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Living in a [|communist] dictator controlled country like North Korea is very similar to the setting of //Little Brother// by Cory Doctorow and [|1984] by George Orwell. Both novels are based upon a future society totally controlled and watched by the government 24/7. //Little Brother// follows a character named Marcus and a few of his close friends. He is a tech saavy high school student who tries to fight against the newly stepped up security which becomes out of hand. He is kidnapped by his own government and even jailed, which brings him to the conclusion, he must stop this drastic turn for the worse. //1984// shows the story of an average middle aged guy who finally realizes the twisted world he lives in and decides to fight back. He goes through sexual relations, hardships, and even torture but in the end he fails to succeed in rebelling against the government. //Little Brother// was written nearly 60 years later than //1984//, but they share these similar ideas; the great power a government can generate, the outcome of a rebellion, and effects of a super controlling government.

These books demonstrate how scary the government's power can be. In //Little Brother//, the reader quickly learns how far the government will take things to get it their way. As soon as the bomb was exploded on the bridge, there were government vans zooming around looking for suspicious people and just grabbing people and putting them in the vans.They practically kidnap Marcus and keep him for days. While with the DHS and under their supervision, he is tortured and scared out of his mind. They play tricks with his mind and get in his head so bad he ends up bawling. He was held as a prisoner by the government that used to protect him and watch over him. When a 18 year old by pisses his pants and cries in front of a group of adults, you know something is way out of hand. Sure people protest against the brutality, but does the government ever pay or get in trouble? //1984// has an extremely similar situation with Winston. He fought and protested against the wrongdoing and way of life the government forced upon citizens. He is kidnapped just like Marcus except things are a little more violent and ruthless. He was brought into room 101. That room exploits the victims deepest fears and creates a simulation of that. It played with his mind and he was messed with so much that he broke down. The figure that represents the government is Big Brother who people look up to and they love. And it was the same thing that Winston was fighting. But by the end of all of the torture Winston believes and agrees with whatever the government insists on. What is learned here is that the government has almost unlimited power whenever they need and it is nearly impossible to overcome it.

//1984// teaches the reader that the outcome of a rebellion against the government will end the same way every time. The citizens will end up on the side they once fought. Little Brother teaches of hope and that the happy ending everyone dreams of is possible. This creates conflict and generates many, many questions. Which idea and philosophy is real and possible? There are the answers the reader is looking for which would be a straight on answer all answer. For //1984//, the answer would be that a revolt of that magnitude is ridiculous and with the extremely few people revolting, it is simply impossible. When a world is in that state, there is no stopping things and fate will decide what happens in the future. The answer readers of //Little Brother// are looking for is that The truth and knowledge that should be gained from this book is that these are simply ideas. //1984// teaches that someone tries so hard for something and may not get it, but that idea and story is spread to many minds. It changes peoples point of view and there is a domino effect from there. Little Brother teaches of hope and the use of technology. The happy ending provides people with a comfort and may change their perspective on things. A simple change of attitude can greatly impact the outcome of a situation. Say there are two baseball players that are equal in talent trying out for a team. One has the worst swing out there but is also the most confident, he hits the ball because of that. The other has the best swing out of all the kids but thinks he is the worst player out there. Who do you think the coach is going to pick? The confident one. In the end, it doesn't matter the outcome of the rebellion, what matters is the ideas generated whether they are understood.

In both //1984// and //Little Brother//, the effects of a super controlling government are great and life changing. People lose their personalities and every day they die a little more [metaphorically speaking]. As the generations become weaker and think less and less, the government gains more and more power. In their eyes, they are running a [|"Utopia"] but in the eyes of someone looking down on the society, they see a pointless way of life and a city of robots. They ask themselves what is the point of even living in this society? What does the future hold for today? //Little Brother//, Los Angeles was pretty much just how it is right now with the exception of a few things. Today, there is less security and the technology is not quite as advanced. But we are working our way towards that way of life. Airports now have full body scans that sends a picture of you naked in black and white to a screen watched by security. [|Security]of that severity is being developed and will soon be all over America. This kind of [|technology] is just one step back from that of LIttle Brother or //1984//. All there needs is for the government to use the power they have in store. Seeing the government today, it may be a little wacky but in it lies smart, good minds that are capable of making the right decisions. There are teachers at High Schools that know tons about these topics and try to teach as much as they can about it to students. At Arapahoe High School, Mr. Porter taught students of recent terrorist attacks and how they connect to //Little Brother//. He also discussed security and how the government can get carried away with trying to beat the "bad guys". The "bad guys" are know and always have been one step ahead and the government thinks they are protecting our generation, which brings up the controversy of safety vs. [|rights]. This argument or choice is split just about 50 50 in America and it is one of the most discussed topics of our generation. The ones who would rather have their rights say that the safety is not a safety at all but a false sense of security. That idea would play a large part in whether what happened in the books could happen today. If America chooses rights over security, the government would stay right where it is right now until decided otherwise. The tricky part is, people will never make a choice for which one they want and the controversy will continue for ages. Teens in this generation are the ones that would have to deal with the consequences of something like what happens in Little Brother. They are so informed and study and discuss this that they will know what to do when/if the time comes.

Even when //Little Brother// was written almost 60 years later than //1984// both include the similar ideas; the power a government can obtain and generate, the outcome of a rebellion, and the effects of a super controlling government. The books are fiction but provide extremely important points which could even help our society protect itself if something like in Little Brother ever does happen. Some believe that the government goes too far with the power the posses and abuse it. I agree but what can we do to stop it? With the power the government could have, they could simply throw us in jail. The outcome will always be the same if the government uses the great power available for bad reasons and against the citizens. America will be brainwashed and turn into slaves of the government and punished for even thinking against it. Many questions still remain unanswered. Could this happen today, tomorrow, next week? It's posssible, and not too far from plausible.

Works Cited

Doctorow, Cory. //Little Brother//. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2008.

Orwell, George. //1984//. New York: New American Library, 1950.

Wikipedia. //Communism in Korea.// 17 Feb 2010. 

Youtube. //1984 George Orwell Movie Trailer (1984).// 17 Feb 2010. 

Wikipedia. //Utopia.// 17 Feb 2010. 

Youtube. //Yemen ramps up airport security.// 17 Feb 2010. 

Youtube. //David Merrill: Siftables, the toy blocks that think.// 17 Feb 2010. 

Wikipedia. //Rights//. 17 Feb 2010. 