I do think that it is justified because the country in danger form terrorists. Anyone they see acting out of the ordinary is probably going to get abducted. But also, the government can only hold you for so long without proof that you were involved in a crime.
I agree that it is justified because in a time of crisis like this, I would be fine with them capturing anybody that looks suspicious. However, I do not think it was fair how they held them for as long as they did. Even though they had just gotten away from the place that was just about to be bombed.
Rachel I do think that it is justified, but it was not justified to treat them the way they did. They hit them upside the head with batons. That is a violation of rights. But it was justified to pick them up because they were close to the explosion and they were above ground.
@Class Do you think the government would actually pick up random kids like Marcus and his friends if there was a situation like this? Don't you think they would've gone for more threatening looking people?
@CLASS How do you guys think the government put that chip in his computer? Wouldn't you think that Marcus' parents would not leave the house because they were searching for their son?
I am not sure whether or not they would have been captured. The police might have just left them there assuming that they were dying or they might have abducted them anyway just for being in that area and not underground
I think if Marcus didn't wave them down they wouldn't have been captured because I think when he waved them down he drew attention to him and his friends and they thought it was suspicious where they were. (Anne W)
@Rachel Yes I do think that it was justified for the government to capture Marcus because he was just a suspect and in America they seem to be innocent until proven guilty.
@Anna I think it was not right for them to take him because they picked him up only because he stopped the car to ask for help. It was only until later they found his devices and asked for his passwords.
@Rachel I understand where you are coming from but technically they did have a reason to suspect he and his friends because they were out of school and they were using their phones to try to find signals for the game that they play. Therefore, they might be seen as a threat because as the Military officials did say that the terrorists did use young adults to do their dirty work.
I can see why they were justified to pick him up but the treatment of him is not justified in the slightest bit. How would you feel if somebody just picked you up and put you in a bag only because you were out on the streets. It is completely wrong to just detain and torture him.
@Jayla I predict he is dead because why would Marcus be so important to the government that they need to keep Darryl and maybe use him against Marcus later? Also, it is probable that his injury with the stabbing could not be healed and that killed him.
@Trevor- I think it would have been pretty easy to put the chip in Marcus' computer. At some point the parents would have had to have left the house over the 6 day span that Marcus was gone.
@Outer Circle What is next? How is Marcus going to take down the system? Does anyone else think that Marcus will use the game that he and his friends play to challenge the system?
@Anna Z. well it seems to me that he is highly educated about hacking into the system and taking down controls. I think it will kind of be like Mission Impossible where they hack the jail cameras and doors. I think all control will break lose and people will take down the system.
I think that Marcus will use skills from the game because to play the game he had to be secretive and get things done which is skills he has learned from the game. (Anne W)
@Paige I don't think the government would have picked up Marcus and his friends if the bridge didn't blow up because I think they actually thought they were trrorists. They could have been more careful but they said terrorists were trying to recruit younger kids. (Anne W)
@CLASS I think that they were kept for so long because they were outside of the place that was bombed. They also bombed the BART, which Marcus just got out of.
Paige I don't think that the government would pick up kids like Marcus because they were too young and it isn't legal to randomly pick up kids. I think that the government was just paranoid and didn't care who it was, they just wanted to capture anyone.
I agree Mitchell. I think that they did not have any suspects so far and they had no evidence that anyone had done it. I think they just picked people up who were still above the ground to pick someone and anyone up.
@Class Were Jolu and Van just waiting for Marcus to come home. Because it said that Van stayed five days and Jolu stayed five. So did they just wait there for each of them to come home or what?
@ Paige I think that the Government would arrest anyone near the crime scene because anyone could technically bomb the bridge, also because it was an attack of such a massive scale the Government has to take all percautions to make sure the terrorist doesn't get away.
Gaby, Well I don’t think they wouldn't have picked them up if Marcus hadn't jumped in the way, I'm certain they would have drove by, but by jumping out at the car, Marcus drew attention to himself and his friends, so they picked them up because of suspicion behavior.
@Class Do you think the school or he principal is involved in Marcus' capture? The school has been trying to peg Marcus down for a while now. When the attack occurred and Marcus got captured, do you think that the principal was one of the reasons why he was held so long? The reason I ask this is because it is against the law for the police to hold you for an extended amount of time without reasonable evidence.
