Little Brother - Darryl

Well... Darryl is arguably the most important character in the novel, besides Marcus. Without Darryl, there would be no story. From the first chapter, we learn that Darryl and Marcus grew up together. As a result, they are close friends who know everything about each other. Both are smart and use their intelligence to cause trouble. Though he still gets around "the system", Darryl does not break the rules nearly as much as Marcus. This is shown again as they try to sneak out of the school. Although he knows how, Darryl is unwilling to break every rule that there is. Also from the first chapter, we get a clear view of who is in charge within this friendship. Marcus is without a doubt the stronger of the two. When he first proposes to skip school, Darryl refuses, sticking to his own agenda. Slowly, Marcus wears him down enough so that the mere mention of Van gets him to grudgingly tag along. Van is the girl that Darryl has a huge crush on. Darryl, being of a larger stature, going after a girl like Van, who is apparently very attractive, is rather interesting. Darryl also seems to be somewhat of a geek. He is just as tech-y as Marcus but seems to not be as popular, giving the impression of geekiness. The fact that he is unwillingly brought along with Marcus shows that there is some tension in their relationship. The way that the conversation between the two of them goes makes it sounds like this was not the first time that this had happened. From the way Darryl talks it sounds like he is beginning to get tired of it. Even though they are best friends, he is tired of Marcus pushing him around and taking advantage of him. This reminds me of "The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber." When Macomber's wife returns to their tent after sleeping with Wilson, the tone is similar of that in Little Brother. Francis Macomber's wife cheated on him. Based on their conversation it is clear that she had cheated quite a few times before, all of which Francis knew about. From their conversation in the tent after her night with Wilson we find out that Francis was indeed getting tired of his wife's consistent cheating. Though he accepted it before, he is no longer going to. The same thing seems to happen between Marcus and Darryl.

During the terrorist attack and ensuing chaos, Darryl is stabbed. It is while Marcus is trying to get him to a hospital when they are picked up by the Department of Homeland Security. After this, Darryl is not seen again until the very end of the book. Though he is not actively a part of the story, he still plays a large role. Darryl is Marcus' motivation. Because he cared so much for his friend, Marcus vows to take down the DHS, saving Darryl along the way. Darryl seems to represent what is good about hacking and all their technology. As Marcus loses view of his goal to save Darryl, his use of the X Net and technology gets more and more corrupt. It is whenever he remembers about his lost friend that true inspiration comes to him and he makes his best decisions. It is for Darryl's sake that Marcus decides to risk everything and go public with their story. This ends up being their salvation.

It turns out that all that time, Darryl had been held on Treasure Island, dubbed Gitmo-of-the-Bay. The DHS had kept hm hostage and treated his wound. Through Zeb, Darryl is finally able to communicate to Marcus and the others. I think that it says a lot about his character that he never gave up. Through all his time in the prison, it seems that he never gave up hope that Marcus would rescue him. Months isolated from the outside would have stripped many of all hope, but Darryl stays strong, determined and is finally able to tell Marcus what happened.

At the end, when Darryl physically shows up again, I think he has changed much from before. Though he doesn't say much, I think that while Marcus has lost all innocence, Darryl has reverted back towards being a child inside. On of my pieces of evidence is the fact that he is found lying in a fetal position, indicative of feeling like a child. Later on, at the very end, Marcus sees that Darryl had resumed his habit of biting his nails. He also says that Darryl was a nail biter when he was a kid but stopped after Van convinced him to. The fact that he goes back to this old habit shows that he is more like a younger version of himself. Also, because he disregards what Van says it shows that he may no longer care as much about girls, like younger boys. Although not much is seen of Darryl throughout the book, he is a pivotal character without whom the story would not make sense. Even though we don't see much of Darryl after he is rescued, smaller clues indicate that he has changed. As Marcus grows up and loses his innocence, Darryl seems to become of a little kid at heart than before.

-Lina >.<