Literary Devices in Little Brother
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Ready to get to know the City by the Bay? Little Brother takes us throughout San Francisco neighborhoods from the Tenderloin to the Mission, stopping by landmarks like the Sutro Baths, Treasure Isl...
Narrator Point of View
Marcus Yallow tells readers his story in retrospect throughout the entire novel. Since everything's happened already, he has the time to be a leisurely, un-panicked narrator. He gets to fill us in...
Genre
Doctorow's Little Brother is written about teens, for teens, and it's full of teenage rebellion and romance. YA Lit Box: check.The dystopian literature box's a little more challenging, but we still...
Tone
The events never seem to stop in Marcus's story. Even when there is the occasional pause for a contextual flashback, that contextual flashback is fast-paced and dramatic. Making flashbacks exciting...
Writing Style
Like we said in our discussion of Tone, Doctorow's Little Brother just keeps moving along. And by "moving" we mean "hurrying," and by "hurrying" we mean "racing like a Nascar."All the dialogue help...
What's Up With the Title?
Little Brother's title is a total homage to George Orwell's 1984, and to its character/symbol Big Brother. Big Brother also inspired a few reality shows; we're pretty sure we'd rather read Doctorow...
What's Up With the Ending?
First off, let's talk about what ending counts as the ending: does that mean the end of Chapter 21? The end of the epilogue? The end of the afterwards? The end of the bibliography? The end of life...
Tough-o-Meter
Besides the fact that the book is set in San Francisco (it's at sea level), feel secure in knowing that even the most analog-devoted grandma will understand the ideas behind the technology after Ma...
Plot Analysis
Rebel, RebelWe meet our narrator Marcus Yallow (a.k.a. w1n5t0n) heading towards the Vice Principal's office in his San Francisco high school. But he's different from James Dean—he may be a rebel,...
Trivia
Google changed its encryption protocols for searches because of Little Brother. So why didn't Doctorow include jet packs? We could use some of those too, Google. (Source)You don't even need to buy...
Steaminess Rating
There lots of high school students with crushes in this book…most of them unrequited. (We feel your pain, unrequited lovers.)The steamiest this book gets is following Marcus and Ange's relationsh...
Allusions
The Beat Poets (5.12, 14.29) The Declaration of Independence (11.135, 13.133, 15.30)Allen Ginsberg, Howl (14.30-31) Jack Kerouac, On the Road (14.32-41) The San Francisco Chronicle (5.32, 8.86, 12....