When the government people captured Marcus and his friends, they probably looked him up online and realized that he ditched class and caused problems and this created suspicion, so the school indirectly affected Marcus.
@Class I wonder what other crimes Marcus has done because he seems like a pretty bad kid and he has all the software to do bad things. It just make me curious.
I don't think Marcus has done anything horrible, not jail worthy. I think most of what he does he could be punished but I don't think it was things so bad that he could be severly punished. (Anne W)
@Sohpia I don't think the school has anything to do with Marcus' capture. The author conveyed the principal of the school as pretty unitelligent. He didn't seem like the type of person who was in close relations with the DHS.
@Class throughout all the literature we have been reading and everything we have been told in this class would you rather have a government that completely obeys the constitution and doesn't violate anyone's rights (even when in danger) or a government kind of like our own where they have the right to search you and watch you but everyone is more safe?
@ Sophia I would rather have a government that obeys the constitution than one that watches everyone, because I would rather go about my life not being watched and analyzed than have every person watched, even though that usually gets the criminals caught it can also get innocent people caught.
@Drew I think this is totally true. That if he hadn't been there, he would have never been captured. It was truly the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe though that little incident will help him in the future and they will protect him later on because remember they said he will now be watched by them from now on.
I think that it means exactly what it sounds like. He would have been safe if he was just about anywhere else. It was also timing, so if he had been there an hour later, he would have been safe.
@Drew I think that this quote is true in a lot of cases. Look at 9/11. Those people who were in the twin towers just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and they payed the ultimate price for it. It's just an unfortunate coincidence.
@ Sophia I don't think the school or the principal have anything to do with Marcus's capture. Mainly because the school at the time didn't know that Marcus was gone. Also even after he was captured I am pretty sure that homeland security notified the school that they had captured Marcus.
@ Drew I think that the quote, "Wrong place at the wrong time." Describes everything that has happened so far in the book, and was the main reason why Marcus and his friends were captured.
@Class Just a random thought... what if they DHS are actually the terrorists in disguise and they are part of the game or the heard about Marcus and are curious about his skills? Kinda far fetched but why would they be driving around directly after a terrorist attack where they could easily get bombed?
umm... I think that DHS is not the terrorist orginization. They work for the Government of the United States of America and help US as Americans to stay safe on our own soil.
The Department of Homeland Security is a real department and they really do stop terrorist attacks and defend our homeland. So I don't think that they are terrorists.
@ Sophia I don't think the DHS is the terrorist, but I had a passing thought that maybe the government (or someone else) did the bombing so they would have a reason to exert more power over the people. It could and most likely was an actual terrorist, but the idea that it was someone more involved with the people could be slightly possible.
@Inner Circle but sometimes the "excepts" are for the better because a couple of months ago scientists believe that if Dinosaur Ridge isn't covered up then the prints and the artifacts from the Dinosaur age will be lost. So not all excepts are bad because every decision has consequences both good and bad.
@Drew & @Rachel I agree this is true, but for what was occuring at the time with the bridge being blown up and the BART being attacked, what would've been the right place for the kids to be? Like under ground or above ground - not at school
@Bloggers The whole time Marcus is being held all he worries about is his privacy being taken away from him. Why did he finally fold and tell them everything?
Marcus wasn't willing to give away his privacy in his phone but he didn't realize that his freedom of movement would be taken away and he had to give one up so he gave up his privacy in his phone so he could have privacy.
Does the Department of HLS have to abide by regular laws and rights, or does it not count for them? And they thought about getting a lawyer but would they be able to sue? How? And could HLS get in trouble for not respecting the captives’ rights and taking them with no probable cause?
@Class Do you think the government should be able to decide that somebody is below the Constitution given rights? They had no cause in this book to do that. Paige
I do not think that they should be able to decide whether someone is below Constitution, and have no rights, especially in a situation like this when they just picked up some kids, without a cause really, and basically just violated their privacy and all their rights. They didn’t even arrest them, just detained them.
