Little Brother Book Analysis

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In the book Little Brother, written by Cory Doctorow, four teenagers Marcus, Darryl, Vanessa, more commonly known as Van, and Jose, live in San Francisco, California. These four students work to defend themselves against what they see as attacks by the government and schools on the Bill of Rights after a terrorist attack on the Oakland Bay Bridge in San Francisco, California. Little Brother portrays how surveillance has increased in San Francisco due to attacks and other illegal activities. As the story unfolds, surveillance increases in not only in San Francisco, but also throughout the entire world. Although Little Brother was published almost ten years ago, it includes 2007 surveillance technology, current day technology as well as possibilities of the future. This book shows how surveillance has increased throughout time and the many ways people devise to get around it. …show more content…

“I moved down the corridor lightly and sprightly, keeping my gait even and measured for the gait-recognition cameras” (pg. 30, Doctorow), says Marcus as he is monitored on his walk from the principal’s office. Marcus Yallow attends Cesar Chavez High located in the Mission district of San Francisco. They began using high-tech security measures even before the attack on the Oakland Bay Bridge. The school had used other security measures as well, “Every one of them has an arphid - Radio Frequency ID Tag - glued into its binding” (38, Doctorow). The school said that these arphids helped the school track books that were checked out by students AND they also allowed teachers to know where you were at all times. This security measure is similar to the one many students today have in their phone to help find the phones if misplaced. Also, another use for today’s “arphids” is the common implantation of these tracking devices into pets, most commonly dogs or cats, that may run

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