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Know Your Authority

There is a system of government in place in every country, supposedly to benefit the people. There is a big difference, however, between a //beneficial// government and a totally //controlling// government where no individuality is allowed to exist. Both of the novels //1984// by George Orwell and //Little Brother// by Cory Doctorow deal with the issue of government control and provokes the reader to really question the government. //1984// is the story of a man living in total government control and what he does to try to change the level of control and rebel. This is the [|extreme] side of what a government can look like when it does not allow for individuality and the people are brain-washed. " __Big Brother[|"]__ sees every little move, and even monitors the //thoughts// of the people. //Little Brother// is a more modern tale when it comes to the government of today. It is the story of how government uses one excuse to go overboard with control and the people don't have a clue that they are being taken advantage of. The government does what it pleases with the people's security and the people are unaware because of the terrorist attack that had just occurred. From these books, the reader learns about individualism, questions the efficiency of the government and further applies these lessons to everyday life.

As dictionary.com shows here, there are many different ways to express one's individualism:"Ind​ividualism- noun, a social theory advocating the liberty, rights or independent action of the individual, the principle or habit of or belief in independent thought or action, the pursuit of individual rather than common or collective interests; egoism."(Individualism). Every society has its social "norm" and individualism is the theory of going against it and being what one desires. Being an individual is good and is not harmful. In //Little Brother//, the main character Marcus is a geek, a nerd who loves to Live Action Role Play [|(LARP)]. "There was a time when my favorite thing in the world was putting on a cape and hanging out in hotels, pretending to be an invisible vampire whom everyone stared at. It's complicated and not nearly as weird as it sounds. The Live Action Role Playing scene combines the best aspects of D&D with drama club with going to sci-fi cons." (Doctorow 285). It is an interesting social group but it is still an individual one that goes against the status quo. Marcus thinks his own thoughts and is not easily manipulated which is what makes him a strong person. There is a quote about thoughts leading to actions which is very true. “Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”- unknown author (ThinkExist). Thoughts shape who one becomes and that is why thoughts must be personal and not controlled. In //1984//, belief in the individual over society is strong in Winston's mind. "...'I am with you,' O'Brien seemed to be saying to him. 'I know precisely what you are feeling. I know all about your contempt, your hatred, your disgust. Don't worry, I am on your side!' And then the flash of intelligence was gone, and O'Brien's face was as inscrutable as everybody else's."(Orwell 17). In this novel there are Thought Police and even a suspicious facial expression can cause death. "...There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized. ...Whether he wrote DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, or whether he refrained from writing it made no difference. Whether he went on with the diary, or whether he did not go on with it, made no difference. The Thought Police would get him just the same."(Orwell 3, 19). The [|Thought Police] ruin individuality and the government of today must not be allowed to pursue this. The government does somewhat control the people's thoughts but this is okay. There is a thin line between individualism and egotism that must not be confused. Winston and Marcus get way in over their heads when challenging the system and although the process was worth it, there may have been some regret. Keeping their own personalities was more important than their own welfare which is somewhat of an extreme. Have individuality but hurting one's self along the way may be pushing the envelope. //1984// and //Little Brother// have crisp examples of the many types of individualism and how they ultimately prevail.

In the author's opinion the government is viewed as a god;"[|deity], [|divinity], [|god], [|immortal] - any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force" (GreekDeity). As stated by thefreedictionary.com, the government is "worshipped as control" and rarely questioned. The people just go along with whatever they are told and hope that it will be beneficial to them. The people completely trust the government, but they shouldn't. Why is that? In //1984// the people believe there is a war going on when really the government is only doing that to gain control."If the party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened-that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death. ... And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed- if all records told the same tale- then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past,' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'..."(Orwell 34/35). In //Little Brother// as well the [|DHS] increases their control to maximum amount and there's nothing the people can do about it because they think it is necessary because of the recent terrorist attack. Using dishonesty, the government leads the people because they don't know differently. Knowing now what such a communistic government can lead to really raises questions in the reader's mind. The people blindly give the government so much control and power to do what they please. "Big Brother" in //1984// even has the power to ration chocolate. The government rations a dessert food because of the "wartime" government, but it's ok because "he" is the government and he can do what he wants. This is overboard, ridiculous and unnecessary; but what does seem necessary is a power check for the government. This is supposedly already in place with the checks and balances of the government but according to the people, it does not exist. According to congressforkids.com, the President can check Congress, the Supreme Court checks Congress and Congress checks the President (Dirkson). In the United States this is the way the government functions but not in // 1984 //where checks and balances do not exist. There is one power and one power only and when Winston tried to develop a way to check the government he failed and was punished for it. "He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."(Orwell 297). After all of Winston's hard work to try to outsmart the government, he was ultimately the one who was outsmarted and brainwashed, an epic failure to his cause. On the other hand, Marcus was completely successful in revealing a detrimental government flaw. "She gave my hands another squeeze. 'It sucks, but this is how it has to be. The point is, it's over. The Governor has thrown the DHS out of the state, dismantled every checkpoint. The state Attorney General has issued warrants for any law-enforcement officers involved in 'stress interrogations' and secret imprisonments. They'll go to jail, Marcus, and it's because of what you did.'"(Doctorow 349). One man's ideas are capable of checking the government and whether he is successful or not just comes with experience. As a people we do what we are told to do but reading these novels can really make the reader question what is going on behind closed doors in that big white house.

