Peer Responses: Dunja (Matched, Map)

This post was very well written and clear about both the writer’s opinion and facts from the book, the map was also very clear and allowed me to understand the settings. I was able to assume a number of things about the book by looking at the map. The first thing I noticed, by the layout and names of the districts, was that “Centra” was something like a capitol, control center, or a place for the government/oppressors to reside, as it is very neatly and strategically placed in the middle of the territory for protection.

The second thing that I was able to assume is that because this society is very confident that there is no one from the outside that is willing to attack or challenge them, as they have not taken all the land and is providing potential enemies with a place to land and set bases. This was also obvious because some districts have been left in places where it is very vulnerable or isolated. The text is very clear and to the point, allowing me to look further into this story. In conclusion, this is a very well written post, and has poked my interest in this book.

Peer Responses: Emma (Little Brother, Pictures)

I think that this post was very neatly written and expresses the writer’s opinion very clearly. The connection between the photos and the book is very clearly explained and organized. However, there are some points that I would like to add on to or correct. The first point is a slight misunderstanding about the bridge demolition; the Bay Bridge is a huge bridge that stretches from San Francisco all the way to West Oakland, which is approximately 7180 Meters. This bridge is more than twice as long as the famous Golden Gate Bridge, which is around 2737, and is not to be confused for a small bridge across a river. The demolition charges were described as what felt like an earthquake, even though only a small part of the bridge was demolished.

Something that I found very interesting about this post was the photo of the prisoners in jump suits. I’m not sure if it was intended or not, but this particular picture was taken from an interrogation camp, a Guantanamo detention camp. This sparked my interest because these camps are exactly what was mentioned in the book; established in 2002 by the Bush Administration, they were specially made to hold terrorists. What’s more is that this camp was suspended by President Barrack Obama, because a female member of the Bush Administration admitted to illegal torture and abuse that took place in the camp. In conclusion, even though some information was slightly off, it was very well written and has helped me discover more interesting things.

Peer Responses: Shenbei (Little Brother, Glossary)

I think that Shenbei’s glossary was very detailed and describes terms from the book very carefully. Since this book, Little Brother, is mostly about technology, and since I already learned a certain amount about programming, it has always interested me how a person who doesn't have an inside view of programming would interpret this kind of terminology. Shenbei has defined these words clearly and is able to convey the definition fairly efficiently. One of the things that I appreciated the most about this glossary is that all of the key words were in red font, which distinguished them and made reading the glossary much easier.

There are, however, two points that I would like to correct and add on to. First of all, because of copyright laws, the BART isn't an actual organization. Instead, the actual company in San Francisco is called “Bay Area Rapid Transport”, and is a series of subways and buses a lot like the TTC in Toronto. Secondly, “Salmagundi” does not mean something made out of spare parts, but is the name of a salad that includes a variety of other ingredients, for this reason, it is used to describe something that is made from scrap and sometimes used by mechanics to describe a poorly made technology that isn't ‘polished’. But other than these points, I think that Shenbei did an excellent job on the glossary and effectively helps readers understand the meanings of the terms.

Glossary

Cryptography (Crypto) - Cryptography is a mathematical process of encrypting (scrambling) information, for example, the text "Hello World" can be encrypted into "1($f#%g*T" until decrypted into the original information, this is done by changing the 'value' (Hex, Binary, Oct,..etc...) of the characters, and by adding false values. Encrypted text does not have to have the same number of characters as the original text. Example from the novel: "The math behind crypto is good and solid, and you and me get access to the same crypto that banks and the National Security Agency use."

