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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Agency and Control
Identity and Assumptions
Relationships and Empathy
Family, Change, and Growing Up
Summary
Analysis
At four in the morning on the day after Simon's birthday, he emails Blue and apologizes for the sugary, exhausted mess that his email will surely be. He laments that he'll be a zombie for his French quiz and brings up a reality show where people dated in the dark. He suggests that they could date like that and it wouldn't ruin anything. When Blue replies later, he wishes Simon good luck on his quiz and says he doesn't know much about reality TV at all. He does want to know how they'll keep from recognizing each other's voices. When Simon emails back, he's aghast that Blue doesn't watch reality TV. He shares that reality shows are required viewing at his house and suggests that, in their situation, they could use voice warping software or just do things that don't require talking.
It's worth noting that as anxiety-inducing as it surely is to write these sexually charged emails, it's still relatively safe for both Simon and Blue to experiment with voicing their feelings and to admit that they're sexually attracted to each other due to the anonymity of email. Their online anonymity gives them the freedom to experiment and be who they think they'd like to be, with none of the consequences that can come with these sorts of comments falling flat in real life. Because of this, they're able to get to better know each other exactly because they don't actually know each other in real life.
Themes
