We started this discussion in class before we left. Or... well... Professor Duncan posed this question and no one answered and told us to hit up the blog. And I didn't want to seem like "the guy who always posts" but I wanted to get this discussion started and no one has posted it yet. So...
I believe that Marcus couldn't care less about the other political problems in the world around him. Van even told him that he shouldn't fight the DHS the way he was planning. That he should go out and join the people already protesting. He totally disregarded that idea and continued with his plan. This proves that he has no interest in that form of protesting.
He clearly has a desire to be the leader, not a follower, despite his denial of being the leader of the Xnetters. This aspect crops up all over the place. The fact that at the beginning of the story, he is the one who gets the group together, he says when, where, and how. He creates all of the technology and shows people how to use it. After the attack and his release, he crafts the plans and tells people what to do and when to meet. He lets NO ONE tell him what to do, even people close to him. He has strong opinions and will not be dissuaded by anyone.
So no matter the fact that he denies being the leader, he is the leader. He cannot put up with just being a follower, being another voice in the crowd. He would not protest in public by picket signs or just shouting. He uses technology to make an impression. His entire school record proves that. He would always fight the school by use of technology, not other more formal channels.
Now, another thing is that he doesn't have a care in the world for the non-interesting problems. He has lived his whole life with the economy as it is, with politics as they are, with all the problems as they are. He most likely wouldn't even have fought the DHS if he hadn't been arrested. He is a person that accepts the world the way it is until it wrongs him. And even then, I don't think he would have done anything except in this case because of the physical harm and face to face lack of care of people you trusted. He seems to be enthused with government and their policies and how they should care for people. So when his most favored subject is brought to the surface, of course he will act. He never mentions the other topics so he probably doesn't much care for them.
No other case does this occur that the people you trust to protect you literally spit in your face and betray this trust except with the government.
So, long story short. I don't believe Marcus would protest any other issues besides the one he does because the government and their policies and their ideals is a favored subject of his. And anger is not the opposite of love, it is one of the closest emotions to love. You must be very emotional to hate something, the more you hate the more emotional you are about that which you hate.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think that Marcus reacts the way that any of us would. He has no reason to protest anything else the government is doing. He was personally affected by the DHS and their tactics. He wanted revenge. Revenge for Daryl and for the way he was treated and made to feel. He felt that he needed to get back at them. The economy, politics, and every other topic that people were protesting wasn't affecting him personally. He still was supported by his parents, he was too young to vote, and he just didn't care yet. But, when he was affected, he decided to act. I think most of us are like that. I know that I don't feel affected by the situation in Darfur or what is going on in the Middle East. I care about them, but I am not trying to personally figure out a way to end both conflicts. America is a selfish place. Now, if all of a sudden my family, friends, and I were starving or being murdered for our beliefs, yes I would take a stand.
ReplyDeleteMy point in all of this is that I believe Marcus would not act against the government if he had not been personally affected. He had a carnal need to make the DHS pay for what they did to Daryl, Van, Jolu, and himself. That desire to bring them down was caused by his treatment at the hands of the DHS.
I disagree with the thing about Marcus not joining the other protesters showing he doesn't like that form of protesting. I think that he didn't think their way was going to work. I mean the DHS was already disregarding all sorts of laws (like denying a 17 year old a lawyer). Why in the world should they care about a bunch of people who disagree with the way they're doing their job? Plus I think that the video Marcus makes at the end of the book shows that he does believe in protesting like everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the only reason Marcus began protesting this is because of how it affected him, but that's not something I blame him for. I'm pretty much the same way. But I think it's ok that Marcuse doesn't start protest other political issues becuse he's too busy trying to protect (at least to me) the very heart of what makes America a good place. To know that there are laws and regulations that even the government MUST follow. I take great comfort in the fact that the police can't bust into my home right now and throw me into a deep, dark hole just becuase my opinion on something is different then their's.
I don't think that Marcus wanted to be the leader of the resistance. It seemed to just sort of happen, without him scheming or any real effort on his part. Plus, he was horrified when all the people come out to the VampMob thing. I think he was a leader, regardless of what the thought or wanted, because he was willing to take action and make decisions in a time when most people would probably be running around wondering what to do.
I think that Marcus was mainly motivated by what happened to him, but I don't think you can attribute everything he did to Darryl's disappearance(there is no Rosebud in this story!).
ReplyDeleteI don't think Marcus would participate in shouting down someone at a rally or political convention, even though he does at times shout down his classmates (mainly just Charles, who doesn't provide a very good case study, as feel Charles was the closest thing to a non empathetic character in the novel apart from Severe Haircut Lady).
The reason why I don't think Marcus would shout down someone is because I think he values freedom of expression, and I feel that is precisely because this freedom is threatened that he does what he does. I feel that this so mainly because of a "meta" reason, however, as I think the purpose of this book was not meant to be a character study that delves into the reasons why one becomes a revolutionary/terrorist, but rather to be a manifesto of sorts that raises and develops a didactic viewpoint throughout the course of an unfolding narrative.
As to whether or not Marcus would specifically reject health care, I do not think he would, and furthermore I do not think he would fit directly into the libertarian mold that he might initially appear to. Marcus mainly expresses a desire for privacy, a desire to protect his ideas from being nipped in the bud before he has the ability to share them because a select few (or even a select many) find such nascent ideas to be "harmful". His views on privacy with regards to privacy, money, and other things are really non-existent in the novel, but I personally found Marcus to be far more of a liberal (in the classic sense, although such values usually translate to one voting Democratic) than a libertarian. As I stated earlier, he just wants to be able to share ideas and freely, without anyone imposing rules on what a discourse of such ideas can be limited to. Also, I mean c'mon guys, he's from San Fran, his dad was a hippie, and his mom is England and showcases a pretty strong dislike for the police.