Response to Last Thoughts - Julia

Okay, all I have to say is IT WOULD BE AWESOME IF THEY CAME OUT WITH AN UNWIND MOVIE!!! We would definetly have to go see that! I honestly think that this would make a really good movie, not that I am biased or anything. :)

Last Thoughts/Response to The Book Overall - Janie

The book was amazing. I will definitely be checking out some more Neal Shusterman from the library this summer, when I have time to read as much as I want. I read the book in only two days as well - I couldn't put it down! Shusterman's attention to detail, subtlety, and knack for changing voice between each character left me spellbound, and I was simply captivated by the originality of the story; I've never read anything quite like it before!


One last little piece of entertainment: I found this fan-made trailer for the book and I thought it was spot-on. It got me hoping that someone would make a real Unwind movie! (:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-W-EvesD1A

The Book Overall- Julia

For my final post, I am just going to overall say how much I enjoyed this book. It captivated my attention, and I simply could not put it down, resulting in me reading all 335 pages in 2 days. I absolutely loved how Neal Shusterman flipped around to all of the many different characters, resulting in the reader knowing all sides of the story. I feel that if the book was written only from the perspective of one person, it would be extremely biased and the reader would not have a real sense of what was occuring. I also thought that it was very smart of Shusterman to have each of the three main characters have a different situation for being unwound. However, I have already mentioned this in another post, so I won't reiterate that. Neal Shusterman is a fabulous author, and I look forward to reading some of his other books in the future.

Response to Ethos Response - Janie

I think it's kind of funny that you don't typically cry during books, because I have never cried during a movie.

I know exactly what you are talking about concerning the emotion aspect of the book; I felt so much more excitement and suspense than I usually would, which further proves that Shusterman is brilliant. (:

Response to Ethos- Julia

I have to say, first of all, that I never cry during books. I'm not sure why. I have only cried twice while reading- when reading So B. It and when reading Marley and Me. So needless to say, this book did not make me cry. However, it did pull at my heart a little when the Admiral was having his "get-together" with all of the people who had his unwound son's body parts. It made me feel happy and sad at the same time- happy because he was somewhat getting his son back, and sad because he was never really going to be able to see his son again. That was probably the point in the book where I had the most emotional reaction. I also was pretty excited during the end, when the Chop Shop was blown up. I didn't want Connor to be unwound, so as he was being taken to the Chop Shop I was internally chanting, "Set the Chop Shop on fire. Set the Chop Shop on fire." And what do you know, it was blown up by clappers. That got me pretty excited since it was so intense, and I was extremely happy to find out that Connor's life was saved. Those two instances were the two best examples that brought emotions to me- something that usually does not happen when reading. But this book was amazing, so I am not surprised at all that it gave me more emotions than usual.

Ethos - Janie

This book was really emotional as we followed the paths of Lev, Connor, and Risa. It got me thinking about the propaganda technique ethos, which relies on the emotions of the audience to get it's point across.


I definitely was hooked at certain parts of the book, and others actually made me tear up a bit. Were there any parts that you found to be really emotional? Did anything in the book make you really angry, or really happy?


I think that using emotion is a really key characteristic of a good book, and in tapping into the emotions of the readers, an author can get his readers hooked. I personally couldn't put the book down!

Response to Lev- Julia

This is a good point. Lev's entire life he never had to think past halfway through his eighth grade year. He never had to think about high school, or what careers interested him, or what his future was going to be like. I'm sure that it was quite a shock to his brain when he realized that since he was not going to be unwound, he was going to have to start thinking about all of that. It's really sad that Lev had no future to look forward to. His life was already set in stone, ending with him being unwound. I feel like if I was in his situation I would be a very lazy, depressed person. What is the point of getting good grades if you aren't going to make it to high school? What is the point of doing extracurricular activities if it is all going to end halfway through eighth grade? I have to wonder whether Lev ever had these thoughts run through his mind. His tithing was something that he had been preparing for his entire life, so maybe he was so focused on that, he wasn't even thinking about the same things that first came to my mind.

Lev - Janie

When Lev, Connor, and Risa are at the high school (the last place they are all together before the Graveyard), Lev leaves to tell on them.

"This is how he always imagined high school - a dangerous place full of mystery and violent kids. He had never worried about it because he had always known he would never have to go. In fact, he only had to worry about getting partway through eighth grade" (77).