Decryption (Decrypt) - Decryption is the process of un-encrypting a piece of information, returning the scrambled information into its original, readable state. For example. Turning the "1($f%g*T" from above back into "Hello World". Example from novel: "I want you to unlock this phone and then decrypt the files in its memory" (Carrie Johnstone to Marcus)

Key - A key is something that is used to encrypt information in an unique way. For example, if you encrypted information with the key "Hello World 1", the result would be different than if the key was "Hello World 2", and the same would apply when decrypting information. Because of this, it is very difficult to decrypt an encrypted piece of information without the key. In the novel, this is used so other people cannot decrypt the secret messages Marcus sends without his key. Example from novel: Turing could figure out how to crack any Nazi message, no matter what key it used

Cipher - A cipher is the 'rule' used to encrypt information, for example, a character's hex value can be changed so it is two times the original value,  or it can be changed in other ways, so it's unpredictable. Machines that try different ciphers and different keys in very high speeds have been invented to solve this, but with a really complicated Cipher, machines will always get stuck at a certain point. Example from novel: "Any time you had a cipher, you were vulnerable to someone smarter than you coming up with a way of breaking it."


Bayesian Analysis - Bayesian statistics and analysis covers a very large area of mathematics, but the use of Bayesian analysis mentioned in this book is the type used in spam filters and related technological uses, this is where every word in 'spam' files are counted to make a word histogram, and the same for non-spam files. This way, other files that contain the words that appeared the most in spam files would be considered spam, and the same for non-spam files. Bayesian analysis can be used on pretty much anything, including pictures, which can be sorted by the patterns of the pixels. Example from book: "It's part of something called Bayesian analysis and it's been around for centuries now. Without it, we couldn't do spam­filtering.

Quote 4

 "When in trouble or on doubt, run in circles, scream and shout" - Marcus' personal favorite


This line is a parody of the other advise "when in trouble" quotes, and is one that Marcus frequently thinks about when he's actually in trouble. This quote is here for two purposes, one, is of course, for comedy, so the book is more interesting and funny. Imitating the scenes in comedies and comics where whenever there's trouble, all people can do is run around screaming and wait for the 'hero'

The second reason is to show readers that the reaction of most of the citizens was, indeed, to scream and run when the explosions went off, until the loudspeaker told them what to do. This is one of the main reasons that Dystopian societies exist; in some Dystopian societies, the oppressed people are unable to resist, but in Dystopias like the one described in this book, a large amount of the population is unwilling to resist or just doesn't know or care they are even in a Dystopian society.

Quote 2,3

" Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government " - Marcus to Benson

"You can't declare war on me in my own school, " -  Fredrick Benson to Marcus


Quote 2:
These quotes are from Benson's conversation/argument with Marcus. The first quote, from the Declaration of Independence  states that if a Government starts to become harmful to those it governs, (the DHS for example), the people have the right to destroy or change it so it suits their needs. It is also stated in this book that the government is made in order to insure the safety and happiness of the people, and that life is a 'pursuit of happiness'.

This quote is probably the most important quote in the whole book, as it simply summarizes Marcus' intent all along, and has provided him with moral many times. It was made so Dystopian societies could be avoided, but doesn't always help. This 'law' would only help if the government that is deemed 'destructive' is willing to submit to the people and change, but if the government is self righteous  like the DHS, then it would be extremely hard to alter or abolish the government.



Quote 3:
This quote was used by Benson as a comeback to the quote above, saying that Marcus couldn't win a war against Benson in his school. Benson is also an example of a Dystopian government, that doesn't listen to the people and oppresses all that oppose it, for example, trying to get Marcus expelled for being able to bypass the school's security systems, and firing Marcus' teacher for sharing Marcus' point of view.

This also illustrates the problem with the extraction for the Declaration of Independence  because it the government resists against the people trying to alter or abolish it, it can easily suppress and oppress the people and form a genuine Dystopian society. After this happens, the government will have to keep on suppressing the people and getting rid of the ones that oppose of in order to survive.

Quote 1

" I don't get it, your making it sound like the bill of rights is optional. It's Constitution. We're supposed to follow it absolutely" - Marcus to Ms. Anderson


This phrase simply illustrates what the whole war in Little Brother is about, the bill of rights. While Marcus and Friends think that the bill of rights should be completely followed to unsure that everyone is 'happy', others like Ms. Anderson and Charles think that the government has the right to take it away without actual proof of guilt, this usually triggers Marcus to rage. People like the leaders of the DHS pretty much completely ignore the bill of rights and took Marcus and friends into prison without so much as considering it.

