What do you think the world will be like in the future? Well, "Little brother" is Cory Doctorow's interpretation of what the future of the United States of America will be in a few years.
Marcus Yallow lives in San Francisco, in the United States and is a 17-year -old computer genius and hacker. His entire life changes when he skips school and finds himself caught in the middle of a terrorist attack. The Government's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) captures Marcus and his friends, thinking they are the terrorists responsible for the attack. He becomes imprisoned and is ruthlessly questioned by the DHS, before they finally release him. The catch is, he is forced to never reveal what he endured in the prison.
When he makes it back home, he finds out that his city had changed. The DHS had infiltrated the town and was controlling and tracking EVERYONE! The people of the city were being interrogated, and treated as terrorists. The scary part is, that most People were so afraid of the terrorists they supported DHS's abolition of the Bill of Rights.
Marcus's friend Darryl never got released from prison, unlike his other friends. To get his friend and his country back, Marcus creates a rebellion group called the X-net, which is a network using the Xbox. Soon Marcus's online name M1k3y (M-1-K-3-Y) and the commotion his group creates become famous. But when the rebellions he led, led his followers to danger, he decides to make his story go public. He manages to reveal the DHS's true colours to the world, but he gets recaptured and imprisoned….
And that is when the CLIMAX starts….
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I believe that this is the climax of the book because it is the most intense part of the book. It isn’t an action climax, but m...
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...you have to take for yourself.” This book is an eye opener to the powers the government has over the rest of the country and the importance of protecting our freedom.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading books that have real life situations. Little brother is has a good message and relates to something that will probably occur sometime in your life. It gives a good grasp of now-a-days politics without having to read the newspaper. There is a lot of confusing political and technological- hacker aspects that you have to understand though and it is very far from an action-packed book. If you like action-filled, suspenseful, fast-paced books, then this is totally not the book for you. But if you enjoy politics, technology or hacking, I recommend for you to go ask Mr. Machida if you could borrow this book today.
Works Cited
"Little Brother" Cory Docotrow
Cole, D., & Dempsey, J. X. (2006). Terrorism and the constitution: sacrificing civil liberties in the name of national security. New York: New Press.
In Eric Foner’s book, The Story of American Freedom, he writes a historical monograph about how liberty came to be. In the book, his argument does not focus on one fixed definition of freedom like others are tempted to do. Unlike others, Foner describes liberty as an ever changing entity; its definition is fluid and does not change in a linear progress. While others portray liberty as a pre-determined concept and gradually getting better, Foner argues the very history of liberty is constantly reshaping the definition of liberty, itself. Essentially, the multiple and conflicting views on liberty has always been a “terrain of conflict” and has changed in time (Foner xv).
Lowi, Theodore, Benjamin Ginsburg. American Government: Freedom and Power. W.W. Norton & Company, New York: 1998.
Our nation seems as if it is in a constant battle between freedom and safety. Freedom and security are two integral parts that keep our nation running smoothly, yet they are often seen conflicting with one another. “Tragedies such as Pearl Harbor, 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombings may invoke feelings of patriotism and a call for unity, but the nation also becomes divided, and vulnerable populations become targets,” (Wootton 1). “After each attack a different group or population would become targets. “The attack on Pearl Harbor notoriously lead to Japanese Americans being imprisoned in internment camps, the attacks on 9/11 sparked hate crimes against those who appeared to be Muslim or Middle Eastern,” (Wootton 1). Often times people wind up taking sides, whether it be for personal freedoms or for national security, and as a nation trying to recover from these disasters we should be leaning on each other for support. Due to these past events the government has launched a series of antiterrorist measures – from ethnic profiling to going through your personal e-mail (Begley 1). Although there are times when personal freedoms are sacrificed for the safety of others, under certain circumstances the government could be doing more harm than good.