This would be incredibly stupefying. Lev has been so sure his entire life that he wouldn't have to worry about anything after eighth grade, but then he isn't tithed. He has to reconstruct his entire outlook on life and it must be frustrating to do all of this altering. His brain was previously set at his "Lev-as-a-whole" person being taken apart at a certain point. He was ready for it. But now that it's not going to happen, he has to adjust his mentality.

Response to Laws- Julia

Yes, this is quite thought-provoking. Although laws are just an accepted fact in our society, when you think about it in Hayden's terms, they really are just an educated guess of what is right from wrong. I think that this is true for some laws, and untrue for others. The law that says that murder is illegal is not an educated guess. It is an obvious life moral. This is the same for the law that says that stealing is also illegal. These two laws are obviously not right. However, on the other side of things, there are also many laws that could easily be called educated guesses. These are the laws that we have been debating about in speech class for the past week. Things like, "should abortion be legal?" There is so many reasons as to why it should and why it shouldn't. An educated guess just has to be made in order to create this law.
What Hayden said is very deep, but I believe that it only applies to certain laws, because some are obvious as to what is right and wrong for that particular topic (example: murder) and for other topics it is not as clear (example: abortion).

Laws - Janie

While in the crate, Connor, Emby, Hayden, and Diego discuss many profound topics. One of these is about the making of laws, and I found it intriguing.


     "'Just because the law says it, that doesn't make it true.'
     'Yeah, well, just because the law says it, that doesn't make it false, either. It's only the law because a whole lot of people thought about it, and decided it made sense.'
     . . . Maybe so, but the way Connor sees it, a point ought to be sharper than that. 'How can you pass laws about things that nobody knows?'
     'They do it all the time,' says Hayden. 'That's what a law is: educated guesses at right and wrong'" (172).


I thought this was an interesting way to view what a law is, and it was very thought-provoking. It was most stirring, because if you think about it, it's true. Laws define what is right and wrong, but how do we know for sure what is right and what is wrong? What do you think?

Response to The Big Question- Julia

I would have to say that I would most certainly rather die than be unwound. I don't care if I had to die a slow, painful death. It would have to be better than being unwound. My first reason is because of the whole Cy-Fi thing. I would not want to continue living and controlling someone else's body or body part. My second reason is because it sounds absolutely terrifying, like what happens to Roland in Chapter 61. That would just be awful. And although I obviously don't want to die tomorrow, I am not afraid of dying. It is just something that will happen to everyone (unless you are unwound) and the sooner you accept that, the better off your life will be. Plus, although this is bringing in religion, which has obvious differences, when you die you (if you have been a good person) go to Heaven. So why would you rather live on Earth for even longer as part of someone else's body instead of going to live in Heaver? So without a doubt, I would much rather die than be unwound. It is not a difficult question for me at all.

The Big Question - Janie

On the way to the Graveyard, Connor, Emby, Hayden, and Diego discuss the "unspoken" question. Usually, it's not mentioned, but in the safety and personal closeness of the crate, it is pondered.

"At least dying is better than being unwound. Or is it? Let's take a poll - would you rather die or be unwound?" (166)

Diego says he would rather be unwound, while Emby would rather die. Connor is still not sure, and neither is Hayden. Personally, I think I would rather die. The idea of being completely lost, like in the brain in CyFi, scares me. Having parts of me scattered all across the world but not knowing it... it seems terrifying.

I also don't like how they don't know how your soul can be stretched into so many different people, and there's also that one "taboo" question among those bound for unwinding. "If every part of you is alive but in someone else . . . are you alive or dead?" It makes me shudder that you could be so unsure about whether or not you're alive or dead, that should be an understood state; an either/or situation.

What about you? Would you rather die or be unwound?

Response to StaHo Kids- Julia

It is ironic that the children in the State Home go there because they need an adult to care for them, because it doesn't really seem like they are given a whole lot of care. Like you said, they are similar to kids who grow up on the streets. They have to fend for themselves and pretty much teach themselves how to grow up and live. I suppose that being in the State Home would be better than being storked, however, in some cases. If you are in the State Home at least guaranteed food and shelter and clothing. When you are storked, you really have no idea what situation and family you will be put into. Yes, you could be placed on a loving and nurturing family's doorstep, but you also could be placed on an abusive family's doorstep. So, although I agree with you that StaHo kids do have to somewhat grow up on their own and learn to take care of themselves at an early age, I also think that there are probably many other kids in this society who are in worse situations for various reasons.