@Inner Circle I think the only reason he didn't want to give in at first is that it's not that he was guilty for the terrorist but he has hacked into other systems and done things that could get him into a lot of trouble.
@Outer Circle What was the purpose of playing and winning the game? Was there a prize at the end of the game that brings teenagers to the game? Could it be possible that the terrorists created the game because without the game Marcus and the friends wouldn't have been there?
I don't think terrorists would create a game like that. It seems very unrelated. It was probably ljust coincidence. I think the whole point of the book is that bad timing can lead to horrible things.
@Inner Circle If you were being tortured, do you think that you'd still not submit to the DHS? Being imprisoned and being asked for your passwords and being in no danger and being asked for your passwords are two different things.
@Paige It really depends on the situation in my opinion. If it was just an average day and my teacher asked me to open my locker so they could search it just for the heck of it then that would tick me off. But if we were under attack by terrorists and they asked to search my locker I would say yes because it could be a matter of life or death.
@Class Do you think that the creators of the game are the terrorists? They knew all the gamers would be there and that the gamers are most likely computer hackers or people that are basically defying the government, so maybe the game was set up by the government to catch people who are going against them.
I don't think the creators were terroorists because it seems like they had other missions before the attack and Marcus said they had a head start because most kids would stay in school and start the mission after. (Anne W)
I think that severe haircut lady is a symbol for the entire DHS. Because Marcus doesn't like her and the author seems to try to make the reader not like her, the author is making the DHS the antaonist through severe haircut lady.
@Class For all of us who have nothing to hide its not really an issue to have the gov't go through our phones etc. Yet I think for Marcus, he had so much to hide he wanted to be free from being accused as a terrorist but he didn't want to be caught for all of the things he had done.
I still think it's ridiculous to have someone go through your phone just because they feel like it. I don't have anything on my phone to hide but it still is wrong that the government thinks they can just peruse through your phone.
Class How can the government lay out rights and then just decide not to use them? Nobody is safe in America if the laws are ignored this much. This shows that the laws are just put into place just to make us happy, not to actually do anything.
@Class Does anyone else feel that all of the books that we have read this year or at least this semester have a setting that is filled with the ideas of either little to no trust or betrayal? Is it truly what it takes to challenge the system?
@Angelo I think he will try to bring it down using all of his fancy software virus downloading but I have a feeling it will kind of be like 1984 and he will try but then will be caught and in the end nothing will be done.
@trevor I feel they think this is worse than 9/11 because either more people died or since it happened after 9/11 they are treating it with more protection since its the second time a major attack happned
@Class What was the importance of the girl who threatened to send Marcus' picture to his school? Did she have anything to do with the attack considering the attack occured as she was talking to them?
She was just playing the same game that Marcus and his friends were. She threatened for them to leave or else she would send the picture to his school and get him in a lot of trouble.
The girl might have saved Marcus and his friends' lives because they were getting close to the bridge to find the next clue, but she stopped them and might have saved their lives.
@Anna I think that in order to challenge the system you can only trust yourself. There are tons of people who are pro-government or government workers who will let you confide in them and then stab you in the back.
@Angelo I think Marcus will challenge the government because they didn't really have a reason to capture him in the first place. He will probably fight against them for monitering him so much and treating him so poorly.
@Angelo @Emma When the first took Marcus, he originally thought that the terrorist had captured them, but he was studying hair cut lady and the other guards, and he said there was something just so American about them, even though one was Hispanic he still was able to grasp that these are Americans ,and it surprised him they treated people like that.
@Mortiz I think that we don't decide to blame those people and make them the enemies because they look too much like the stereotypical American. If suddenly America makes them the enemy, it's like making yourself the enemy.
@ Rachel I think it was unjustified for the government to capture Marcus, because the only "evidence" they had that he was a terrorist was that he was in the same area at the time of the bombing. If they used that logic for the whole situation, any one of the people who had died on the bridge could have been the terrorist, or all of them, just because they were in that area at the time of the bombing.