Marcus continuously fought to take down the Department of Homeland Security. Throughout the novel, Marcus always seemed to have had a plan in place whenever the Department of Homeland Security and its supports were on to him. For example, one act of disobedience was refusing to unlock his phone while in interrogation. Because of this, Marcus was punished and hold in the cell. As the story progressed, more acts of disobedience were displayed. On page 191, we saw Marcus and others participating in what was described as an illegal party at a park. Police soon shut down the function and repeated said, “THIS IS AN ILLEGAL GATHERING. DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY,” (Orwell, pg194). The next day, newspapers made the party “sound like a drunken, druggy orgy off kids who’d attacked the cops,” (Orwell, pg. 199). The impact of the Department of Homeland Security continued to press down on Marcus when his teacher, who was opened to listening to her student’s opinion, was fired and replaced with someone that obeyed the new rules and regulations. The Xnet, a program that Marcus used to speak in private with others soon was invaded by disguised Homeland Security. Marcus described this new way of life after the bombing unconstitutional. Though guards were arrested, Marcus was not freed. Marcus still had to go to trial. The Homeland Security may have been defeated, but the impact and toll it took on Marcus and those very close
Foner, Eric. "Chapter 9." Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Brief Third ed. Vol. One. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. N. pag. Print.
This book was written in the 1940’s as a warning to society against the danger of allowing a totalitarianism society and even though it is fictional in nature, many of the dangers warned against are still real today. Throughout the world, many live with extreme governmental interference in their daily lives, unable to freely speak their mind without fear of reprisal. Governments use modern technology to invade the privacy of their citizens. There were many aspects to the book that left this reader feeling just a little bit uneasy.
Since the beginning of time man has tried to build vast empires to control the globe. Manifest Destiny has been sown into our human nature creating in us the desire to conquer. In the United States, we are accustomed to a safe democratic government where everyone has a voice and freedoms, but what if it all changed? What would it even look like for America to be stripped of all our freedoms, rights, and liberties? We think this is crazy and could never happen, but George Orwell illustrates, throughout his novel 1984, the possible dangers of complete government control. Even though this exaggerated society seems farfetched, many of his fictional governmental qualities are starting to line up with our government today.
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty. Third Edition. 2. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. Print
Landy, Marc and Sidney M. Milkis. American Government: Balancing Democracy and Rights. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
The novel Little Brother by Cory Doctorow is about one teens’ journey to show and tell the truths about the harsh things the Department of Homeland Security, commonly referred to as the DHS, is doing and bring justice. Marcus, the main character, and his three friends, Jolu, Darryl and Van, are out playing their favorite video game, “Harajuku Fun Madness”, but when a bridge is bombed, the DHS finds the three teens on the middle of the road where they take them in for questioning and harsh punishment. The interrogator, Carrie Johnstone, believes Marcus is the terrorist in charge of bombing the bridge. Marcus tells her “We play a game together, it’s called Harajuku Fun Madness. I’m the team captain. We’re not terrorist we’re high school students”. (Cory Doctorow 61). Johnstone does not believe Marcus, creating a war between tech savvy teens and the DHS. Little Brother has many ties to the once in a lifetime and developing story of Edward Snowden. “I do not want to live in a society that does these sort of things.” (Edward Snowden, Whistle Blower). Edward Snowden used to work for the National Security Agency, or the NSA, for the United States of America for the past four years. Snowden leaked classified information to the newspaper company, The Guardian, which is arguably the most significant leak in American history. Despite releasing serious information and allegations against the United States of America, Snowden has no intentions of hiding, nor does he seem worried about the consequences that may follow. When Snowden brought the information to The Guardian, he let the newspaper use his name. When Snowden was asked why he would release his name, knowing the punishment and scrutiny that wou...
Boykoff, J. (2006). Review of How Patriotic is the Patriot Act? Freedom Versus Security in the Age of Terrorism, by Amitai Etzioni. The Journal of Politics, 68(2), 457-487.
Napolitano, Andrew P.. It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong: the case for personal freedom. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011. Print.
Lewis, Anthony. Freedom for the Thought That We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment. New York: Basic Books, 2007. Print.