The Dystopian factor in Little Brother and also Homeland is about the bill of rights, as Marcus tries all kinds of tactics to get his rights back. There are also people like Marcus' parents, who are just 'sitting on the fence', not having an actual opinion on the matter. Marcus' parents' point of view, however, quickly changed to appose the DHS as soon as they found out what the DHS had done to Marcus.

Picture 4

                                                                 (made by me on VB2010)


This image was made to imitate a theme from the movie, "Matrix", it represents data that only computers can read or, because of the symbols, things that we do not yet understand. As I said before, this book is mostly based on the use of technology and it's positive or negative effect on society, and technology is what helped Marcus overcome the DHS and earn his freedom, specifically his understanding of it and ability to use it to his own advantage.

As well as that, what we don't understand is what usually causes trouble, because humans have developed an instinct to fear the unknown in order to survive. We have developed this instinct because the unknown could be any kind of danger, and is therefore best avoided. However, as our society evolved and developed further, this kind of instinct is no longer needed, as there is not as much danger, so this instinct now often causes misunderstanding and therefore aggression.

Picture 3

http://cache.lifehacker.com/assets/images/8/2009/07/lb_prisoner_small_01.jpg

This picture portrays Marcus when he was first caught by the DHS, he was bound in plastic handcuffs and had a bag put over his head so he could't see. In this picture, Marcus, who has just been caught, is on a miniature version of San Francisco, where most of the city is clearly shown, and where the destroyed Bay Bridge is in plain sight, hence the smoke. I think that this picture is trying to convey how Marcus might have felt when he was detained. The city where he lived had just been attacked by terrorists, his best friend had just been stabbed, and now they were all caught by the DHS. This picture also shows that Marcus is aware of what is happening outside even though he is being 'kidnapped'.

This picture, which was one of the special edition covers for Little Brother,  helped me understand the events in the book because it shows the explosion that started Marcus' troubles, and allowed me to visualize just how big the explosion was. Previously  I had thought that all, or at least most, of the bridge had been destroyed in the terrorist attack, but the picture showed me that only a section of it was destroyed.

Picture 2

http://www.dangerouscreation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/drone-devastation.jpg

This image is of a American Predator drone firing hellfire missiles in a test. The Predator drone was one of the first American drones and can fire missiles faster then the speed of sound. I chose this picture because it, first of all, represents the destructive power of new technology, like how it can be used to kill mass amounts of people, and how advanced out technology already is, which was part of the main message that this book contained. Secondly, this picture represents how technology can cause fear, hence the firing missiles, in little brother, the DHS uses technology and fear to oppress the teens of San Francisco.

Another way this image relates to my book is what this specific drone is used for. This specific drone, the Predator Drone, was used multiple times against terrorists, and Al Qaeda, which was the group of terrorists that attacked San-Francisco in Little Brother.

Picture 1

http://publicsafety.ohio.gov/NPM/img/ReadyTerrorism.jpg

This picture is of the most devastating and memorable acts of terrorism in the history of America, 9/11. I chose this picture for a lot of reason, firstly, because it shows what happens when terrorists strike, and helps visualize what the destruction of the Bay Bridge might have been like. Secondly, this because most problems in this book started with the terrorist's destruction on the Bay Bridge, and therefore, the troubles the main character experiences in this book was partly caused by the terrorists.

Also, 9/11 is alike to the destruction of the Bay Bridge in many ways, for example, in both tragedies, many people who were on the structure died from the explosion and debris. Some of the government's actions were also explained to me by this picture, for example, why they were so desperate. As well as those visuals, this picture also allowed me to roughly estimate the shock and force exerted by the explosion.

Map of the Settings

This map shows the area of San Francisco, the green circle is the area where Marcus lives and goes to school, and the red island is treasure island, where Marcus and his friends were held captive. The yellow line is the Golden Gate Bridge, a major landmark in San Francisco, and the black line is where the bay bridge, which was destroyed in this book, used to be. This map helped me understand the story a lot better because it allowed me to see the approximate areas of where the major events took place, and helped me figure out what was going on when the characters were running around, as they constantly did. I also added the black line at the bottom to represent the border of San Francisco and another city. This map also showed me that the Bay Bridge was actually a very big bridge, compared to what I had pictured from reading the book. 