StaHo Kids - Janie

Risa is a ward of the state, which means she has lived in a State Home her entire life. This is essentially a euphemism for an orphange, but there doesn't seem to be any sort of foster care available.


I liked how we got to see Connor's idea of what a StaHo kid is; it gave us insight into how most people see them. "Connor nods. He knows about StaHo kids. They have to learn to take care of themselves real young, or their lives are not very pleasant,. He should have realized she was a touch-me-not" (46).


This description reminded me of today's idea of kids who grow up on the streets; they have to learn to take care of themselves or they're in deep trouble. What do you think of the StaHo kids?

Response to Societal Impact- Julia

I completely agree with you. It is so sad that this is how these teenagers have to think of themselves. It makes me grateful for the adults in my life who are positive and encouraging. What that boy on the bus said to Risa is also completely untrue. He really could amount to something, if he tries to amount to something. He just needs people in his life that could encourage him and help him understand that. However, the adults/parents are quite the opposite. They tell the kids that they are actually going to be more helpful in the divided state than they would be in their complete state. It's just plain sad.

Societal Impact - Janie

In Neal Shusterman's Unwind, teens live in a society where the "bad kids" are unwound (I'm not including tithes in this assumption). However, as we know from Risa's case, just because you are being unwound doesn't mean you are worthless. When you are "sentenced" to be unwound, I would suspect this is how you would feel. When Risa is on the bus to the unwinding facility, she meets a boy who really gives insight into the societal impact unwinding has on these kids.

"I was never going to amount to much anyway, but now, statistically speaking, there's a better chance that some part of me will go on to greatness somewhere in the world. I'd rather be partly great than entirely useless" (26).

This quote sort of blew my mind. People in this society have no sympathy or faith in unwinds at all, and they are raised to think they are completely worthless unless in "a divided state." It really made me angry, because even in our society today, you see teens with this terribly unhealthy mentality. If people were more accepting and actually led others to their true potential instead of degrading them, I theorize that the world would be a much happier place.

Response to How it all Ends - Janie

I was pretty satisfied with the ending as well. I do wish Shusterman would have gone into more detail about what happened to Lev, though. We can assume he became the face of Unwinding and that eventually, unwinding is no longer a common practice. You can sense this in a quote on page 325 about how CyFi's been coming forward about what happened to him. "There have been protests in Washington against unwinding - Cyrus even testified before Congress." Of course, I would assume this would take years to actually happen.

I also really enjoyed how Connor became the new leader of the Graveyard. He had finally found his niche, a place where he belonged, and Risa had been right all along: he was a great leader. I love his enthusiasm toward the unwinds, "We will make ourselves heard" (333). The energy in his tone made me smile.

We do know that the legal age was lowered to seventeen when Connor says, "This will be your home until you turn seventeen and become a legal adult" (332). I do not think there will be a sequel. Shusterman ended the book on a good note, but I don't believe there is enough left to be said to make an entire sequel. A companion that takes place 100 years in the future may be interesting though, to see how things have changed and if there has been another replacement for abortion/unwinding.
All in all, I quite enjoyed the ending.

How it all Ends- Julia

Were you satisfied with the ending of the story, Janie? I have to say that for the most part, I was pretty happy with how Neal Shusterman wrote the conclusion to Unwind. Risa is paralyzed from the waist down, and although she refuses to take an unwind's spinal cord, she still can play the piano, which is her love and talent. Connor receives Roland's arm since his old arm was crushed. And Lev is locked up in a detention center cell. Unwinding was given a lot of attention after what happened at the Happy Jack harvest camp, and it appears that there could be positive things helping unwinds in the future. I thought that the end, although it probably could have been more detailed, matched how wonderful the entire book was. Although I kind of wished that Neal Shusterman had gone into detail about what happened after Lev was completely explosive free, or maybe could have talked about whether the legal age for unwinding was officially lowered to 17, I appreciated that it left room for my imagination, or possibly a sequel. All in all, I was satisfied with the ending of this story, and I cannot say that about a lot of books.