The first five chapters of this book were not only enticing and gripping, but also a real good set up to what the book was going to become. It skipped right to the action, which is good cause sometimes it takes 200 pages for the book to get interesting. In reality, I doubt that the government would ever be able to detain average citizens like that with not a very valid reason to like they did with Jolu and Van, but I think it was very justified that they put Marcus into prison. When someone won't unlock their phone immediately after a terrorist attack you can't expect the government to shrug and say, "alright well he has his rights," because it seemed as if he had something to hide. In class, I have been very vocal about that the government truly is trying to protect us, and helps to catch a lot of bad people. I know they bend the laws a little bit, but in all honesty we all do that from time to time. The way the DHS treated Marcus wasn't very appropriate because they had not proven anything yet, but it was in a way justified because it was a time of total chaos in the US. In a time of discombobulation and such, you can;t expect everyone to act completely rationally.
The way that the DHS treated Marcus was absolutely shocking to me. It kind of makes me wonder if they could do that to us today, and makes me wonder if the government is something that I should trust as much as I do. The fact that Marcus couldn't even call home was scary. I could just be overthinking everything about the book, but yet, I can't help but wonder if Colorado was attacked by terrorists and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, what would happen to me? Marcus didn't really have anything to hide, sure, ditching school is bad, but I highly doubt that the government would be worried about a slacking kid in the middle of a terrorist attack. I would beg for my rights just as much as Marcus did, even though I would probably have nothing to hide. I think the DHS acted wrongly and that they should have backed off a little bit. Now on Darryl, I wonder if he's still being held. Personally, I think he's dead, but then again, he could be refusing to tell them anything, making him look more guilty. I'm excited to find out what happens in the rest of the book, but I'm also worried it will make me feel even more paranoid than I already am.
The start of this book was truly excellent. I actually got into to it and enjoyed reading it! I really loved how realistic it was. How the DHS was to Marcus, all the encrypted technology; I find it completely possible. Despite our given "rights" i think that the government has gone over board in trying to protect us and forgotten about most of our freedoms. Our world has changed immensely since 9/11 and i think Little Brother shows that really well. The Bill of Rights says that police MUST have a warrant to arrest, but where was the DHS's warrant when they arrested Marcus? They may say they didn't really 'arrest' him, but honestly it was an arrest. The laws set put do not value what this country is supposed to be about. I think there is avery fine line between protection and over-controling. The first few chapters were a great start to the beginning of the book and really got me to open my eyes about the country I live in.
@Class
ReplyDeleteDo you think it was justified for the government to capture Marcus without evidence he had done something wrong?
Rachel
DeleteI do think that it is justified because the country in danger form terrorists. Anyone they see acting out of the ordinary is probably going to get abducted. But also, the government can only hold you for so long without proof that you were involved in a crime.
I agree that it is justified because in a time of crisis like this, I would be fine with them capturing anybody that looks suspicious. However, I do not think it was fair how they held them for as long as they did. Even though they had just gotten away from the place that was just about to be bombed.
DeleteRachel
DeleteI do think that it is justified, but it was not justified to treat them the way they did. They hit them upside the head with batons. That is a violation of rights. But it was justified to pick them up because they were close to the explosion and they were above ground.
@Class
ReplyDeleteDo you think the government would actually pick up random kids like Marcus and his friends if there was a situation like this? Don't you think they would've gone for more threatening looking people?
@CLASS
ReplyDeleteHow do you guys think the government put that chip in his computer? Wouldn't you think that Marcus' parents would not leave the house because they were searching for their son?
The government probably broke into his house and did it. They clearly have no problems with doing illegal things.
Delete@Class
ReplyDeleteDo you think that Marcus and his friends would've still been captured if Marcus hadn't stepped out in front of the vehicle?
Gabriella
DeleteI am not sure whether or not they would have been captured. The police might have just left them there assuming that they were dying or they might have abducted them anyway just for being in that area and not underground
I think if Marcus didn't wave them down they wouldn't have been captured because I think when he waved them down he drew attention to him and his friends and they thought it was suspicious where they were. (Anne W)
Delete@Rachel
ReplyDeleteYes I do think that it was justified for the government to capture Marcus because he was just a suspect and in America they seem to be innocent until proven guilty.
@Anna
DeleteI think it was not right for them to take him because they picked him up only because he stopped the car to ask for help. It was only until later they found his devices and asked for his passwords.
