Question

Read this excerpt from Little Brother and answer the following questions in complete sentences using proper grammar and punctuation:
Marcus manages to flag down a vehicle and they get more than they bargained for…

It was a military-looking Jeep, like an armored Hummer, only it didn't have any military insignia on it. The car skidded to a stop just in front of me, and I jumped back and lost my balance and ended up on the road. I felt the doors open near me, and then saw a confusion of booted feet moving close by. I looked up and saw a bunch of military-looking guys in coveralls, holding big, bulky rifles and wearing hooded gas masks with tinted face-plates.

I barely had time to register them before those rifles were pointed at me. I'd never looked down the barrel of a gun before, but everything you've heard about the experience is true. You freeze where you are, time stops, and your heart thunders in your ears. I opened my mouth, then shut it, then, very slowly, I held my hands up in front of me.

The faceless, eyeless armed man above me kept his gun very level. I didn't even breathe. Van was screaming something and Jolu was shouting and I looked at them for a second and that was when someone put a coarse sack over my head and cinched it tight around my windpipe, so quick and so fiercely I barely had time to gasp before it was locked on me. I was pushed roughly but dispassionately onto my stomach and something went twice around my wrists and then tightened up as well, feeling like baling wire and biting cruelly. I cried out and my own voice was muffled by the hood.

I was in total darkness now and I strained my ears to hear what was going on with my friends. I heard them shouting through the muffling canvas of the bag, and then I was being impersonally hauled to my feet by my wrists, my arms wrenched up behind my back, my shoulders screaming.

I stumbled some, then a hand pushed my head down and I was inside the Hummer. More bodies were roughly shoved in beside me.

"Guys?" I shouted, and earned a hard thump on my head for my trouble. I heard Jolu respond, then felt the thump he was dealt, too. My head rang like a gong.

"Hey," I said to the soldiers. "Hey, listen! We're just high school students. I wanted to flag you down because my friend was bleeding. Someone stabbed him." I had no idea how much of this was making it through the muffling bag. I kept talking. "Listen—this is some kind of misunderstanding. We've got to get my friend to a hospital—"

Someone went upside my head again. It felt like they used a baton or something—it was harder than anyone had ever hit me in the head before. My eyes swam and watered and I literally couldn't breathe through the pain. A moment later, I caught my breath, but I didn't say anything. I'd learned my lesson.


1. In three to five sentences, summarize the conflict Marcus is facing in this excerpt.

2. In three to five sentences, explain the type of conflict Marcus faces in this excerpt.

3. In three to five sentences, explain Marcus’ current stage of identity development. Use examples from the text. As a reminder, the different stages of identity development are:

Identity Diffusion occurs when an adolescent does not make a commitment to any particular roles, values, or goals.
Identity Foreclosure occurs when someone makes a commitment without considering other possibilities.
Identity Moratorium occurs when an individual is in the midst of a crisis over a particular role or value and tries out alternatives in order to make a commitment.
Identity Achievement occurs when someone makes a personal decision or commitment after going through a crisis and exploring his or her options.

4. In three to five sentences, explain what you think will happen to Marcus next based on what you read. How could this conflict change Marcus' character?

5. In a paragraph of at least three sentences, describe a conflict you have experienced. Identify the choice you had to make. Explain how this conflict changed you.

Answer 1

1- Marcus' conflict is related to his friends; he wants to help them but he cannot. First, his friend Darryl has been stabbed and he cannot help him because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stops him. Darryl gets lost. The DHS takes Marcus and his friends prisoners and torture them. Marcus can hear his friends' cries but cannot help them.

2-Marcus is facing a conflict with the authority. The authority is authoritarian so he cannot do much. He has to obey them. He is physically attacked so he feels cornered. Although he has tried to explain to them his situation, the DHS ignores and tortures him.

3- Marcus ' current stage of identity is foreclosure since he is obliged to do what the DHS tells him to do. He accepts not to rebel against them. He wants to be free and he wants his friends to be free,too. During this identity stage, teenagers tend to  follow what the adults say. Adults sometimes pressure teenagers to accept the roles they want for them.

4- Marcus will rebel against the DHS. He will notice that the DHS is not helping American society against terrorism. He believes they are not reliable ,so he will set an organization to fight against them. Probably, he will show he is more reliable than the DHS to protect America against terrorism.

5-Once at a party , I saw my best friend's fiancé cheating on her. I did not know what to do. My friend was madly in love with him. Finally ,I decided not to tell her anything. I learnt that they had to find a solution without my help.

Answer 2

Based on the given text, the stage of identity development Marcus is experiencing is Identity Foreclosure. This identity development is dominant among teenagers. They tend to venture into a commitment without exploring other alternatives in reaching their desired goals.