Response to Pastor Dan and Marcus - Janie

Yes, Neal Shusterman did give some subtle hints throughout the story as to what unwinding was and how the characters felt about it. Marcus makes it blatantly obvious he was not in support of the idea of tithing with his speech at Lev's tithing party. We get hints of Pastor Dan's opinions even at Lev's tithing party though, (but as you said, they are very subtle):


"Pastor Dan, who was always so good at looking people in the eye, now looks away. 'It was decided before you were born. It's not anything you did, or didn't do'" (32).


Here we see that Pastor Dan is having a hard time with his faith and beliefs, his inability to look Lev in the eye hints that Pastor Dan is not fully okay with unwinding.

Pastor Dan and Marcus- Julia

Marcus is Lev's brother who almost ruins his tithing party by somewhat revealing the truth about tithing and unwinding.
"'I love you bro... and I know this is your special day. But I can't be part of this.'" (Shusterman 30)
I remember when I was reading this part, it kind of confused me because it was rather unclear as to what unwinding was. I wasn't really sure as to why Marcus had such a problem with Lev being tithed. Now I can understand why though, obviously.
As I thought through all parts of Unwind again I realized that Neal Shusterman gave clues as to the fact that there were some people in Lev's life that did not agree with his tithing. When I was reading the book the first time, I did not pick up on these subtle hints. Marcus at Lev's tithing party is one example of someone who disagreed with Lev's tithing/unwinding. Another person was Pastor Dan.
"...Pastor Dan says with a hiss and strange warble to his voice, 'Run, Lev!'
Lev wasn't expecting this. 'What?'
'Run! Run as fast and as far as you can. RUN!'" (Shusterman 37)
Pastor Dan also was not supportive of Lev's tithing, although he was even more secretive about it than Marcus. We learn at the end of the book that Pastor Dan resigned from being a pastor because he did not agree with unwinding, and couldn't continue supporting tithing.
I found both of these passages interesting when I reread them because when I first read them they did not really make sense to me, however now I truly see how important they really were.

Response to Nurses' Sayings - Janie

I don't think that the sayings are meant to be interpreted one way or another. It's not based on a "You agree with one, disagree with the other," ideal. It's meant to show that the law an human nature have a certain relationship that revolves in a vicious circle. It is essentially a paradox. Look at it this way. Nurse Greta says, "You can't change the law without first changing human nature." The Bill of Life was passed after a war, and as we've discussed for William Golding's purposes of writing Lord of the Flies, war can bring out the worst in people. Human nature was changed; people were in fear of the war continuing, thus the law was changed. Nurse Yvonne's contradictory statement, "You can't change human nature without first changing the law," is correct as well. In changing the law, (for example, the law about unwinding) you may adjust people's morals and ideals. Before unwinding, though it DOES say in the Bible to give 10% of everything you earn, we would never think of giving up 10% of our children. After the unwinding law came about, however, some religions interpreted it that way and tithing was developed.
     "Clearly offended, Lev says, 'Tithing's in the Bible; you're supposed to give 10 percent of everything. And storking's in the Bible too.'
     'No it isn't!'
     'Moses,' says Lev. 'Moses was put in a basket in the Nile and was found by the pharoah's daughter. He was the first storked baby amd look what happened to him!'" (72).
As you can see, with the changing of human nature came changing of the law, and with changing of the law came the changing of human nature; the twisting of words and altering of morals.

Nurse's Sayings- Julia

On page 51 (it is the introduction page for part 2) there are two sayings by two nurses of Risa's.
Nurse Greta said, "You can't change laws without first changing human nature."
Nurse Yvonne said, "You can't change human nature without first changing the law."
Which nurse do you agree with more, Janie?
I am more inclined to agree with Nurse Yvonne. I think that human nature is based off what laws have been put into place throughout all of human existence. Without laws and rules, our society would be similar to a caveman's world. I think that once you change a law, human nature will evolve and change to meet that law's requirements. Most people in a society will follow a law that has been set into place, therefore possibly changing their human nature. You can also put this into terms with Unwind. I believe that in order to prevent unwinding from occuring, the law must be changed first. Once the law has been changed, then people will (hopefully) begin to obey it, therefore changing their human nature. However, I think that it would be very difficult to work in the opposite view, because people won't change their human nature if they are not forced to or have no reason to not change it. This why the law must be changed first.