@Rachel
DeleteWe're not positive that the government only picked him up becuase he asked for help. He could have gotten picked up because of where he was.
Emma Y.
@Rachel
DeleteI understand where you are coming from but technically they did have a reason to suspect he and his friends because they were out of school and they were using their phones to try to find signals for the game that they play. Therefore, they might be seen as a threat because as the Military officials did say that the terrorists did use young adults to do their dirty work.
I can see why they were justified to pick him up but the treatment of him is not justified in the slightest bit. How would you feel if somebody just picked you up and put you in a bag only because you were out on the streets. It is completely wrong to just detain and torture him.
DeleteI think that Daryel is still alive and maybe the goverment people are holding him, so they can use him against Marcus if they need to in the future.
ReplyDelete@Jayla
DeleteI predict he is dead because why would Marcus be so important to the government that they need to keep Darryl and maybe use him against Marcus later? Also, it is probable that his injury with the stabbing could not be healed and that killed him.
@Trevor- I think it would have been pretty easy to put the chip in Marcus' computer. At some point the parents would have had to have left the house over the 6 day span that Marcus was gone.
ReplyDeleteEmma Y.
@Outer Circle
ReplyDeleteWhat is next? How is Marcus going to take down the system? Does anyone else think that Marcus will use the game that he and his friends play to challenge the system?
@Anna Z.
Deletewell it seems to me that he is highly educated about hacking into the system and taking down controls. I think it will kind of be like Mission Impossible where they hack the jail cameras and doors. I think all control will break lose and people will take down the system.
I think that Marcus will use skills from the game because to play the game he had to be secretive and get things done which is skills he has learned from the game. (Anne W)
Delete@Paige I don't think the government would have picked up Marcus and his friends if the bridge didn't blow up because I think they actually thought they were trrorists. They could have been more careful but they said terrorists were trying to recruit younger kids. (Anne W)
ReplyDelete@CLASS
ReplyDeleteI think that they were kept for so long because they were outside of the place that was bombed. They also bombed the BART, which Marcus just got out of.
Paige
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the government would pick up kids like Marcus because they were too young and it isn't legal to randomly pick up kids. I think that the government was just paranoid and didn't care who it was, they just wanted to capture anyone.
I agree Mitchell. I think that they did not have any suspects so far and they had no evidence that anyone had done it. I think they just picked people up who were still above the ground to pick someone and anyone up.
Delete@Class
ReplyDeleteWere Jolu and Van just waiting for Marcus to come home. Because it said that Van stayed five days and Jolu stayed five. So did they just wait there for each of them to come home or what?
@Drew
DeleteI think that they had just gotten dropped off or released as well as Marcus.
Jolu, Van, and Marcus all came off the boat from the island that they were being held at at the same time, so they didn't have to wait for each other.
Delete@Drew
DeleteI think they were just guessing about the amount of time they were gone. There weren't clocks or anything.
I think that they were all guessing how long they think they had been gone, but it ended up 6 days for all of them.
Delete@ Paige
ReplyDeleteI think that the Government would arrest anyone near the crime scene because anyone could technically bomb the bridge, also because it was an attack of such a massive scale the Government has to take all percautions to make sure the terrorist doesn't get away.
Gaby,
ReplyDeleteWell I don’t think they wouldn't have picked them up if Marcus hadn't jumped in the way, I'm certain they would have drove by, but by jumping out at the car, Marcus drew attention to himself and his friends, so they picked them up because of suspicion behavior.
@ Class
ReplyDeleteI agree with Trevor on the fact that they arrested Marcus and his friends because the BART had also been bombed along with the Bay Bridge.
@Class
ReplyDeleteDo you think the school or he principal is involved in Marcus' capture? The school has been trying to peg Marcus down for a while now. When the attack occurred and Marcus got captured, do you think that the principal was one of the reasons why he was held so long? The reason I ask this is because it is against the law for the police to hold you for an extended amount of time without reasonable evidence.
When the government people captured Marcus and his friends, they probably looked him up online and realized that he ditched class and caused problems and this created suspicion, so the school indirectly affected Marcus.