Journal 4

Fredrick Benson: First school day mentioned

For the past week, I have gathered more and more evidence that Marcus Yallow is indeed this “W1n5t0n” character. The only problem was, that this kid was easily the most annoying, stubborn, and pesky kid in the school, even I must praise him for keeping his face straight and calm when I try to crack him. Today I had decided to try to crack him into either admitting he was “W1n5t0n” again, or at least so he would tell me who this character was, because I was sure he was related to this person.  A lot of my staff has asked me what my proof was, especially that teacher of his, Ms. Galvez, who keeps covering for that runt. No one ever understands the way kids think, they thing that they can get away with online crimes by making second accounts, and trying to be anonymous. This kind of stuff doesn't work with me though, I've learned my share of social psychology to know there are patterns in the way people talk, and I've noticed specific patterns between “W1n5t0n” and Marcus.

This time was no different from all the other times I called him down, I pester him, try staring him down, he keeps completely calm, this time, I had to get him for sure, so I resorted to bluffing, and made the biggest bluff I could without making it seem I’m a military general, I threatened to call the cops. I swear I saw him flinch, but he kept his overall posture and straight face, telling me to call the police and his parents. He provoked me! He actually urged me to call the authorities! I was hoping that I’d break him, but since he called my bluff, I had no choice but to let him free. The rest of the day was as boring as normal, I know I shouldn't be saying this kind of thing because I’m supposed to set an example for the kids, but I just can’t help it. I was just about to walk out the door when I remembered to check on something, I quickly turned around to check on the runt, Marcus’ class. It was as I expected, that runt had ran off again.

I was still pretty steamed when I got on the bus, and was really tempted to actually call the police for an investigation. Suddenly, the bus pulled to an abrupt stop, and almost rolled over to one side, it was a while before I registered that this was because of a shock that seemed to be really close to us. People were screaming like bloody murder outside and passengers began to clear out of the bus. I barely managed to get out onto and open area before my body was torn to shreds by the force of the crowd, and heard the loud speakers telling us what had happened and to ‘report’ to the nearest shelter. I didn't want to get pushed along with the crowd but who was I to argue? I could barely stay on my feet and I knew tripping and falling would mean certain death.  The only way to survive this disaster was to go with the flow, which was still pretty hard.

=================================================================

I picked Frederick Benson for this entry because he is one of the key characters that were used to introduce the story, and he is also one of the antagonists. And is one of the main obstacles between Marcus and his Favorite game, “Harajuku Fun Madness”, which makes him seem like the ultimate evil to teens who have tried to sneak out of school for a game, like Marcus.

I chose this section in the book because it is where Benson is introduced, as well as where a description of his character is given by the main character, Marcus. 

Journal 3

Masha: Day of ‘VampMob’

This was the day I was supposed to bring that loser to L.A., and the day he decided to break my fingers instead of thanking me, as he should of. I woke up early this morning with my already packed bags clutched in my arms, I guess I still worried that someone might have come and taken them, but it was an old habit anyway. I quickly got into my vamp setup, which I also hated, and snuck out of my hideout, that the DHS knew about, to confirm that the furniture moving truck was still there before heading to the vamp mob in order to pick up that useless loser, Marcus.

When I arrived, the Civic Center was busy as usual. With the business men rushing around franticly and not watching where they’re going, bumping into others. I squeezed through the crowd trying not to attract too much attention in that stupid costume, to find a place to hide and watch for that Marcus, who I had specifically told to wear a red cap. After watching for a while of watching, I found him and someone else standing near a corner, I assumed that ‘someone else’ would be that girl, Ange, that he was so desperate to bring along, as if it wasn’t dangerous enough already with just him.

About five more minutes later, swarms of ‘vamps’ started pouring in, and I watched in astonishment at the sheer number of the people that started to gather. By what I learned in those math classes I used to take, I estimated that there were more than 500 already, and only three minutes since the first vamps showed up! After waiting for around five more minutes, the stream finally stopped, but by then, the amount of people had just about doubled, which meant 1000 people! 1000! I told him to create a distraction! Not form a war party! Sometimes, I just really don’t get what goes on in that head of his. But I already made my part of the plan, and that couldn’t change, so I went ahead and joined the crowd.