Response to How Connor, Risa, and Lev Meet - Janie

I agree with you; Shusterman's way of bringing these three unlikely children together to not only explain the different situations and forms unwinding may take, but also to create a fantastic story is really brilliant. We learn a lot about this world through the way Shusterman depicts it, and although it is a bit obvious and slightly corny that the three most common situations for unwinding happen to end up travelling together, he definitely got the message across and the reader remained well-informed.

How Connor, Risa, and Lev Meet- Julia

The scene where Connor, Risa, and Lev meet is a rather chaotic one. There are many car crashes, gun shootings, and even a bus crash. It sounds like a scene from a James Bond movie. However, it is important because it explains how Connor, Risa, and Lev all meet each other. They all have dramatically different situations, completely opposite reasons for being unwound, yet they all end up together. I think that it is very interesting how Connor, Risa, and Lev all have a different reason for being unwound. It is a very smart way of explaining the details of unwinding in a subtle way. Connor is being unwound for the "typical" reason. His parents simply do not want him any more. Risa is being unwound since she is a ward of the state, and she is just "not needed." Lev is a tithe, and his unwinding motives are quite different from the other two. Neal Shusterman used a very smart technique of having each of the three main characters have a different unwinding reason/situation. It adds more interest and exciting details to the story.

Response to Alexis - Janie

I really don't think that Alexis was meant to be a very important character. She was only mentioned in one section of the book, and her only purposes were to give the reader a bit of information on the school and to be a diversion for Risa and Connor as they exit the school during the fire alarm. I don't think Shusterman intended there to be any deep, underlying purpose in including her in the story; maybe just a refresher so we don't have so much just Lev, Connor, and Risa condensed for so long.

Alexis- Julia

Alexis is certainly not the most important character in this book, however she does have an importance that I think could be overlooked. Since Alexis has a baby, police officers think that she is Risa when there is the fire drill at school. Risa no longer has a baby since Hannah (see "Adults Helping Unwinds" post) took it away.
"Risa no longer fits the profile of what they're looking for... but Alexis does!" (Shusterman 86)
Alexis is so important because she draws the attention away from Connor and Risa during the fire drill. I am assuming that nothing happened to her, perhaps she just went through intense questioning. However, we technically do not know what happened to her since she is not mentioned again in the book. Alexis is a minor character that actually is more important than she may appear in this book.

Response to Adults Helping Unwinds - Janie

The book was written by one person, in various points of view, so if you look at it only through an unwind's point of view, it may look like all adults are out to get the children who are of age to be unwound. However, the book in its entirety was written by Neal Shusterman, and his point in switching points of view between the main characters and even a few others was to ensure that the reader understood that there were some adults who were against unwinding.
Think of it like the underground railroad. Were most white people on the lookout for slaves? Yes. But there were some people against slavery, and wanted to help in whatever way they could.
The adults who helped Lev, Risa, and Connor were just like those who were a part of the underground railroad: definitely a minority, but still present and very important.

Adults Helping Unwinds- Julia

I find it interesting how many adults there are in Unwind that help runaways. The book makes it sound like all adults are out to get kids ages 13-18 unwound, but there are actually quite a few adults that help Connor, Risa, and Lev out. It actually seems like it is just the parents of the children that actually want kids unwound. I am just going to name off some of the adults that helped out Connor, Risa, and Lev.
Josias Aldridge- truck driver who allows Connor to ride with him in his truck, preventing him from being caught. Connor and Josias end up being caught anyway, but that will be another post. :)
Hannah Steinberg- teacher who catches Connor, Risa, and Lev and recognizes who they are, but lets them go.
Sonia- allows Connor, Risa, and Lev to stay in her house along with other runaway unwinds.
The Admiral- obvious reasons. Allows tons of unwinds to stay in "The Graveyard" therefore saving a large number of lives.
So, anyway, the entire point of this post is to emphasize how many adults there are who actually help runaway unwinds instead of just immediately turning them in. When reading the book, I felt that often times all adults were portrayed as just wanting to catch all runaway unwinds, but this is untrue as I have shown.

