"A Man who does not think for himself does not think at all." This quote from Oscar Wilde, an Irishwriter and poet from the 19th century, accurately describes the mentality the main characters in George Orwell’s 1984 and Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother have about their oppressive governments. In 1984 the main character, Winston, lives in a communist society that controls the actions and thoughts of everyone. The citizens are not allowed to think, say, or do anything that defies their leader, Big Brother. Winston remembers a time when the government wasn't so oppressive. He is determined to take down the party and restore his rights to what they were before the party. He joins a group called The Brotherhood in hopes that his efforts will restore the rights he once knew as a young boy. In Little Brother a terrorist attack sends the city of San Francisco into a state of panic. The Department of Homeland Security, or the DHS, takes away the rights of people living in the city. Marcus and his friends were detained for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. After being torured for days, he and all but one of his friends are released. He is angry about what happened to him and is determined to get his friend back. Marcus is out to try and destroy the DHS for good. These books really make a reader sit back and realize the luxuries they have as an American. Both books present great ideas and show readers what could potentially happen if, and when, people give their government too much power. While reading George Orwell’s 1984 and Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother both books discuss the true value of individualism and how totalitarian governments happen.
The main characters in both1984 and Little Brotherare willing to go great lengths to gain back their individuality. The governments have taken away all the rights they had away, and they are willing to do anything in order to get their rights back. Winston truly believes that his government as wronged him and longs for the days where people weren’t constantly oppressed by Big Brother. He longs for the way things used to be before Big Brother. Winston shows readers how much he values his individuality when he hears O'Brian's speech about the brotherhood, "'You will work for awhile, you will be caught, you will confess, then you will die'" (Orwell176). Upon hearing this, Winston still wants to do something to defy Big Brother. He is willing to die for the right to be an individual. In Little BrotherMarcus is not at all afraid of the DHS or getting caught. He is more concerned with restoring the rights he once had as an American. He and Van have a fight about Xnet and she explains to him the monster he really is. Not only is he willing to risk his own life, but the well-being and lives of others too. "'You're going to put all your little Xnet buddies in danger for their lives'...'I'm not the problem, they are. I'm not arresting people, jailing them, making them disappear...I'm fighting back to make them stop'" (Doctorow 126). Marcus thinks that it is necessary to put other people in danger for everyone to gain back their rights and individuality. He is willing to go beyond just possibly ruining his own life, and put other people's lives at risk. In both books, the governments didn't just pop up over night. The people ultimately led to their government's oppressive ways. The government in 1984 came about after a revolution that Winston is always talking about. The people overthrew the old government and instilled what they now call "the party" with Big Brother as the big head figure, or the public face. Most of the other citizens don't question the government or anything they do. If the people don't really question the party now, then they probably did not truly understand the effects of the revolution. Winston remembers what life was like before the government had so much power. Nobody remembers the revolution clearly and all records were destroyed, "But to trace out the history of the whole period, so say who was fighting at any given moment, would have been utterly impossible, since no written record, no spoken word, ever made mention of any other alignment than the existing one" ( Orwell 34). The people are left to believe that the party is the only way things have ever been any ever will be. They had no choice but to accept the way the government supposedly was and always will be. In Little Brotherthe people do remember a government before the terrorist attack on the bridge. They had a choice to let the DHS totally take over San Francisco and take away their rights. They thought that, because of the heightened security, they were safe from a terrorist attack ever happening again. After the DHS starts pulling people over to search them, Marcus's dad is happy to oblige, at first. He believes that he will be safer if routine checks are done on everyone just passing through or everyone on their way to work. He says, "'I’d consider it my duty...I'd be proud. I t would make me feel safer'" (Doctorow 124). He is willing to let his government oppress his rights just so he can feel safer. Totalitarian governments can occur by force or by the people's choice to relinquish their rights.