Fortunately, I had read my share of the ‘rules’, and I was able to find a way to stay alive in that stampede by being ‘invisible’. Honestly though, I felt like a four year old child while playing that game. After around standing around in my little cape-tent and trying not to fall asleep or get stepped on, I heard the load speakers from above boom with a voice telling us to ‘disperse’, this was my cue to grab the two that I was here for and get the heck out. I tried to push and shove through the crown when everyone fell and started choking, as if they were gassed. I didn’t know what was going on, but didn’t want to stand out, so I lied down and pretended to gassed as well. Just then I realized, this was another stupid trick that idiot Marcus had planed! What was he thinking, yet again? How was I supposed to get us out of here with everyone on the ground? We would stand out way too much.

================================================================= 

I chose Masha for this journal entry because she was one of the most mischievous characters, and her motives were never clearly mentioned for even guessed at in the book. In this journal, I tried to guess how she might have thought based on what her actions were and what here attitude towards others was like

I chose this specific section in the book because it is where Masha plays her biggest role of trying to get Marcus to escape to Las Angeles, and later having her phone stolen by Marcus, which is an essential piece of proof that justified Marcus’ innocence to the ‘real’ government of America, that later judged him.

Journal 2

Carrie Johnstone (Severe Haircut Lady)

This morning the terrorists finally struck. They must have been cunning enough to lay the charges on the bridge without any of the many detectors noticing, because we had absolutely no warning in advance. At about noon, the ground suddenly shook as if an earth quake had begun, but this was clearly not the case as chunks of flying debris rained down on the city. Other officials immediately rushed to the microphones in order to quickly guide the citizens to underground shelters. I took my men and got into a jeep to swiftly search the city for the damage and any remaining terrorists. We almost took off right away when one of my men noticed we had nothing more than out pistols, which we were to carry by-regulation, so the four of us rushed back for the guns, and sped off as fast as we can, determined to catch the terrorists. As we drove around, we saw the site where the explosion had been, it was the bay bridge. The damned terrorists had blown the bay bridge.

We kept driving in silence as we thought what this would mean, increased traffic, the expense of rebuilding the bridge, which would cause the government to be temporarily unorganized, making it easier to smuggle illegal drugs and weapons in and out of San Francisco. Just as I was deep in thought, a kid jumped in front of the jeep and the driver pulled to a sharp stop, and we all lurched forward. As I regained my focus, I saw four kids in front of us, 3 were waving at us like you’d wave at a taxi, and one was on the ground, and if you looked closer, you could see a puddle of blood under him. A lot of possibilities ran through my mind, but I decided that the best choice was to just follow the procedure, and detain the few of them. These kids were vicious, instead of simply asking us why they were being arrested – as a lot of teenagers do – they tried to resist, one was yelling and trying to run away to his friend on the ground, who we knew did need medical attention.

We had to knock one out to get them under control, and put some bags on their heads to keep them down. The medic in our squad took care of the wounded one and we also tied him up to make sure he didn’t try to rebel. Since our jeep only held a maximum of five people, we called for a truck to hold the suspects. I was very tempted to start a conversation to break the silence, but that would give the suspects the impression that this was all fun and games, which was clearly not the case. The truck soon arrived and saved me of my itch. We loaded them into the truck and cuffed then into a small metal cage made especially for keeping criminals. We closed the door to the front and started chatting on about what we should do about the bridge, I was so angry I almost forgot regulations and spoke an officer’s name out loud, but was saved by a bump in the road. After a bit more driving, the kid that tried to escape started yelling again, none of us could tell what he was saying over the noise, but it differently wasn’t anything good, so one of the others went over and hit him over the head.

========================================================================

I chose Carrie Johnstone for this journal entry because she is one of the main and most hated antagonists, and is usually regarded as the ‘evil bad guy’ in this book. By doing this journal entry in her point of view, I wanted to show how a lot of misunderstandings happen and that a lot of things aren’t just simply black and white, or in other words, that most things in our society aren’t simply sorted into ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’.

