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.