Both authors have people who follow the rules and do not question the way of the government. Do they not notice the lack of rights or are they just too afraid to challenge the system? In 1984 the people are just afraid to challenge Big Brother. He is always watching everyone, so they don't want to have a toe out of line. Big Brother, or the thought police, knows everything that every person says or does. As Winston describes it, "On coins, on stamps, on the covers of books, on banners, on posters, and on the wrapping of a cigarette packet--everywhere. Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you" (Orwell 27). If someone constantly watched everything that someone did, they would bound to be a little afraid to say exactly what they felt. The people in the book know that those who defy the government don't come back, so they are cautious of everything they say. Fear keeps them all from speaking or acting out against Big Brother. At some point the fear is going to get to everyone, and make everyone follow and do exactly what Big Brother, or any political figure, wants them to do. In Little Brother the people are shocked after the terrorist attack and just want to know they are safe once again. In a presentation from Arapahoe High School's Mr. Meyer, he talked about the reaction from 9/11 in airport security. People are willing to allow the Transportation Security Administration, or the TSA, basically take a look underneath passenger’s clothes just to catch a bomb that may or may not be there. Mr. Meyer said that, "If a terrorist wants to get a bomb on an airplane, they're going to get the bomb on the airplane." Even though the DHS makes everyone FEEL safer, a terrorist that wants to bomb another bridge in San Francisco will find out a way to bomb another bridge. Are they really safer after giving all their rights to the DHS? Wouldn't they be worse off? The DHS can track where everyone is at all times of the day by tracking their FasTraks, "...if you're a local, or if you're driving a rental car from a local agency, you've got a FasTrak...The DHS had put FasTrak readers all over town--when you drove past them, they logged the time and your ID number, building an even more perfect picture of who went where and when" (Doctorow 122). Once they allow the DHS to do some things, like tracking people's FasTraks, then they start to do things like pulling people over for taking a new way home from work or visiting the Home Depot a few too many times. It doesn't seem like pulling over the guy that is just trying to fix up his house stops terrorists. Security doesn't always mean more safety. It can be counterproductive and even hurt people in the process of just giving them a false sense of security. In both books, the authors also leave some questions about how both governments started. Were both parties given no other option? In 1984 the people can either let the government do what it needs to do, or die. When O'Brian takes Winston into room 101, he explains what they are going to do to Winston, “‘By itself...pain is not always enough. There are occasions when a human being will stand out against pain, even to the point of death. But for everyone there is something unendurable...It is the same with the rats...You will do what is required of you' “(Orwell 284). The thought police tortures Winston until his breaking point or death. He has absolutely no choice but to comply with the demands of his government is he wishes to keep his life and maybe his sanity. His option is giving in or dying. Little Brother's DHS is almost scarier to think about than Big Brother and the thought police. People voluntarily gave up their rights for what they thought was making them safer. This relates back to 9/11 and airport security. People just let the government take away their rights because they THOUGHT they were safer. Marcus’s dad believes the pulling everyone over is truly helping the DHS catch terrorists. He thinks that a small inconvenience is worth maybe catching some of the bad guys along the way, “‘The reason they caught me is that the bad guys are actively jamming them. They need to adjust their techniques to overcome the jamming . . . Meanwhile the occasional road stop is a small price to pay . . . This is the time to make some sacrifices to keep our city safe’” (Doctorow 138). Like Americans after 9/11, Marcus’s dad believes that getting pulled over is actually stopping bad guys also. Would he feel the same if he knew that the only people the DHS were really going to catch were a bunch of kids who wanted their privacy back? This idea, that people would give up their rights so easily, may seem farfetched, but really, it’s already happened in the U.S. The ideals of both books hit closer to home that any American may be willing to believe.
