Marcus Yallow As A Role Model In Little Brother By Cory Doctorow

In Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Marcus Yallow finds himself in a difficult situation when he realizes he has become a leader of the dissatisfied people of San Francisco. He tried to deny that he was the leader of anything, but, whether he liked it or not, he was respected due to his courage, high moral, ingenuity, and his ability to undermine government operations in his city. Citizens whom Marcus had never met, but who believed in what he was fighting for, listened to what he had to say and did what he asked. Although Marcus may not have been aware of it at first, he was a role model and an influential individual in the movement to save the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Promptly after he was released from his prison on Treasure

He also looked out for the people who worked with him, posting on his blog whenever he received new information concerning the safety of his followers. After hundreds of unarmed citizens were gassed in Dolores park, he made a website telling the true story and included several pictures to prove it, and was then informed that every picture had a “unique ‘noise signature’ that can be used to later connect a picture with a camera”(Doctorow 204). After using the tool himself, he showed other how to remove this “noise signature” and saved hundreds of people from punishment. He also posted to his blog describing undercover cops on the streets and vans that traveled around the city using wifi finders to locate houses containing “Xnet nodes.” Nobody wants an idiot for a leader, and Marcus continued to show that he was being cautious and was paying attention to the events around him. He also knew when to stop before things went downhill, and eventually posted a message informing people of his personal plan to stop jamming, stating “it’s because I’m smart enough to know that I’m better free than in prison”(Doctorow 244). He was smart enough to counter the DHS and bring the city to a stand still, and also smart enough to know when to back off, making him a role model for those who wanted to make a

People do not fight battles they believe they can not win. Marcus knew this and continually tried to keep the masses from giving up by saying inspirational things such as “We are smarter than them. Let’s be smart. Let’s figure out how to jam them, no matter how many goons they put in the streets of our city” (Doctorow 244). At the end of Little Brother, even though Marcus was taken back to Treasure Island where he knew he would be tortured, he simply laughed as they threw him on the floor. He knew he had beaten and embarrassed them. He was also committed to his cause, walking around the city to distribute hundreds of ParanoidXbox discs, participating in the jamming instead of letting others take all the risk, and staying up late reading emails and advising the people who fought for him. He did all of this even after he had been to Treasure Island, which made even more people admire and respect