A Paranoid World
According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, paranoia is “a serious mental illness that causes you to falsely believe that other people are trying to harm you” it is also “a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others”. Paranoia is all around us. In Cory Doctorow 's novel, Little Brother, the Bay Bridge in San Francisco is bombed during a terrorist attack. Marcus Yallow is a teenage technical genius. He and his group of friends left school one day to play a scavenger hunt game. They were out playing the game when the Bay Bridge was bombed. Trying to escape a frantic crowd they realized that Marcus’ best friend, Darryl Grover, had been stabbed.After …show more content…
In Little Brother, racial paranoia is evident when Jolu, Marcus’ hispanic friend, explains to Marcus that he isn’t as safe as a white individual. Jolu tells Marcus, “‘I hate to say it, but you’re white. I’m not. White people get caught with cocaine and do a little rehab time. Brown people get caught with crack and go to prison for twenty years. White people see cops on the street and feel safer. Brown people see cops on the street and wonder if they’re about to get searched’” (160). This proves how Jolu is paranoid about being caught for helping Marcus bring down the Department of Homeland Security because he feels as though they will treat him worse because he is not a white citizen. Jolu says, “‘The way the DHS is treating you? The law in this country has always been like that for us’”(160). Jolu has been taught that the law does not favor certain races, and does favor white americans. This helps the reader understand that Jolus is further explaining to Marcus the truth about racial paranoia. Like Marcus, many white citizens do not realize what is going on in our world, because they do not have to be paranoid for the same …show more content…
In Little Brother paranoia is evident in a few different varieties. By introducing a character’s race and background you can see how racial paranoia is present. Doctorow includes government paranoia, which relates very well to our modern world. There is also the aspect of the paranoia that people experience after or during a disaster. Doctorow shows these aspects of paranoia to relate to the reader. Paranoia is a big part of society’s life whether or not it is noticed or not. Racial paranoia, government paranoia, and people becoming paranoid when disaster happens are all present in society
According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, paranoia is “a serious mental illness that causes you to falsely believe that other people are trying to harm you” it is also “a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others”. Paranoia is all around us. In Cory Doctorow 's novel, Little Brother, the Bay Bridge in San Francisco is bombed during a terrorist attack. Marcus Yallow is a teenage technical genius. He and his group of friends left school one day to play a scavenger hunt game. They were out playing the game when the Bay Bridge was bombed. Trying to escape a frantic crowd they realized that Marcus’ best friend, Darryl Grover, had been stabbed.After …show more content…
In Little Brother, racial paranoia is evident when Jolu, Marcus’ hispanic friend, explains to Marcus that he isn’t as safe as a white individual. Jolu tells Marcus, “‘I hate to say it, but you’re white. I’m not. White people get caught with cocaine and do a little rehab time. Brown people get caught with crack and go to prison for twenty years. White people see cops on the street and feel safer. Brown people see cops on the street and wonder if they’re about to get searched’” (160). This proves how Jolu is paranoid about being caught for helping Marcus bring down the Department of Homeland Security because he feels as though they will treat him worse because he is not a white citizen. Jolu says, “‘The way the DHS is treating you? The law in this country has always been like that for us’”(160). Jolu has been taught that the law does not favor certain races, and does favor white americans. This helps the reader understand that Jolus is further explaining to Marcus the truth about racial paranoia. Like Marcus, many white citizens do not realize what is going on in our world, because they do not have to be paranoid for the same …show more content…
In Little Brother paranoia is evident in a few different varieties. By introducing a character’s race and background you can see how racial paranoia is present. Doctorow includes government paranoia, which relates very well to our modern world. There is also the aspect of the paranoia that people experience after or during a disaster. Doctorow shows these aspects of paranoia to relate to the reader. Paranoia is a big part of society’s life whether or not it is noticed or not. Racial paranoia, government paranoia, and people becoming paranoid when disaster happens are all present in society