Both books pave the way for other thinking and ideas from their readers. In 1984 a reader may wonder if this sort of government is preventable. If people are basically vaporized for speaking out against their government is it worth it, or even possible, for one to challenge the system? A reader has to then think about how much their rights and individuality mean to them. Would they be willing to disappear forever just for the slightest chances of getting rights that haven’t been present in years back? The true value of individualism and rights varies from person to person. More people will be willing to risk more for themselves, and even others, to get what they want. Marcus is willing to risk going back to prison just to show the DHS that is can be beaten. Winston is willing to risk becoming an “unperson”, what 1984 calls people who disappear after speaking out against Big Brother, just for the sake of bringing down Big Brother. Some people would risk the lives of many people, even their families, just to challenge the system and get what they want. The next step after reading 1984 and Little Brother is finding out at what point is risking all these lives and other valuables no longer worth the prize that comes from beating the system. Totalitarian governments obviously don’t just pop up overnight. A government that the people wholly do not respect or agree with from the beginning will not prevail. In the United States, a governement can only exsist as long as the people still agree with it. Without the people's consent, the government cannot exsist in the same way. It is the job of the people to realize what is happening to their country before it’s too late. If people would’ve paid more attention to what was happening during the revolution in 1984 they may have been able to stop everything from escalating too much. Even the strongest of ideas will get nowhere without the help of a country’s citizens. The situation in Little Brother hits a little closer to home from American citizens. After the lecture from Arapahoe High School’s Mr. Meyer, students began to reconsider the way they looked at what the government has even made them believe. Most students felt safe boarding a plane due to the extensive searches done before, but are those really working? Most security measures don’t come about until something happens to make higher levels of security necessary. Because the terrorists are always one step ahead of the police, people can never be totally safe within reason of privacy and rights known today. As citizens of the U.S., people should realize what is happening right in from of their faces. Instead of questioning what keeps being added to the already intrusive searches, Americans just accept it to get on the plane. It is the job of the people to keep the government in check and make sure that America stays safe. It’s their job to make sure that the rights of the people are still in check and everything hasn’t been compromised just for a sense of safety that probably isn’t true. As humans in general, the job is to make sure that things don’t get too out of hand before the situation becomes totally irreversible.
Both George Orwell’s 1984 and Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother talk about people and the lengths they will go to for their individualism and the way totalitarian governments happen. Readers of these books should keep in mind that not everyone in these books is like the main characters, but without those who challenge the system, there would be no story. People need to constantly keep their government in check and make sure that they are sure about giving up rights for security, that may or may not help what the government says it does. Government is never perfect and things can, and will, always go wrong. It’s the job of the country’s people to make sure that nothing goes beyond the values of the government and reverse the world as they know it, changing life forever.
"A Man who does not think for himself does not think at all." This quote from Oscar Wilde, an Irishwriter and poet from the 19th century, accurately describes the mentality the main characters in George Orwell’s 1984 and Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother have about their oppressive governments. In 1984 the main character, Winston, lives in a communist society that controls the actions and thoughts of everyone. The citizens are not allowed to think, say, or do anything that defies their leader, Big Brother. Winston remembers a time when the government wasn't so oppressive. He is determined to take down the party and restore his rights to what they were before the party. He joins a group called The Brotherhood in hopes that his efforts will restore the rights he once knew as a young boy. In Little Brother a terrorist attack sends the city of San Francisco into a state of panic. The Department of Homeland Security, or the DHS, takes away the rights of people living in the city. Marcus and his friends were detained for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. After being torured for days, he and all but one of his friends are released. He is angry about what happened to him and is determined to get his friend back. Marcus is out to try and destroy the DHS for good. These books really make a reader sit back and realize the luxuries they have as an American. Both books present great ideas and show readers what could potentially happen if, and when, people give their government too much power. While reading George Orwell’s 1984 and Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother both books discuss the true value of individualism and how totalitarian governments happen.
The main characters in both 1984 and Little Brotherare willing to go great lengths to gain back their individuality. The governments have taken away all the rights they had away, and they are willing to do anything in order to get their rights back. Winston truly believes that his government as wronged him and longs for the days where people weren’t constantly oppressed by Big Brother. He longs for the way things used to be before Big Brother. Winston shows readers how much he values his individuality when he hears O'Brian's speech about the brotherhood, "'You will work for awhile, you will be caught, you will confess, then you will die'" (Orwell176). Upon hearing this, Winston still wants to do something to defy Big Brother. He is willing to die for the right to be an individual. In Little Brother Marcus is not at all afraid of the DHS or getting caught. He is more concerned with restoring the rights he once had as an American. He and Van have a fight about Xnet and she explains to him the monster he really is. Not only is he willing to risk his own life, but the well-being and lives of others too. "'You're going to put all your little Xnet buddies in danger for their lives'...'I'm not the problem, they are. I'm not arresting people, jailing them, making them disappear...I'm fighting back to make them stop'" (Doctorow 126). Marcus thinks that it is necessary to put other people in danger for everyone to gain back their rights and individuality. He is willing to go beyond just possibly ruining his own life, and put other people's lives at risk. In both books, the governments didn't just pop up over night. The people ultimately led to their government's oppressive ways. The government in 1984 came about after a revolution that Winston is always talking about. The people overthrew the old government and instilled what they now call "the party" with Big Brother as the big head figure, or the public face. Most of the other citizens don't question the government or anything they do. If the people don't really question the party now, then they probably did not truly understand the effects of the revolution. Winston remembers what life was like before the government had so much power. Nobody remembers the revolution clearly and all records were destroyed, "But to trace out the history of the whole period, so say who was fighting at any given moment, would have been utterly impossible, since no written record, no spoken word, ever made mention of any other alignment than the existing one" ( Orwell 34). The people are left to believe that the party is the only way things have ever been any ever will be. They had no choice but to accept the way the government supposedly was and always will be. In Little Brother the people do remember a government before the terrorist attack on the bridge. They had a choice to let the DHS totally take over San Francisco and take away their rights. They thought that, because of the heightened security, they were safe from a terrorist attack ever happening again. After the DHS starts pulling people over to search them, Marcus's dad is happy to oblige, at first. He believes that he will be safer if routine checks are done on everyone just passing through or everyone on their way to work. He says, "'I’d consider it my duty...I'd be proud. I t would make me feel safer'" (Doctorow 124). He is willing to let his government oppress his rights just so he can feel safer. Totalitarian governments can occur by force or by the people's choice to relinquish their rights.
Both authors have people who follow the rules and do not question the way of the government. Do they not notice the lack of rights or are they just too afraid to challenge the system? In 1984 the people are just afraid to challenge Big Brother. He is always watching everyone, so they don't want to have a toe out of line. Big Brother, or the thought police, knows everything that every person says or does. As Winston describes it, "On coins, on stamps, on the covers of books, on banners, on posters, and on the wrapping of a cigarette packet--everywhere. Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you" (Orwell 27). If someone constantly watched everything that someone did, they would bound to be a little afraid to say exactly what they felt. The people in the book know that those who defy the government don't come back, so they are cautious of everything they say. Fear keeps them all from speaking or acting out against Big Brother. At some point the fear is going to get to everyone, and make everyone follow and do exactly what Big Brother, or any political figure, wants them to do. In Little Brother the people are shocked after the terrorist attack and just want to know they are safe once again. In a presentation from Arapahoe High School's Mr. Meyer, he talked about the reaction from 9/11 in airport security. People are willing to allow the Transportation Security Administration, or the TSA, basically take a look underneath passenger’s clothes just to catch a bomb that may or may not be there. Mr. Meyer said that, "If a terrorist wants to get a bomb on an airplane, they're going to get the bomb on the airplane." Even though the DHS makes everyone FEEL safer, a terrorist that wants to bomb another bridge in San Francisco will find out a way to bomb another bridge. Are they really safer after giving all their rights to the DHS? Wouldn't they be worse off? The DHS can track where everyone is at all times of the day by tracking their FasTraks, "...if you're a local, or if you're driving a rental car from a local agency, you've got a FasTrak...The DHS had put FasTrak readers all over town--when you drove past them, they logged the time and your ID number, building an even more perfect picture of who went where and when" (Doctorow 122). Once they allow the DHS to do some things, like tracking people's FasTraks, then they start to do things like pulling people over for taking a new way home from work or visiting the Home Depot a few too many times. It doesn't seem like pulling over the guy that is just trying to fix up his house stops terrorists. Security doesn't always mean more