be who they are and that is what makes them rely so heavily upon on another, and why Simon feels like, as you said, Blue is a part of his own identity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this assessment of Simon’s relationship with Blue. Blue/Bram clearly acts as a port in a storm of teenage self-discovery. Maybe “anchor” or “life boat” would be more accurate nautical metaphors but the sentiment is the same - Simon clings to Blue as a way to survive (emotionally). Their infatuation with one another clearly exceeds the atypical shoulder to cry on given their sexual orientation and their compulsion to keep that orientation a secret. One could simply read the text as a love story in which two boys bonded, or fell in love, through shared experience.
ReplyDeleteBut, personally, I am skeptical about how healthy representing romance in this almost obsessive fashion is for the average teenage reader. The whole entanglement is extremely Hollywood. Simon even says, “And it’s almost too perfect. Almost too Disney. This can’t actually be me” and I agree with him (Albertalli 276). Simon’s entire life is disrupted by, and revolves around, communicating with or thinking about Blue. He makes Abby drive him home to get the shirt Blue gifted him; he’s the most excited about one of the school performances because “Blue will be out there somewhere”; when the pick up guys taunt him “All [he] can think about is Blue,” and the list goes on (Albertalli 217, 204). “I’ll probably never have a boyfriend. I’m too busy trying not to be in love with someone who isn’t real” (Albertalli 213).
I understand this type of obsessive “love” is typical of the teenage experience. I also understand that showcasing Simon’s love affair in this manner helps to normalize homosexual relationships for hetero teens by highlighting the emotional similarities in gay and straight relationships. But that doesn’t mean Albertalli’s characters represent what a healthy emotional relationship looks like. Simon’s preoccupation with Blue propels the entire story, which means that the very structure of the novel itself tries to sell this notion of all-consuming infatuation as the status-quo.
While this is more an exercise in playing devil’s advocate than an expression of actual concern, I do think this is a perspective that (as future educators of adolescents) we should bear in mind. Simon and Blue’s relationship is draped in a very appealing romantic mystique that hides and distracts from the fact that the only commonality on which their relationship is based is their sexual orientation.
Works Cited
Albertalli, Becky. "Simon vs. The Homosapien Agenda." HaperCollins Publishers, 2015.
Candace, I like that you mentioned the concept of code-switching that Simon uses as a technique to protect his true identity. I like code-switching happens very often, if not constantly, with students that might be openly or secretly apart of the LGBTQ+ community. I can also relate to that experience. I think this is also another way this book relates to The Hate U Give. Both, Starr and Simon practice code switching in order to protect himself. Great post!
ReplyDeleteCandace, you wrote about and pointed out some great things. While sometimes it is easier for some than others, I agree with you about the importance of adolescents getting the chance to discover who they really are. Without doing so, we may get lost. I love everything you wrote about what we can do as teachers to help our students and I want to add that every teacher should think this way.
ReplyDelete