In “Little Brother” a cyberpunk novel written by Cory Doctorow, Marcus is
hoping to change his life and win back his freedom from the DHS. Marcus gives birth to
a new revolution and provides hope in the fight for freedom. But hope can only go so far,
as he is unable to succeed and achieve the change he desires without the help of adults.
Ultimately, Doctorow shows great strength in the teenage characters, it is only with
strong adult contributions.
Marcus gives birth to the Xnet and potentially gives many Xnetters hope to win
back their freedom, but Marcus is unable to make change in even the simplest matters
due to his lack of authority without getting assistance from adults. Soon after being
released, Marcus feels violated and intimidated by the torture inflicted upon him, but he
isn’t willing to let the DHS get away for their actions inflicted upon him and his friends.
Marcus tries to convince his friends “I want us to fight back, (…) No one will believe us.
Then one day, they’ll come for us.” (73) Marcus wants to retaliate he wants to revenge
himself and his friends, but the DHS intimidated Marcus and he is reluctant to speak out
publicly. In society adults hold majority of the power and ability to make a difference,
so Marcus is restricted on what he can do, but this doesn’t prevent him from trying. After
Marcus or his new undercover name “M1k3y” is becoming more active on the Xnet,
more and more people are getting involved, Marcus wants to make a change and he needs
his friends for it. When Marcus meets Jolu and Van at the cafe to tell them of his plan
Van immediately dislikes it “You think your going to stop them? (…) They’re the
government.” (114) Vanessa states that Marcus is unable to make a change and stop the
DHS due to his lack of power/authority and that Marcus can’t do anything alone as
Vanessa implies that the