Foot- Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

As soon as I read the jacket cover of Little Brother I was less than enthusiastic about reading the book. As I read the book it became apparent that I hated it, but I soldiered through and after finishing it I decided I can appreciate it a little, but mostly I hated it.

Looking at this book for my students, I would say the book offers a wide variety of technology for students to explore for their own uses and it shows how the uses of modern technology are very powerful. The students can learn the lesson that technology can be used for good or for harm as the case with the spy ware the government used. This book also stresses the importance of the freedoms granted to us by the Constitution including Freedom of Speech and the right to privacy.

On the other hand, this book is clearly politically one-sided as it offers a liberal view point of the Department of Homeland Security, Guantanamo Bay, and the treatment of terrorists. By placing American teens in the place of actual terrorists it puts the Department of Homeland Securities in the position of villain; when in reality the techniques used by the DHS are usually reserved for those actual enemies of the United States of America. I can accept that Cory Doctorow was using creative license to make a point, however I find it too ridiculous to even find the valid point. I can't get far enough past the one-sidedness and ridiculous situation to appreciate this book especially when I feel like Doctorow is comparing the U.S. to Communist Russia in its own draconian treatment of its citizens.

If I was going to teach my students the lesson of the vital importance of freedom and the danger of an over-reaching governing power through literature I would rather choose Orwell's 1984 or perhaps even Ayn Rand's Anthem. These books are better written then Little Brother and they are focused on teaching about freedom; not pitching their own political views.

Granted, teaching these books instead of Little Brother the class loses the technology presented in Little Brother and so that needs to be taken into account. Also Little Brother is geared toward a younger crowd and it does provide an entertainment factor and teaching another text the teacher may lose his/her audience to the dreaded bore of the "classics". I'm not entirely sure what to do about these two factors, but any suggestions would be appreciated.