Many lessons can be learned through reading //1984// and //Little Brother// but the question is, what does one do with all of the newly obtained knowledge. "Ignorance is bliss", is a well-known saying that is true in every ounce of the phrase [|(]__ Ignorance) __. When people are ignorant they do not have to be concerned with petty problems. There are large problems out there too though. Going through everyday life without fears or knowledge of fears can be quite blissful. Ignorance can be harmful though. When one keeps them self constantly informed about what is going, the outcome should be a beneficial one. Not knowing can be a happy thing but always being informed is better. The citizens of Oceania were clueless that they were living in fake wartime."Comrade Ogilvy, unimagined and hour ago, was now a fact. It struck him as curious that you could create dead men but not living ones. Comrade Ogilvy, who had never existed in the present, now existed in the past, and when once the act of forgery was forgotten, he would exist just as authentically, and upon the same evidence, as Charlemagne or Julius Ceaser." (Orwell 48).Fake war heroes can be made up and so can a fake war. The people of //1984// were happy living in bad conditions because they thought it benefited their country. They would've been even more happy living in real peacetime and not having to worry about rationing anything. The people are unaware of the power and trust they give the government. If a population never trusts blindly, they can know what is going on around them and see to it that the government is efficient. Government efficiency and trust is what needs to be obtained. In //Little Brother//, Marcus' dad thought that the many DHS interrogations were justified until he was [|pulled over] and searched himself and felt wrongly accused. He was blind to the fact that the way the DHS approached the bombing was wrong, but because they were the almighty DHS, he believed in them. This is where blindly trusting gives people problems. All problems can be solved by being informed. Holding onto one's individuality and not allowing one's self to be pushed along with the current aids in success. When the people stay informed, they stay on top of the game. By constantly questioning the government, and knowing what's going on, the people can know who they are trusting is trustworthy and be happy and feel safe with their lives. This is where self-advocating and individualism tie into happiness with the government. Marcus got to questioning the government and all of its motives and came out on top and successfully reformed his safety. Winston on the other hand did not really question the government but blindly trusted someone who should not have been trusted and got himself into a bad situation. Winston strived for individualism but in the end was shot down. The many thought provoking concepts in these books leave many things to ponder and many connections to be made. The more these books are thought about, the more the concepts relate and that's what makes them so relatable to the real world; the concepts must be applied where they relate.

Many themes and lessons applicable to everyday life can be picked up through reading //1984// and //Little Brother// but learning about individualism, questioning the government's efficiency and furthering these ideas into the real world are the most riveting concepts. Maintaining individualism while becoming part of a whole is a great lesson learned. Nothing can replace an individual's ideas but letting it go into egoism and becoming a one-man show is no good. Staying apart of the government as a whole is good; to stay involved with the community but constantly questioning it and staying informed is important. The government deserves control and respect but not blind-trust and so much control that lies go unnoticed. Communistic government is shown in //1984// and begins to evolve in //Little Brother//. The ideals of these books had to have some inspiration, so where is this government heading.

Works Cited

Dark Government. //Picture: Thought Police.// 20 Feb 2010. <[|http://darkgovernment.com]>.

Department of Homeland Security. //About the Department.// 20 Feb 2010. <[|http://www.dhs.gov]>.

Dictionary.com //Individualism.// 13 Feb 2010.<[|http://dictionary.reference.com]>.

Doctorow, Cory. //Little Brother//. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2008.

Farlex, Inc. //Greek Deity//. 14 Feb 2010. <[]>.

Farlex, Inc. //Ignorance is Bliss.// 14 Feb 2010.

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Liberal Vision. //Picture:Big Brother.// 20 Feb 2010. <[|http://www.liberal-vision.org]>.

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

The Dirkson Congress Center. //Checks and Balances//. 13 Feb 2010.

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ThinkExist.com. //ThinkExist//. 12 Feb 2010. <[|http://thinkexist.com]>.

Youtube. //1984 George Orwell Movie Trailer(1984).// 20 Feb 2010. <[|http://www.youtube.com]>.

Youtube. //Larping for Dummies.// 20 Feb 2010. <[|http://www.youtube.com]>.

Youtube. //Police Videos- Man Flips Out When Being Pulled Over.// 20 Feb 2010.

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