We decided to compare ‘Projekt-1065’ and The Lions of Little Rock. One similarity that I noticed was how they both met friends that made them different from what they really are supposed to be like (my idea you liar Mia!). For example, in ‘Projekt-1065’, Michael is supposed to be against the Nazi, he’s supposed to be the spy without any distractions. However, he meets Fritz, which distracts him from his duty, as he wants to help Fritz - but Fritz is supportive of the Germans. In The Lions of Little Rock, Marlee is supposed to be, well, racist - people believe being against colored people is literally right. Marlee, at first, does nothing about the racism, but when she meets Liz, she starts to be against racism - something that she shouldn’t be doing (I think this is right but the white people think people have to be racist). This also shows how the protagonists in both books meet friends that distract them from doing something and being someone that is believed to be what they should be.

Both are willing to suffer terrible consequences to do so. Michael has to sacrifice his friend, Simon, to the Germans, to save the Allies. Marlee has to risk being threatened and lynched to hang out with Liz and join STOP (an anti-segretionist movement). Even though both knew they were risking something, they didn’t give up. 

Similar also in the two stories is that they have allies who also speak out. For example, Michael watched Herr Professor Doktor Major Melcher speak out against Hitler by hinting that Hitler wasn’t of the Aryan model, so why should we trust that? He also told the entire boys that he basically disagreed with the idea of culture destroyers and culture founders because the Nazis did exactly what the culture destroyers did! Melcher got jailed for that, but at least he spoke out. 

In Lions of Little Rock, Marlee has Liz and the WEC by her side. Some WEC members don’t support integration. But others do, like Miss Winthrop and Mrs. Brewer and Mrs. Terry. They all supported STOP and helped Marlee get enough petitions to summon the board members back and work against CROSS. 

Kinda a historical reference, but . . . there’s a war going on, except just not raging on your ground in Lions of Little Rock. The Vietnam War was happening, since the US didn’t like Vietnam’s communist ways, which we see here as reflected in Marlee’s dream of creating a spaceship that could help defeat the Soviets. 

There are risky things that Marlee and Michael both have to do. Marlee has to steal dynamite while Michael has to pass for a Nazi and rescue a British pilot. 

      Yes. Marlene has a friend, Liz, who is black but passes for white. Marlene should have not wanted to be with Liz, but she rebels against everybody to be with Liz. She joins is WEC even though the government is disapproving of WEC, as is her mother. She clashes a lot against society. She even disagrees with JT’s speaking of Liz as a “nigger”. Marlene says that Liz was “funny and outspoken and clever”. 

       Outside from that, Marlee disobeys all the rules as she regularly meets with Liz; at the zoo or talking on the phone. She does this with a guilty conscience; but since Liz is the only one she can actually talk to, she does it all the same. That shows her being against society again - white people that time weren’t supposed to like blacks. They were supposed to have lice in hair and all. 

       Marlee also rebels against society by helping the WEC get people to vote to open public schools. She helps Miss Winthrop and Mrs. Brewer keep their secrets of being integretionists, because that will seriously affect their group. 

       Another example that’s kind of minor but still an example of how Marlee rebels against society is when she goes to Red’s football game and doesn’t cheer when he intercepts a pass. She does that because Red insulted Liz and made Betty Jean’s son get into trouble for something he didn’t do. Even though everyone else cheered, she didn’t.