Theme Of Privacy In Little Brother

In “Little Brother”, a novel written by Cory Doctorow, there seem to be many themes that are based mostly along the lines of the rights of U.S. citizens, national security, and how that security is carried out. Privacy is one of the main recurring themes and is brought up quite often throughout the novel. On multiple occasions, the privacy of the main character, as well as that of several minor characters, is taken away by the Department of Homeland Security after a terrorist attack. This seems to cause a great discomfort in the characters, so much so that they decide to fight against it. It is clear that Doctorow feels strongly about his privacy and he demonstrates this in “Little Brother” by placing Marcus Yallow (the main character) in situations
It is here that he discovers that the police have been monitoring the BART using the Fast Passes, using it as a way of catching drug-dealers and terrorists. While Marcus and his mother find the idea insane, Marcus’ father believes it to be a reasonably good one and does not see the problem. “I understand that you don’t like that this system caused you some inconvenience, Marcus. But you of all people should appreciate the gravity of the situation. There way no harm done, was there? They even gave you a ride home” (Doctorow, 110). This difference in views brings a lot of tension through a lot of the novel between the two, along with a bitter Marcus that wants his father to understand his point of view but does not see the point in arguing. “They threatened to send me to jail, I thought, but I could see that there was no point in saying it” (Doctorow, 110). This seems to be the author’s example of his arguments with others over similar topic, particularly over the lack of privacy the government gives by monitoring everyone’s every move, with him in Marcus’ shoes and his opponents in Marcus’ dad’s shoes. He feels that it is an invasion of privacy, while others see it as they are being kept