I chose this particular event because it is the beginning of why Johnstone is regarded as the bad guy, and why Marcus came to decide to wage war against the DHS. In the book, which is in Marcus’ point of view, Marcus and friends are simply arrested in a extremely rough manor, which did not seem to have any reason.

Journal 1

Marcus: Day of the Vamp-Mob

Today was the day our vamp-mob plan went down, I was hoping that at least one hundred people would be willing to play our game, and I do admit that it is a little childish, but this was our only chance to escape the wrath of the DHS. The plan was to use the a mob of teenagers playing a vampire game to cause trouble, so me and Ange could meet Masha, who agreed to help us escape to Los Angeles. I woke up this morning and checked my email for an estimate on how many people would join the game, still holding on to that hope. It turned out that over 400 people had sent a reply! I was elated and quickly packed up my stuff, being careful not to wake up my parents on my way out. As I passed an ATM, I remembered Ange's reminder to take money and quickly withdrew the $320 I had saved up. I then bumped into Ange, and we headed off to spray paint the rules of the game on the designated locations. I had always thought that spray painting would be pretty easy, just hold the can, press the button, and write, but by the time we finished all the locations, my arms were sore just from holding the can up, but this wasn't the time to worry about that kind of stuff. The rules were that each 'vamp' could only stay in the game by 'biting' another vamp every minute, and this was done by saying 'bite' 5 times before the other vamp said it, if you lose, then you’re out, and you have to turn your cloak inside out and referee other vamps, so they don't cheat. When we finished setting it up, Ange and I quickly hid to watch how many participants would show up.

 The Civic Center, where we were holding out little game, was one of the worst places in the city, dirty and old, with homeless people and gangs hanging around at night. Right now was one of the busiest hours in the day, when business men tried to get to work before their bosses decided to fire them, and other people tried to get on with their lives. After a minute or so, I spotted a group of vamps come into site, and a few other groups all coming from different directions. They were all receiving puzzled looks from the adults, but then again, it was a little weird. About a minute later, more and more vamps began to pour in, I tried to make an estimate, 100... 200... 300... 400..! 400 vamps were already here, and there were still more pouring in! I soon gave up on counting and just watched in astonishment as what looked like 1000 teens in vampire costumes and makeup gathered in the Civic Center, just for my little distraction party. Some Officials in the area started talking on their radios and sirens started to sound in the distance, so Ange and I went over to start the game. As soon as we came across our first vamp, we both shouted "bite bite bite bite bite" as loud as we could to let the others know that the game was on.

As the vamps figured out that the game was on, I could hear 'bite bite bite bite bite' from every direction, as the people who got out went around notifying others that the game had started, I also had to stay in the game. When around most of the vamps were out, I stared a whisper for all the vamps to drop and pretend to have been gassed once the DHS arrived, I guess this was my own little way of getting revenge to them gassing us that last time in the part. The whisper must have gone pretty fast, because once the helicopters arrived, all of the vamps present dropped and started pretending to choke, covering their eyes, some even made fake tears. DHS officers in full armor wadded through the mob of choking teens, trying to gain control of the situation. The usual loud speaker warning telling us to disperse started, and the business men ran about, trying to get out of the apparent danger. I was so full of victory when air raid sirens started. The sound cut through my eardrums and stabbed my brain like a dagger, forcing me up to my feet. I looked around frantically for Ange, as the loud speaker now threatened to actually release the gas. I was almost stepped on when someone started dragging me out of the crowd; I barely heard her talking to me over the crowd, introducing her as the Masha I met online.

=================================================================

I chose Marcus for this journal entry because he is the main and most important character in the story. Most parts of this book revolve around Marcus, as he tries to fight for his freedom. The book, Little Brother, is written entirely in Marcus' point of view, and therefore, this was one of the best ways to describe a section in the book in journal form.

I chose this section of the book because it is one of the biggest organized ‘rebellions’ that Marcus has ‘lead’, and is very significant in the story.This section in the story also demonstrates Marcus' cunning and will to oppose the DHS (the Dystopian government). 

The following posts are for a school project and are not part of the actual blog