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?