Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

by

Becky Albertalli

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda makes teaching easy.

Blue / Bram Character Analysis

Simon and Blue begin emailing right before their junior year of high school starts after Blue posts on the school Tumblr, creeksecrets, about the anxiety he feels about being gay. Through their emails, Simon learns that Blue closely guards the fact that he's gay and desperately doesn't want Simon to figure out who he is in real life. Simon also perceives Blue as somewhat flighty, as he believes that were Blue to find out about Martin's blackmail, he'd stop emailing altogether. As a kid, Blue always dressed up as a superhero for Halloween and he thinks of being gay as being his superhero identity. He starts signing off with "love" on emails before Simon and is flirty in a way that surprises Simon. As time goes on, Simon learns that Blue's dad is Jewish, while Blue's mom is Christian; though Blue worries about his parents' reactions to his sexuality, both of them are supportive when he does choose to come out. After a fight about whether or not Simon and Blue should exchange phone numbers and meet in real life, Blue leaves Simon an Elliott Smith tee shirt in his locker with his phone number hidden inside; Simon doesn't find it until much later. Though Simon makes several incorrect guesses as to who Blue is, he eventually discovers that Blue is Bram, one of Nick's friends. He's also black, which is one of the primary reasons why Simon didn't suspect Bram of being Blue. In real life Bram is extremely shy, quiet, and very smart. He chooses to come out to everyone after Simon figures out that he’s Blue, and the two start dating. Though they are intimate in private (and dark public spaces), they still try to keep a distance in public as they don't feel entirely safe being out and gay in small-town Georgia.

Blue / Bram Quotes in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

The Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda quotes below are all either spoken by Blue / Bram or refer to Blue / Bram. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Agency and Control Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2  Quotes

“Remember the way people would look at you blankly and say, ‘Um, okaaay,’ after you finished talking? Everyone just had to make it so clear that, whatever you were thinking or feeling, you were totally alone. The worst part, of course, was that I did the same thing to other people.”

Related Characters: Blue / Bram (speaker), Simon Spier
Page Number: 14
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

If Blue were a real junior at Creekwood with a locker and a GPA and a Facebook profile, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be telling him anything. I mean, he is a real junior at Creekwood. I know that. But in a way, he lives in my laptop.

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram
Page Number: 17
Explanation and Analysis:

Like the way you can memorize someone's gestures but never know their thoughts. And the feeling that people are like houses with vast rooms and tiny windows.

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram
Page Number: 18
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

“I completely see the appeal of being someone else for the evening (or in general). Actually, I was a bit of a one-trick pony myself when I was little. I was always a superhero. I guess I liked to imagine myself having this complicated secret identity. Maybe I still do. Maybe that's the whole point of these emails.”

Related Characters: Blue / Bram (speaker), Simon Spier
Related Symbols: Holidays, Superheroes
Page Number: 36
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

I mean, how does a person look when his walls are coming down?

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram, Cal Price
Page Number: 131
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

“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.”

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis:

“It is definitely annoying that straight (and white, for that matter) is the default, and that the only people who have to think about their identity are the ones who don't fit that mold.”

Related Characters: Blue / Bram (speaker), Simon Spier, Martin Addison
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes

The problem is, I'm beginning to realize I hardly know anything about anyone. I mean I generally know who's a virgin. But I don't have a clue whether most people's parents are divorced, or what their parents do for a living […] And these are my best friends. I've always thought of myself as nosy, but I guess I'm just nosy about stupid stuff.

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram, Abby Suso, Leah, Nick
Page Number: 211
Explanation and Analysis:

“I feel stupid for not knowing that,” I say.

“Why would you feel stupid? I guess I never mentioned it.”

“But I never asked.”

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Abby Suso (speaker), Blue / Bram
Page Number: 215
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 32 Quotes

I guess I assumed that Blue would be white. Which kind of makes me want to smack myself. White shouldn't be the default any more than straight should be the default. There shouldn't even be a default.

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram, Cal Price
Page Number: 261
Explanation and Analysis:
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Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda PDF

Blue / Bram Quotes in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

The Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda quotes below are all either spoken by Blue / Bram or refer to Blue / Bram. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Agency and Control Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2  Quotes

“Remember the way people would look at you blankly and say, ‘Um, okaaay,’ after you finished talking? Everyone just had to make it so clear that, whatever you were thinking or feeling, you were totally alone. The worst part, of course, was that I did the same thing to other people.”

Related Characters: Blue / Bram (speaker), Simon Spier
Page Number: 14
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

If Blue were a real junior at Creekwood with a locker and a GPA and a Facebook profile, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be telling him anything. I mean, he is a real junior at Creekwood. I know that. But in a way, he lives in my laptop.

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram
Page Number: 17
Explanation and Analysis:

Like the way you can memorize someone's gestures but never know their thoughts. And the feeling that people are like houses with vast rooms and tiny windows.

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram
Page Number: 18
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

“I completely see the appeal of being someone else for the evening (or in general). Actually, I was a bit of a one-trick pony myself when I was little. I was always a superhero. I guess I liked to imagine myself having this complicated secret identity. Maybe I still do. Maybe that's the whole point of these emails.”

Related Characters: Blue / Bram (speaker), Simon Spier
Related Symbols: Holidays, Superheroes
Page Number: 36
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

I mean, how does a person look when his walls are coming down?

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram, Cal Price
Page Number: 131
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

“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.”

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis:

“It is definitely annoying that straight (and white, for that matter) is the default, and that the only people who have to think about their identity are the ones who don't fit that mold.”

Related Characters: Blue / Bram (speaker), Simon Spier, Martin Addison
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes

The problem is, I'm beginning to realize I hardly know anything about anyone. I mean I generally know who's a virgin. But I don't have a clue whether most people's parents are divorced, or what their parents do for a living […] And these are my best friends. I've always thought of myself as nosy, but I guess I'm just nosy about stupid stuff.

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram, Abby Suso, Leah, Nick
Page Number: 211
Explanation and Analysis:

“I feel stupid for not knowing that,” I say.

“Why would you feel stupid? I guess I never mentioned it.”

“But I never asked.”

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Abby Suso (speaker), Blue / Bram
Page Number: 215
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 32 Quotes

I guess I assumed that Blue would be white. Which kind of makes me want to smack myself. White shouldn't be the default any more than straight should be the default. There shouldn't even be a default.

Related Characters: Simon Spier (speaker), Blue / Bram, Cal Price
Page Number: 261
Explanation and Analysis: