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"This is a world of compensations; and he who would be no slave, must consent to have no slave. Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and under a just God, cannot long retain it." Abraham Lincoln. In George Orwell's [|1984], the main character, Winston, is caught in a world full of fear of the government, and Big Brother. He does not beli eve in this government, which follows your every move, teaches you to not trust, and hurts you. Winston and his lover, Julia, decide to take this government down to uncover the truth, no matter how much it hurts. In Cory Doctorow's [|Little Brother], a group of teenagers are in the wrong place at the wrong time when the San Francisco Bay Bridge is blown up in a terrorist attack. Marcus and three of his friends are taken to a prison camp run by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to see if they were involved. Marcus and two of his friends get out, but Marcus's best friend, Darryl, is still there. Marcus believes that he now needs to overthrow the government through technology to get Darryl back. Along the way he meets Ange, who helps him big time in uncovering the truth, and saving Darryl. Although George Orwell's // 1984 // and Cory Doctorow's // Little Brother // are two utterly different stories, the security, paranoia, and the governments are very similar. In // Little Brother // and // 1984, // Marcus and Winston’s lives are ruled by security and paranoia. New security measures are being made every day. In // Little Brother //, this same stuff is happening, but more intensely. After the bombing of the Bay Bridge, the government bumps up security big time. They take away every right that they can, just because they are "making things safer". Mr. [|Brad Meyer] of  [|Arapahoe High School]  said "The law enforcers and the government will always be one step behind the criminals" (Meyer). He related this to airport security. After [|9/11] , airports raised security measures a lot,such as incorporating full body scans and requiring that only travel size liquids are allowed, as they should, but was all of it really necessary? Now certain airports are requiring a full body scan because of the incident where a man had a bomb in his pants. The bomb luckily didn't work, but the airports are paranoid, so they raise security. In // 1984 //, paranoia is what keeps the government strong. The citizens of Oceania are terrified to speak out against the gov ernment. They are paranoid that something bad is going to happen to them if they speak out. Little Brother is the same way. Marcus is, contrasting Winston, for he is using the paranoia to help rescue Darryl. He sets up the X-Net, using the X-Net, which is a byproduct of the Paranoid X-Box. He bumps into people trying to "save themselves" and switches identities. Now more people are paranoid, and the government is getting all messed up trying to figure everything out. People all over the world are paranoid, and sometimes that paranoia is just from their false sense of safety.

Right versus security and safety, the debate will go on for a long time, which one is more important? At the beginning of the United States, the Founding Fathers came up with the [|Constitution] and the [|Bill of Rights] The Constitution gives each American citizen the same rights as the next citizen. Marcus found out that the DHS had been taking away people’s rights for safety. Marcus doesn't see eye to eye with this act of "betrayal". He, as many others do, find it disrespectful to the Founding Fathers that in order to get false sense of safety, the rights that many men lost their lives to give to the citizens are taken away from the common man. Benjamin Franklin once said “He who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” (Wiki). This goes back to what Mr. Brad Meyer said about airport security. Having to go through a full body scan is best for ones safety, is it not? Although every single time one walks through that scanner, their rights are being stripped away. Winston and his city all have also lost many rights. Why, they cannot even talk half the time. " 'Who denounced you?' said Winston. ‘It was my little daughter' said Parsons with a sort of doleful pride. ‘She listened at the keyhole. Heard what I was saying, and nipped off to the patrols the very next day' "(Orwell 233). Parsons recons that his daughter did the precise thing. She ignored his rights, just as the government did, and now he's in jail, but he was proud of her because now she's "safe". One usually says that they prefer safety, but once they look into it, the decision is a very difficult one.

Paranoia gets one many places. When fearful, paranoia guides one to a "safe" environment. Safety is a good thing, but is it that significance to lose rights? Marcus from //Little Brother// agrees with Ben Franklin about having no safety is better than no rights. It's a hard thing to decide, for one would want to have both, if possible. While going on an airplane, one wants to feel safe, but that's really not possible. Mr. [|Karl Fisch] of Arapahoe High School talked about one of his colleagues working undercover for the airports. One out of five times, these trained men can slip something onto an airplane. Also he spoke about parents putting a position tracker onto their child’s phones to follow them, just like the probes and telescreens and even family members do in //1984// (Fisch). The Federal Bureau of Investigation ([|FBI]) can usually find who they are looking for, no matter where or what. The governments in //Little Brother// and //1984// can also find anyone they are looking for. There are spies, detectives, probes in //1984//, and traitors. Sometimes just thinking about the future of rights, the rights the Founding Fathers died for, is losing those rights because of paranoia really the best solution? No one can really say. There are no facts to base this question off of; there is no answer, only opinions. Paranoia and safety and rights, they are all associated.

George Orwell's //1984// and Cory Doctorow's //Little Brother// are not similar books at all, although the security, paranoia, and governments are very similar. The thoughts expressed in //Little Brother// and //1984// are not always paralleled, but Cory Doctorow did write //Little Brother// as a response to George Orwell's //1984.// The feeling that one is always watched is rather appaling. In todays society, this is happening everyday. Just remember, they have their eyes on you.

__ Works Cited  __

ClassBrain.com. //US Constitution & the Bill of Rights.// 18 February 2010. [] Doctorow, Cory. // Little Brother //. New York: Tom Doherty Association 2008.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. //Federal Bureau of Investigation.// 18 February 2010. []

Fisch, Karl. Class Lecture. 20 Jan 2010.

Fisch, Karl. //The Fischbowl//. 18 February 2010. []

Littleton Public Schools. //Arapahoe High School.// 18 February 2010. []

Littleton Public Schools. //Mr. Brad Meyer.// 18 February 2010. []

Meyer, Brad. Class Lecture. 14 Jan, 2010.

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

September 11 News .com. //September 11, 2001-The Day the World Changed.// 18 February 2010. []

SparkNotes. //1984: Plot Overview.// 18 February 2010. []

U.S. Constitution Online. //The United States Constitution.// 18 February 2010. []

Wikipedia. //Benjamin Franklin: Quotes about Franklin.// 18 February 2010. []

Wikipedia. //Little Brother Plot Summary.//18 February 2010. [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Brother_(Cory_Doctorow_novel)#Plot_summary]