Humphrey Dunfee - Janie

What did you think about the Admiral and his wife trying to put their son Harlan "back together" again? I thought it was a really interesting way to end the book, and I liked how it was progressively mentioned throughout the story. In the beginning, it was more of a creepy legend, but as the story progressed, we learned more and more about "Humphrey Dunfee" and why his parents were searching for him.


   "Like a water vapor crystallizing into the magnificent, unique form of a snowflake, the babble of voices coalesces into a single conversation . . . He looks at the crowd and says weakly, 'H-Harlan?'
   Every eye in the garden turns toward him. A man raises his hand to his throat, touching it gently, and says in a voice that is most definitely Harlan Dunfee's, just a bit older, 'Dad?'"


I honestly started to tear up at this part, and I thought it was really amazing that after all those years the Dunfees had finally put their son back together again.

Response to Part-Unwind or Death- Julia

Hmmmm this is a bit of a tricky question. First of all, I completely disagree with unwinding. I think that it is extremely immoral. However, I feel like if unwinding is still legal and they are still doing it, I might as well take the body parts. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to not take it because the government is still going to continue unwinding, so I might as well not waste it. If I needed something, I would probably take it no matter how important it was (spine or arm). I guess I just feel that if the government is still unwinding, it won't make a difference whether I boycott it or not so I might as well. Is that selfish of me?

Part-Unwind or Death - Janie

In chapter 29, the unwinds are packed into crates of four. In Connor's crate, the conversation gets pretty intense as they talk about morals and souls. On page 169, Connor yells, "I'd rather die than get a piece of an Unwind!"

I know it would be a lot different if you were in this particular situation, as an unwind yourself, but if you were in a life-or-death situation, and the only way you could be cured would be to get a piece of an Unwind, which would you choose? Death or part-unwind?

I think it would depend on the parts. If it were, say, an arm, I would rather accept the part of the unwind. Or if I needed a new spine to walk again, I think I would take one from an unwind, rather than die or be paralyzed. But then at the same time, I don't think that unwinding is at all moral, so in my self-preservation, would I be advocating the act of unwinding?

Response to Sonia and the Love Letters- Julia

I completely agree with what you said about Sonia having a more effective way of protesting against unwinding. She may not be publicly making a big deal about her opposition, but she is making more of an impact on the actual unwinds. I also love what she does, making the kids write letters to their parents. If I were a parent of an unwind, I would love to receive a letter from my child, whether or not I was still glad that I had them unwound. I do think that the morals of unwinding would change if every single unwind got to write a letter. I bet that some of the unwinds would write such moving and heartbreaking letters to their parents that many parents would see the negative effects of unwinding and they would have more of an opposition against it.
I think that Risa and Connor probably did go back to get their letters, more out of respect for Sonia, since she did so much for them.

Sonia and the Love Letters - Janie

At the end of chapter 19, while Connor and Lisa are staying with Sonia in the antique shop, each of the unwinds writes a letter to someone they love. Sonia tells them "Fill it with everything you wished you could say, but never had the chance" (108). She tells him that if he survives to eighteen, he has to come and get it. If he doesn't, she'll assume he was unwound and will send the letter herself.

If every unwind got the chance to write a letter, not just the runaways, do you think the morals about whether or not unwinding is wrong would change? Do you think Connor and Risa ever went back to get their letters?

I love what Sonia does for these kids. It's not exactly an active rebellion or protest, but probably even more effective in that way. She's giving these kids something they never had: a voice; an opportunity to say how they really feel. It was heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.

Response to Parents- Julia

I think that there are probably a lot of parents who wished that they hadn't chosen to unwind their child. It's like the saying, "You didn't know what you had until it was gone." Or something like that. :) This is kind of what happened to the Admiral. He and his wife realized that they didn't want to unwind their son, only they decided this after he was already unwound. I thought that the party/gathering that they had to remember him with all of his body part recipients was really bittersweet. "There will be no surgeries here, in spite of the rumors, rebuilding Harlan piece by piece was never the plan. But the Dunfrees are putting their son together in the only meaningful way they can." (Shusterman 331). I think that this is so sad, especially when the Admiral hears his son's voice. But I think that the entire point of this part of the story is to show that parents did miss their children after they were unwound, and this is helping the adult population realize that unwinding isn't such a great idea.

Parents - Janie

Once a parent signs the order to get his child unwound, there is no turning back. However, if a parent does change his mind, and it is too late, how do you think the parent would feel?


"It had never occurred to Connor to consider the toll unwinding had on the ones who signed the order. He never thought he could have sympathy for a parent who could do that - or sympathy for one of the men who had made unwinding possible" (225).


I cannot imagine the guilt a parent would have after turning in their own child, then realizing that he or she wasn't really that bad after all. Do you think teens would behave more if unwinding was brought into society? Do you think it could be an effective threat, kind of like how parents threaten their children with coal for Christmas if they are naughty? Or would teens act generally the same?