Essay Questions

Why is Martin's betrayal of Simon so significant?

Martin's betrayal is significant because it takes away Simon's agency in deciding to come out. Coming out can be scary, especially in a potentially judgmental environment like high school, and being able to decide when to do that would allow Simon to feel comfortable in his sexuality, maybe come out gradually to a small number of people and increase that as he felt more comfortable, and ultimately make these big decisions on his own terms. Instead, Martin outs him, and that means that Simon gets his sexuality exposed before he would feel comfortable doing that. It makes his coming out experience about somebody else instead of about him.

Why might Simon feel more comfortable talking to Abby about his sexuality than his friends that he's had for longer?

Simon feels comfortable talking to Abby because since she's a new friend, she has less of a solidified idea of who he is and might be less shaken by any changes to that idea. Because of that, Simon also might feel that she's a little removed from his main friend group, meaning that he can come out to her without possibly changing any dynamics of the main friend group (or telling one of his other friends and have them tell each other). This allows him to feel comfortable coming out to someone with less of a vested interest in their vision of him.

How does Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda exemplify the experiences of teenagers?

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda reflects the experiences that many teenagers have during high school, all of them ultimately circling around ideas of identity and relationships. The novel follows Simon figuring out his sexuality, feeling comfortable with it, and then coming out to his friends, family and school community. This experience is one that many queer teenagers have as they figure out who they are and embrace it. Furthermore, the novel also follows Simon's relationships with his family and friends, from his friend group shifting as Abby joins it to tensions rising as Leah feels replaced. He also figures out his relationship with his family, because like most teenagers he feels distant from his family in spite of his good relationship with them, so he is figuring out how to balance being distant from his family to establish his own identity, but also staying close with them.