Delete@Class
ReplyDeleteI wonder what other crimes Marcus has done because he seems like a pretty bad kid and he has all the software to do bad things. It just make me curious.
I don't think Marcus has done anything horrible, not jail worthy. I think most of what he does he could be punished but I don't think it was things so bad that he could be severly punished. (Anne W)
Delete@Sohpia
ReplyDeleteI don't think the school has anything to do with Marcus' capture. The author conveyed the principal of the school as pretty unitelligent. He didn't seem like the type of person who was in close relations with the DHS.
Emma Y.
@Class
ReplyDeletethroughout all the literature we have been reading and everything we have been told in this class would you rather have a government that completely obeys the constitution and doesn't violate anyone's rights (even when in danger) or a government kind of like our own where they have the right to search you and watch you but everyone is more safe?
@ Sophia
DeleteI would rather have a government that obeys the constitution than one that watches everyone, because I would rather go about my life not being watched and analyzed than have every person watched, even though that usually gets the criminals caught it can also get innocent people caught.
@Class
ReplyDelete"Wrong place at the wrong time." What do you guys think of this quote?
@Drew
DeleteI think this is totally true. That if he hadn't been there, he would have never been captured. It was truly the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe though that little incident will help him in the future and they will protect him later on because remember they said he will now be watched by them from now on.
I think that it means exactly what it sounds like. He would have been safe if he was just about anywhere else. It was also timing, so if he had been there an hour later, he would have been safe.
Delete@Drew
DeleteI think that this quote is true in a lot of cases. Look at 9/11. Those people who were in the twin towers just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and they payed the ultimate price for it. It's just an unfortunate coincidence.
@ Sophia
ReplyDeleteI don't think the school or the principal have anything to do with Marcus's capture. Mainly because the school at the time didn't know that Marcus was gone. Also even after he was captured I am pretty sure that homeland security notified the school that they had captured Marcus.
@ Drew
ReplyDeleteI think that the quote, "Wrong place at the wrong time." Describes everything that has happened so far in the book, and was the main reason why Marcus and his friends were captured.
@Class
ReplyDeleteJust a random thought... what if they DHS are actually the terrorists in disguise and they are part of the game or the heard about Marcus and are curious about his skills? Kinda far fetched but why would they be driving around directly after a terrorist attack where they could easily get bombed?
umm... I think that DHS is not the terrorist orginization. They work for the Government of the United States of America and help US as Americans to stay safe on our own soil.
DeleteThe Department of Homeland Security is a real department and they really do stop terrorist attacks and defend our homeland. So I don't think that they are terrorists.
Delete@ Sophia
DeleteI don't think the DHS is the terrorist, but I had a passing thought that maybe the government (or someone else) did the bombing so they would have a reason to exert more power over the people. It could and most likely was an actual terrorist, but the idea that it was someone more involved with the people could be slightly possible.
@Inner Circle but sometimes the "excepts" are for the better because a couple of months ago scientists believe that if Dinosaur Ridge isn't covered up then the prints and the artifacts from the Dinosaur age will be lost. So not all excepts are bad because every decision has consequences both good and bad.
ReplyDelete@Drew & @Rachel
ReplyDeleteI agree this is true, but for what was occuring at the time with the bridge being blown up and the BART being attacked, what would've been the right place for the kids to be? Like under ground or above ground - not at school
@Bloggers
ReplyDeleteThe whole time Marcus is being held all he worries about is his privacy being taken away from him. Why did he finally fold and tell them everything?
I think he finally folded because he realized that they were serious and would torture him to the point of death.
DeleteMarcus wasn't willing to give away his privacy in his phone but he didn't realize that his freedom of movement would be taken away and he had to give one up so he gave up his privacy in his phone so he could have privacy.
DeleteDoes the Department of HLS have to abide by regular laws and rights, or does it not count for them? And they thought about getting a lawyer but would they be able to sue? How? And could HLS get in trouble for not respecting the captives’ rights and taking them with no probable cause?
ReplyDelete@Class
ReplyDeleteDo you think the government should be able to decide that somebody is below the Constitution given rights? They had no cause in this book to do that.