safety. It can be counterproductive and even hurt people in the process of just giving them a false sense of security. In both books, the authors also leave some questions about how both governments started. Were both parties given no other option? In 1984 the people can either let the government do what it needs to do, or die. When O'Brian takes Winston into room 101, he explains what they are going to do to Winston, “‘By itself...pain is not always enough. There are occasions when a human being will stand out against pain, even to the point of death. But for everyone there is something unendurable...It is the same with the rats...You will do what is required of you' “(Orwell 284). The thought police tortures Winston until his breaking point or death. He has absolutely no choice but to comply with the demands of his government is he wishes to keep his life and maybe his sanity. His option is giving in or dying. Little Brother's DHS is almost scarier to think about than Big Brother and the thought police. People voluntarily gave up their rights for what they thought was making them safer. This relates back to 9/11 and airport security. People just let the government take away their rights because they THOUGHT they were safer. Marcus’s dad believes the pulling everyone over is truly helping the DHS catch terrorists. He thinks that a small inconvenience is worth maybe catching some of the bad guys along the way, “‘The reason they caught me is that the bad guys are actively jamming them. They need to adjust their techniques to overcome the jamming . . . Meanwhile the occasional road stop is a small price to pay . . . This is the time to make some sacrifices to keep our city safe’” (Doctorow 138). Like Americans after 9/11, Marcus’s dad believes that getting pulled over is actually stopping bad guys also. Would he feel the same if he knew that the only people the DHS were really going to catch were a bunch of kids who wanted their privacy back? This idea, that people would give up their rights so easily, may seem farfetched, but really, it’s already happened in the U.S. The ideals of both books hit closer to home that any American may be willing to believe.
Both books pave the way for other thinking and ideas from their readers. In 1984 a reader may wonder if this sort of government is preventable. If people are basically vaporized for speaking out against their government is it worth it, or even possible, for one to challenge the system? A reader has to then think about how much their rights and individuality mean to them. Would they be willing to disappear forever just for the slightest chances of getting rights that haven’t been present in years back? The true value of individualism and rights varies from person to person. More people will be willing to risk more for themselves, and even others, to get what they want. Marcus is willing to risk going back to prison just to show the DHS that is can be beaten. Winston is willing to risk becoming an “unperson”, what 1984 calls people who disappear after speaking out against Big Brother, just for the sake of bringing down Big Brother. Some people would risk the lives of many people, even their families, just to challenge the system and get what they want. The next step after reading 1984 and Little Brother is finding out at what point is risking all these lives and other valuables no longer worth the prize that comes from beating the system. Totalitarian governments obviously don’t just pop up overnight. A government that the people wholly do not respect or agree with from the beginning will not prevail. In the United States, a governement can only exsist as long as the people still agree with it. Without the people's consent, the government cannot exsist in the same way. It is the job of the people to realize what is happening to their country before it’s too late. If people would’ve paid more attention to what was happening during the revolution in 1984 they may have been able to stop everything from escalating too much. Even the strongest of ideas will get nowhere without the help of a country’s citizens. The situation in Little Brother hits a little closer to home from American citizens. After the lecture from Arapahoe High School’s Mr. Meyer, students began to reconsider the way they looked at what the government has even made them believe. Most students felt safe boarding a plane due to the extensive searches done before, but are those really working? Most security measures don’t come about until something happens to make higher levels of security necessary. Because the terrorists are always one step ahead of the police, people can never be totally safe within reason of privacy and rights known today. As citizens of the U.S., people should realize what is happening right in from of their faces. Instead of questioning what keeps being added to the already intrusive searches, Americans just accept it to get on the plane. It is the job of the people to keep the government in check and make sure that America stays safe. It’s their job to make sure that the rights of the people are still in check and everything hasn’t been compromised just for a sense of safety that probably isn’t true. As humans in general, the job is to make sure that things don’t get too out of hand before the situation becomes totally irreversible.
Both George Orwell’s 1984 and Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother talk about people and the lengths they will go to for their individualism and the way totalitarian governments happen. Readers of these books should keep in mind that not everyone in these books is like the main characters, but without those who challenge the system, there would be no story. People need to constantly keep their government in check and make sure that they are sure about giving up rights for security, that may or may not help what the government says it does. Government is never perfect and things can, and will, always go wrong. It’s the job of the country’s people to make sure that nothing goes beyond the values of the government and reverse the world as they know it, changing life forever.