I finished reading Little Brother. I think that this novel would be interesting to my future students. It could possibly be paired with 1984. I think Marcus' average struggles (with his girlfriend, parents, and teachers) paired with the theme of privacy vs. security would encourage much debate and discussion in the classroom. It would be interesting to see what students would think about the issues raised in the novel. A great way to begin reading a work like this would be to create a questionnaire including difficult moral questions. A couple questions could be...
Do you think it is O.K. to deliberately break laws?
Does a restrictive, invasive government have a better chance of preventing terrorism than one that allows more freedom? Why or why not?
Do you think the Constitution should be applied verbatim or are those ideas of the past?
What is your definition of terrorism?
Asking difficult questions like this would get students thinking about ideas that are raised in the novel. It would be great for them to read their answers after they have finished the work to see if their opinions have changed. This may even fuel motivation for reading the novel. I think that Little Brother would be a wonderful tool to use in the classroom.
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