Paige
I do not think that they should be able to decide whether someone is below Constitution, and have no rights, especially in a situation like this when they just picked up some kids, without a cause really, and basically just violated their privacy and all their rights. They didn’t even arrest them, just detained them.
Delete@Angelo
ReplyDeleteI think he finally told them everything because they were treating him so badly and he just wanted to get out alive.
@Angelo
ReplyDeleteI think that the mental abuse that he was going through was far worse than surrendering his privacy to the government.
@Inner Circle
ReplyDeleteI think the only reason he didn't want to give in at first is that it's not that he was guilty for the terrorist but he has hacked into other systems and done things that could get him into a lot of trouble.
@Bloggers
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the Hair cut lady has something against Marcus?
@Angelo
DeleteI don't know if she has something particularly against Marcus but I do find something about her character a little fishy. What do you think?
@Angelo
ReplyDeleteI would have folded under pressure too I think because they had authority on him and he wanted to be let go safely.
What did you think of severe haircut lady?
ReplyDelete@Outer Circle
ReplyDeleteWhat was the purpose of playing and winning the game? Was there a prize at the end of the game that brings teenagers to the game? Could it be possible that the terrorists created the game because without the game Marcus and the friends wouldn't have been there?
I don't think terrorists would create a game like that. It seems very unrelated. It was probably ljust coincidence. I think the whole point of the book is that bad timing can lead to horrible things.
Delete@Paige
DeleteOr the point of the book could be to teach kids to stay in school.
@Angelo--It's sometimes scary how our minds think alike. :(
ReplyDelete@Inner Circle
ReplyDeleteIf you were being tortured, do you think that you'd still not submit to the DHS? Being imprisoned and being asked for your passwords and being in no danger and being asked for your passwords are two different things.
Emma Y.
@Paige
ReplyDeleteIt really depends on the situation in my opinion. If it was just an average day and my teacher asked me to open my locker so they could search it just for the heck of it then that would tick me off. But if we were under attack by terrorists and they asked to search my locker I would say yes because it could be a matter of life or death.
Why would you say yes? Were you part of the attack? How could searching your locker help them in any way if you weren't involved?
Delete@Class
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the creators of the game are the terrorists? They knew all the gamers would be there and that the gamers are most likely computer hackers or people that are basically defying the government, so maybe the game was set up by the government to catch people who are going against them.
I don't think the creators were terroorists because it seems like they had other missions before the attack and Marcus said they had a head start because most kids would stay in school and start the mission after. (Anne W)
Delete@ Mmoritz
ReplyDeleteGreat minds think alike :)
@mmoritz
ReplyDelete@Angelo
I think that severe haircut lady is a symbol for the entire DHS. Because Marcus doesn't like her and the author seems to try to make the reader not like her, the author is making the DHS the antaonist through severe haircut lady.
Emma Y.
@Class
ReplyDeleteFor all of us who have nothing to hide its not really an issue to have the gov't go through our phones etc. Yet I think for Marcus, he had so much to hide he wanted to be free from being accused as a terrorist but he didn't want to be caught for all of the things he had done.
I still think it's ridiculous to have someone go through your phone just because they feel like it. I don't have anything on my phone to hide but it still is wrong that the government thinks they can just peruse through your phone.
DeleteClass
ReplyDeleteHow can the government lay out rights and then just decide not to use them? Nobody is safe in America if the laws are ignored this much. This shows that the laws are just put into place just to make us happy, not to actually do anything.
@Class
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else feel that all of the books that we have read this year or at least this semester have a setting that is filled with the ideas of either little to no trust or betrayal? Is it truly what it takes to challenge the system?
@ Class
ReplyDeleteHow do you think Marcus will challenge the system?
@Angelo
DeleteI think he will try to bring it down using all of his fancy software virus downloading but I have a feeling it will kind of be like 1984 and he will try but then will be caught and in the end nothing will be done.
@Angelo
DeleteI think that Marcus might include the game because a lot of young adults or teenagers follow it and with people there come power from numbers.
Why do you guys think the investigators keep saying that this was the worst terrorist attack ever? To me, 9/11 still seems much worse than this.
