I know it is usually bad form to post after yourself creating a "double post", or atleast it is on forums generally, I am unsure about blogs. But I felt it necessary as this is a substantially different topic. I also do not quite understand our weekly blog assignment and don't do if book discussion/feelings are meant to be kept private until weekly class or if we can post as we feel them or what. (And I am sorry about the run-ons, I am very very bad at doing them in informal sessions). I also don't know if this is an informal session, and if I should watch my grammar and sentence structure and the like. Assuming it is informal:
While I read through Little Brother, I couldn't help but keep making connections to 1984 (like Big Brother vs. Little Brother. Hmm...). 1984 was scary to me in the sense that I could see it happen as a possibility. This book is a very good re-envisioning of 1984. I don't know if anyone else out there is a gamer. But the language of this book is shockingly realistic and modern. It has major links and similarities to today's society. The happenings in this book make my skin crawl sometimes as I see "the man" in action.
Edit: For absolutely clarity, and by "the man" I do mean the government but didn't want to be stereotypical to use "Big Brother".
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I agree with your statement about the book being shockingly realistic. I think what I enjoy most about LITTLE BROTHER is the fact that I am familiar with a lot, if not most, of the technology Marcus references. The situation doesn't seem far fetched at all to me which I think makes the message resonate.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I read on the internet that a version of ParanoidLinux is actually in development.
I feel the same way. 1984 was the classic "Big Brother" book. I also see some similarities with the movie "V for Vendetta". Government has gotten too much control, abusing its citizens, and they decide to fight back. I am not computer savvy enough to realize what every single gizmo Marcus describes is exactly, but I know enough and have heard enough from my tech wiz friends to know that this stuff is very plausible and could be done.
ReplyDeleteI have really enjoyed reading Little Brother. Preston, you brought up a very good point about V for Vendetta. While I was reading Little Brother I was trying to think of what it reminded me of. Thank you for putting my mind at ease. The concept of an out of control government really intrigues me because it is so different than the world we experience in America. I was a little nervous before I read the book that I would not like it because I felt like I had already read it. I was dead wrong. It has been a long time since I enjoyed a book this much. I kind of feel like I'm cheating because I have never enjoyed a book assigned for school.
ReplyDeleteI really loved the book for all it's realism, as previously stated. I, like Preston, don't know too much about computers, but I know enough to know that the stuff described in the book is plausible. I also really liked that I could related and actually like the main character on a personal level, rather than as just merely some mouthpiece for an ideology.
ReplyDeleteEven if Marcus didn't succeed, I wanted things to turn out okay for him and his friends. This, I think is really important and overlooked in sci-fi. It's sometimes just thought of as a way to express "big ideas", but I was genuinely moved at the end of the story when *SPOILERZ LULZ*
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He saw Darryl and Ange again.
For the record, blogging about the texts before we get to them in class is perfectly OK. That's actually one of the best ways to think up a blog post: Read (or watch) the next thing and write about it. Be careful to warn of spoilers, however, as Alan has done.
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