Response to Ariana - Janie

I don't think Ariana ever actually planned to go with Connor. If you really think about Ariana's personality, and from the quote, "There have been no other girls he's brought here, although he hasn't told Ariana that" (4), we can surmise that they haven't been together long; Ariana's talk about kicking AWOL doesn't seem to go beneath the surface. It reminded me of how some kids will just say, "I should pull the fire alarm before my math test so I don't have to take it!" or "I will totally beat you up if you steal my pencil again." People say these things without really thinking too much about them; they dont actually plan to ever do them. In Ariana's case, even her response was kind of airy. It didn't seem to hold much meaning for her: "Sure. Sure I do. I could leave here" (4). Because we're seeing this part from Connor's point of view, it's difficult to notice Ariana's nonchalance at "going AWOL," but she was never going to leave in the first place. She's far too comfortable in her current life to leave it for Connor.

Ariana- Julia

Ariana is not a very important character in this book. She is really only mentioned at the beginning. She is Connor's girlfriend, and Connor is planning on being a runaway unwind with her.
On page 4, Ariana says, "'We should run away,' 'I'm fed up with everything, too. My family, school, everything. I could kick-AWOL, and never look back.'"
Then her mood changes when Connor goes back to her house to run away.
"'No,' says Ariana. 'It was a dream. Reality got in the way, that's all. And running away doesn't solve anything.'
'Running away is the only way to save my life,' Connor hisses. 'I'm about to be unwound, in case you forgot.' She gently touches his face. 'I know,' she says. 'But I'm not.'" (Shusterman 9)
This change in her mood as to whether she wants to run away or not makes me wonder if there was some event that Neal Shusterman did not mention that caused her to change her mind. Back on page 4, she is completely ready to run away with Connor. She's even the one who suggested the idea in the first place. However, 5 pages later, she doesn't want to run away at all. Do you think that some event happened, Janie, that caused Ariana to change her mind? Or do you think that it is "just a really bad time for me." (Shusterman 9)?

Response to Pregnancy - Janie

I agree with your thoughts on the pregnancy issue. The Bill of Life was supposed to protect life, but instead, more and more children are getting brought into the world for the mothers' fear of getting unwound, then those children are storked so that the responsibility no longer falls on the mothers' shoulders. Many of those storked children end up in State Homes, where there is no room, and when they reach the age of thirteen they are unwound. It's an absolutely ridiculous system that is so flawed, no responsibility seems to be taken whatsoever.

Pregnancy - Julia

I found it very interesting how the common way to prevent yourself from being unwound is by getting yourself pregnant, since a pregnant girl is protected by law from being unwound.
 On page 92, Sonia says, "'If you really want to stay alive, honey, have him get you pregnant again. They won't unwind an expectant mother, so that will buy you nine whole months.'"
This shocked Risa and Connor, and it also shocked me. I am wondering if this is part of the reason that there are so many more pregnancies in this society. Perhaps girls get themselves pregnant since the know for a fact that they cannot be unwound. Also, this can be paired with the fact that babies can be storked, so the girl does not even have to keep the baby. It's like the ideal idea (in this world)- get pregnant so you cannot be unwound, and then stork it so that you do not have to have the responsibility.

Response to Tithes - Janie

I can't really think of anything today that parallels with tithes because the morals in this society have become so twisted and warped. Some believe that tithing is "in the Bible," as Lev says on page 72, but in today's standards, this sounds absolutely absurd. I think that it's really the subtle hints that make this such a dystopian society; of course we know the main one is unwinding but if you look carefully at the words and actions of people, you can really see the characteristics of a true dystopian world.

Tithes- Julia

What do think of the idea of tithing? I think that it is a very interesting concept- that you are a special person, better than the others because you are willingly giving yourself up. It's almost like a brainwashing technique, because we quickly realize that the reason tithes are not supposed to be around the other unwinds at harvest camp is because the harvest camp leaders don't want the other unwinds making the tithes think that unwinding is bad. However, the tithes believe that they are not supposed to be around the other unwinds because they [the tithes] are better and more important that just regular unwinds. Tithes have more of a purpose, a duty. I was trying to think of something today in our society that could be compared to tithes, but I was having trouble thinking of something. Can you think of anything that is somewhat like a tithe?