ReplyDelete@trevor
DeleteI feel they think this is worse than 9/11 because either more people died or since it happened after 9/11 they are treating it with more protection since its the second time a major attack happned
@Class
ReplyDeleteWhat was the importance of the girl who threatened to send Marcus' picture to his school? Did she have anything to do with the attack considering the attack occured as she was talking to them?
She was just playing the same game that Marcus and his friends were. She threatened for them to leave or else she would send the picture to his school and get him in a lot of trouble.
DeleteThe girl might have saved Marcus and his friends' lives because they were getting close to the bridge to find the next clue, but she stopped them and might have saved their lives.
Delete@Anna
ReplyDeleteI think that in order to challenge the system you can only trust yourself. There are tons of people who are pro-government or government workers who will let you confide in them and then stab you in the back.
@Angelo
ReplyDeleteI think Marcus will challenge the government because they didn't really have a reason to capture him in the first place. He will probably fight against them for monitering him so much and treating him so poorly.
@Angelo @Emma
ReplyDeleteWhen the first took Marcus, he originally thought that the terrorist had captured them, but he was studying hair cut lady and the other guards, and he said there was something just so American about them, even though one was Hispanic he still was able to grasp that these are Americans ,and it surprised him they treated people like that.
@Mortiz
ReplyDeleteI think that we don't decide to blame those people and make them the enemies because they look too much like the stereotypical American. If suddenly America makes them the enemy, it's like making yourself the enemy.
@ Rachel
ReplyDeleteI think it was unjustified for the government to capture Marcus, because the only "evidence" they had that he was a terrorist was that he was in the same area at the time of the bombing. If they used that logic for the whole situation, any one of the people who had died on the bridge could have been the terrorist, or all of them, just because they were in that area at the time of the bombing.
The first five chapters of this book were not only enticing and gripping, but also a real good set up to what the book was going to become. It skipped right to the action, which is good cause sometimes it takes 200 pages for the book to get interesting. In reality, I doubt that the government would ever be able to detain average citizens like that with not a very valid reason to like they did with Jolu and Van, but I think it was very justified that they put Marcus into prison. When someone won't unlock their phone immediately after a terrorist attack you can't expect the government to shrug and say, "alright well he has his rights," because it seemed as if he had something to hide. In class, I have been very vocal about that the government truly is trying to protect us, and helps to catch a lot of bad people. I know they bend the laws a little bit, but in all honesty we all do that from time to time. The way the DHS treated Marcus wasn't very appropriate because they had not proven anything yet, but it was in a way justified because it was a time of total chaos in the US. In a time of discombobulation and such, you can;t expect everyone to act completely rationally.
ReplyDeleteThe way that the DHS treated Marcus was absolutely shocking to me. It kind of makes me wonder if they could do that to us today, and makes me wonder if the government is something that I should trust as much as I do. The fact that Marcus couldn't even call home was scary. I could just be overthinking everything about the book, but yet, I can't help but wonder if Colorado was attacked by terrorists and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, what would happen to me? Marcus didn't really have anything to hide, sure, ditching school is bad, but I highly doubt that the government would be worried about a slacking kid in the middle of a terrorist attack. I would beg for my rights just as much as Marcus did, even though I would probably have nothing to hide. I think the DHS acted wrongly and that they should have backed off a little bit. Now on Darryl, I wonder if he's still being held. Personally, I think he's dead, but then again, he could be refusing to tell them anything, making him look more guilty. I'm excited to find out what happens in the rest of the book, but I'm also worried it will make me feel even more paranoid than I already am.
ReplyDeleteThe start of this book was truly excellent. I actually got into to it and enjoyed reading it! I really loved how realistic it was. How the DHS was to Marcus, all the encrypted technology; I find it completely possible. Despite our given "rights" i think that the government has gone over board in trying to protect us and forgotten about most of our freedoms. Our world has changed immensely since 9/11 and i think Little Brother shows that really well. The Bill of Rights says that police MUST have a warrant to arrest, but where was the DHS's warrant when they arrested Marcus? They may say they didn't really 'arrest' him, but honestly it was an arrest. The laws set put do not value what this country is supposed to be about. I think there is avery fine line between protection and over-controling. The first few chapters were a great start to the beginning of the book and really got me to open my eyes about the country I live in.
ReplyDelete