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.