Response to Nurse- Julia

I think that this is very true. It would have to be very difficult to keep your composure around a teenager who is absolutely terrified and is freaking out. I'm sure that after a while, though, you become used to what common responses are for kids. The nurse seemed to have very prepared responses to everything that Roland was saying.
"' I want you all to go to Hell.'
'That's natural.'" (Shusterman 291)
I still think that every single time you had to be in that room comforting a different kid, most likely all of them pouring their heart out to you, it would be very challenging, emotionally. It would take a very strong and tough person to be in that room. I certainly wouldn't be able to do it.

Nurse - Janie

I know we've previously discussed the creepiness factor, etc. of the unwinding process. We've analyzed how unwinding looks to an unwind. But what about to the nurse who was in charge of keeping Roland calm? By law, they must tell the unwind every bit of his unwinding process. But what effect (mentally, emotionally...) would the process have on this nurse?


I can't imagine that when unwinding was first legalized the nurses were able to keep their composure. Watching an extremely terrified teenager being taken apart, frantically trying to remember things that have happened over the course of his or her life, has got to be emotionally exhausting for anyone with even a shred of compassion. I would guess that after years of doing this that the process becomes numbing for those involved (with the exception of the unwind, of course), and that the nurses have learned to supress their emotions and see unwinding as just another day at work.

Response to Risa's Story Response- Julia

What you said did bring up a good point- perhaps they do unwind the more talented/smarter kids first. They probably are of a higher demand, since people probably want smarter brains/more skilled hands, etc. I wonder if you have to pay more for better body parts. For example, maybe a smarter person's brain costs $2000, however a person's brain who is maybe not as smart only costs $1000.
On page 126, Cy-Fi says, "'My dads even paid off the surgeon so I'd get an entire temporal lobe from an Unwind- no offense- rather than getting a buncha brain bits, like people are supposed to get.'" So, according to this passage, you could pay more to get more choice body parts.
Anyway, what you said did make sense, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was true that the state wards did unwind the smarter or more skilled kids first.

Response to Risa's Story - Janie

I agree with you, to some extent. It does not seem fair to put Risa into a "divided state" even though she's exemplary at almost everything she does. There are probably far more children who are not destined to do near the great things that Risa is capable of. The only difference is that those children have parents who can choose whether or not to unwind them; considering the social, mental, financial aspects of the situation. In Risa's case (and in the case of any other ward of the state), whether or not you get unwound depends on how much better you do at everything than the rest of the wards of the state. The children who are of age and don't care enough to help out, get good grades, etc. are unwound first, and they just analyze the various traits of the rest of the children to see who gets unwound next, mostly for lack of space.

This made me wonder - is there a chance they actually unwind the more talented kids first? We know that there is a high demand for good body parts: intelligent brains, skilled hands, etc. So if you think about it, it's almost logical to get rid of a few of the good kids too when space is needed for younger children who are not yet of age to be unwound, because getting good body parts is of more importance than getting bad ones. (And by logical, I mean logical in the book. Under no circumstances am I saying that getting rid of a future genius is a good idea)

I also thought about how being a ward of the state seems a lot like being in a harvest camp. You are constantly being analyzed to see what kind of talents you have, how athletic you are, your intellect, your weaknesses... And all of this ends up determining whether or not you will be unwound, and how soon.

Risa's Story- Julia

As I was flipping through the book trying to think of something to write about for my next entry, I came across the part at the beginning where Risa is told that she is going to be unwound. "'Let's see... you've been a ward of the state from birth. It looks like your behavior has been exemplary. Your grades have been respectable, but not excellent.' Then the social worker looks up and smiles. 'I saw your performance the other night. You were very good.' ... 'We feel you've reached your potential here,'" (Shusterman 22) I am guessing that this part did not have the same effect on me when I originally read the book because I still wasn't sure what unwinding was. However, now that I have read the entire book and am completely clear as to what unwinding is, this part is absolutely ridiculous. The social worker might as well have been saying, "Your behavior has been perfect, your grades are good, and you're a great piano player... but, we are going to rip apart your body and give your body parts to other people anyway." Neal Shusterman most likely put this part in the book to emphasize how many kids (even 'ideal' kids) were unwound. However, I just cannot get over how ridiculous this part is. I cannot believe that they wanted to unwind such a good person. This makes me think that if I was in the state ward with Risa I would have been unwound too. I am actually a lot like Risa. I have good behavior, good grades, and play the piano. It seems like they would unwind anybody...

