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Challenging the system, there are many ways to do so. Such as, ditching school, like Marcus did in Cory Doctorow's //'Little Brother,'// which ended him up in a prison on [|Treasure Island], run by the Department of Homeland Security. Or defying the communist government as Winston did in George Orwell's //'1984.'// As each story progresses, each character tries to establish their individuality and [|rights as a person]. Each of the main characters run across many roadblocks and the outcome received is not what they wanted, or expected; challenging the system is a common theme in both of these novels, as well as one searching for their individualism and the fight between humanism and technology and the invasion of privacy.

Imagine being stuck in prison and mistreated for something you had no idea was going to happen, or for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, that's what happened to Marcus in //'Little Brother.//' He decided to ditch school one day with some friends and was almost killed. Someone had blown up the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. He and his friends just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As the sirens screamed from all over, everyone on the street frantically ran toward the BART station. Marcus and his friends ended up back on the street and were taken by the DHS,[|(Department of Homeland Security),] to a prison not to far away.Marcus was tortured and mistreated, while his friends had t.v. time and got to walk in the yard. They also had food; Marcus didn't get much food or many privileges. When Marcus and all his friends but one were released, he sought revenge on the DHS. He was 'challenging the system' by creating a system the DHS could not track people through. People from all over knew him as 'Mickey.' To most he was a hero for standing up for everyone, others thought he was a terrorist for messing with the DHS. The technology also used was newer and better. Marcus used his Xbox as a system that the DHS couldn't track, so they could have conversations without people seeing every word they typed. Winston, from //'1984,'// also challenged the system, but in a different way. He received a book about the inner party of his government and was caught with it. He also had an[| affair] with a woman, which is very frowned upon in his communist government. He was trying to become his own individual, but it was a whole lot harder than he thought. In his society, they had telescreens, which were on at all times, they were always being watched by their government. This would also be an invasion of privacy. In 'Little Brother,' the DHS tracked anyone and everyone. They tracked people through their phones and computers. They used the fastpasses used to get on the highways to track you as well. Marcus and his friends use devices called scramblers, or jammers, to change the information on people's fast passes, or at least where they have 'been.' It became a routine for people to be pulled over at least twice a day to be questioned by the cops. "It's not about doing something shameful. It's about doing something private. It's about your life belonging to you. They were taking that from me piece by piece." What they received as their revenge, is not at all what they expected, and defiantly not what they wanted.

These books provide the readers with the things that happen negatively when one challenges the system, but what positive things are produced when the system is challenged? In //'1984,'// Winston ends up in [|Room 101], where his worst fears are realized because he challenged the system. He was interrogated and punished for things that happen all the time in today's world. His government used negative situations to get him to tell them what they needed. "' The worst thing in the world, it varies from individual to individual. It may be being buried alive, or death by fire, or by drowning, or by impalement, or fifty other deaths...In your case, the worst thing in the world is rats.'" (Orwell, 283) Almost the same thing happened with Marcus in 'Little Brother.' He was also interrogated using negative ways, such as no food for a day, having to sit in soiled pants for a long period of time, and not receiving the luxuries as other prisoners. "He'd eaten his meals in the mess hall with a bunch of other people, and been given time in a TV room where they were shown last year's blockbusters on video." (Doctorow, 70) What positive things are provided in these novels? They might get what they wanted at first, but the outcome that was still coming, is defiantly not what the characters expected. Such as Winston being thrown into Room 101, and later being too drunk to remember anything that he loved or even liked before. The invasions of privacy are also very common. The DHS taking Marcus's passwords to his phone and everything else. Or the telescreens being on //all// the time in '1984.' Those invasions of privacy happen all the time today. In homes, schools, and airport security. Parents or even siblings might go through stuff that does not belong to them. Or schools, they do locker checks all the time if they suspect something. And airports, as Mr. Meyer said, "They have security cameras that are basically a naked black and white picture of you. They had to make it a little blury though because it was [|'an invasion of privacy,'] but many things can still be seen."

What should be done next? Trying anything and everything. The only way to know something for a fact is to do it for yourself. Start small, and probably stay small. Challenging the system is something done on a regular basis, never really noticed by the ones challenging. Talking back to adult figures; teachers, parents, elderly. Breaking rules; not doing homework, staying up to late, ignoring adults. Things like that, Not adhering to rules,unwilling to conform, and many, many others. If not, challenge the system with actions, [|challenge it with words.] "I have great difficulty saying no. I’m now in a position where there’s so many wonderful challenges still to be tackled," said Richard Branson. How is invasion of privacy stopped? Keep passwords secrets. Try not to keep personal things on or in private areas, i.e.[|facebook], myspace, places like that, or even phones. People, like the DHS can track the places the phone is taken, where the person is and the texts sent and received. "At Heathrow airport they are debating the use of new X-ray technology that electronically disrobes a person and shows their naked image. Government power is something that's easy to abuse, and many people are raising questions about [|invasion of privacy]," quoted from Michael Quinn.

Being a different person from everyone else should not have to be established.The citizens, of any country, should not be treated this way. They all should have privacy, all be their own person. Have their own personality, not be over taken by technology. Individualism is something that shouldn't have to try and be achieved, like said before, it should already be there.

Works Cited

"An Affair To Remember." //An Affair To Remember//. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. . "Cell Phone Tracker Full Screenshot - Cell Phone Tracker Demo." //IPhone Software - WareSeeker//. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. . Doctorow, Cory. __Little Brother__. New York: TOR, 2008. "Famous Challenging Quotes - Spiritual Quotes." //Spiritual Quotes - Spirituality Portal//. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. . "Homeland Security." //Homeland Security//. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. . "How to Hack Facebook Accounts- Social Engineering Is the Best Possible Way |." //Faceblogger//. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. . "Invasion of Privacy, A Collection of Images." //P.A.P. Blog Human Rights Etc.// Web. 26 Mar. 2010. . Orwell, George. __1984__. New York: Signet Classics, 1949. "Room 101." //Room 101//. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. . //Treasure Island//. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. . "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights." //Welcome to the United Nations: It's Your World//. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. .