Response to Lev- Julia

This is interesting- I really hadn't given this subject much thought while I was reading, but now that you bring it up, I am curious as to what was going on with Lev during this portion of the book. It is interesting that he thought that he needed to have a tough image. Perhaps Roland had some effect on Lev when he was at Sonia's house with Risa and Connor. "The kid doesn't respond; he just glares at Sonia and crosses his arms, displaying a shark tatooed on his forearm." (Shusterman 98) Although Roland is nowhere near the character that we know him as later in the book, maybe he had some effect on Lev that made Lev think that appearing powerful and strong and tough was the way to go when dealing with other unwinds. I think that the whole tough image is just a mind game. Trying to take advantage of people who are scared and absolutely not tough and strong and powerful. Although we don't know what Lev was thinking when he was lying to the other kids and trying to make himself sound tough, this is a possibility for why he was doing it.

Lev - Janie

In Shusterman's Unwind, Connor and Risa get separated from Lev for a month or so. We see Lev's journey with CyFi, but afterwards, Lev travels alone and ends up at the Graveyard. What happens to him is left up to our imaginations and we are only given a few clues; that something inside of him has been altered so that other kids don't mess with him, and his attitude is hardened.

     "Where Lev was between the time he left CyFi and his arrival at the Graveyard is less important than where his thoughts resided. They resided in places in places colder and darker than the many places he hid.
     . . . Once he landed in the safe-house network, he quickly made it known that he was not a guy to be trifled with. He didn't tell people he was a tithe. Instead, he told them his parents had signed the order to have him unwound after he was arrested for armed robbery. It was funny to him, because he had nevereven touched a gun. It amazed him that the other kids couldn't read the lie in his face - he had always been such a bad liar. But then, when he looked into the mirror, what he saw in his own eyes scared him" (226).

This passage makes me wonder what Lev's thoughts were that were so "cold" and "dark". I also have to quaeritate where he was and what kind of things he did. If I could sit down with Neal Shusterman and ask one question, I think that would be it. What did Lev do? Where were his thoughts, and why did he get it into his mind that he needed to appear tough to the other unwinds?

What do you think?

Response to Unwinds Getting Heard- Julia

This a rather tough question, because I can see how both answers would work. I could understand how this would actually be bad for other unwinds, because I can imagine that police are trying harder to catch runaway unwinds, so that the whole Lev situation doesn't happen again. So this is obviously not good, since there is a greater chance that you will be caught as a runaway unwind. However, I think that Lev's publicity is slightly better for the unwinds. Pastor Dan says on page 326, "You've been on the cover of just about every magazine." This shows that everyone knows about what happened. I believe that since Lev's story has really become known, parents are probably giving the decision of unwinding their child more thought. I am thinking that it is probably helping potential unwinds because the parents are realizing that unwinding is not a good choice. So, my answer is that unwinds will be better off because of Lev's publicity. P.S. I loved how you tied this into Happy Feet. :)

Unwinds Getting Heard - Janie

One part in the story that really amazed me was where Lev is talking to Pastor Dan at the end about how Lev has become the face of the unwinds. It sparked debate among the community, unwinds were becoming less of a given and more of a controversial topic.


"For years, Unwinds were just faceless kids that no one wanted - but now you've put a face on unwinding" (327).


I don't know if you've ever seen Happy Feet, but this strongly reminded me of the ending scene, where the penguins' dancing is interpreted as some sort of plea. A refresher (go to 5:39): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-h1sXumytI
Some people think they need to leave the area alone, others don't think they should change any habits just because some penguins were dancing. But they were heard. At last, their welfare was being considered.


Which brings me to my question: Do you think unwinds will be better off after the publicity given to them by Lev, and why?

Response to Humphrey Dunfree- Julia

Yes, I loved this part, although I didn't start to tear up. It was so bittersweet how the Admiral and his wife got all of the parts back from their son. I almost starting tearing up when he heard his son's voice because I was imagining myself in his shoes and it would just be such a mix of missing my son and rejoicing because I somewhat have him back. I thought that this part was really important to the story, because it showed another side to it: that parents often regretted unwinding their children. However, we have already discussed how the parents would felt about unwinding their children, so I guess you can just go back and read that part.