Unwind

=**__UNWIND__ by Neal Shusterman**=


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I really enjoyed Unwind by Neal Shusterman because it uses fiction to raise questions that are relevant in today's society. Although we do not have anything similar to unwinding in the real world, there are many things that are in many ways similar. One example is human trafficking. Human trafficking victims can relate to unwinds because like unwinds, victims of human trafficking are forced to give up their lives to serve others in ways including sex and labor. These victims also live in conditions that would make most people question whether dying might be better, just as Hayden raises this question in the crate. Shusterman also raises a very philosophical question in the book: what part of a person's body is them? This question is most relevant in the scene in which Rowland is unwound, which is also the most emotional scene in the book. For most of Rowland's unwinding, his thoughts are still there. Even when he looses all forms of communication and all of his senses, his mind is still the same. This chapter is very emotional because the reader hears his thought process until the very end when he slowly starts slipping away. After reading this I still believe that a persons mind is the only part of them that is truly them. A person's body is really just a tool for their brain. That being said, it gets much more complicated when a persons brain is split up, as illustrated with this excerpt from the end of the chapter.

"Right frontal.

I’m still here. ..

Right occipital.

I’m still. ..

Right parietal.

I’m. ..

Cerebellum.

I’m. ..

Thalamus.

I. ..

Hypothalamus.

I. . ."

After reading this I asked myself, "Is he still there?" What do you think? This chapter also ties into this related question: Is unwinding killing? At the beginning of the book I believed that, yes, unwinding was killing. I thought this because I thought that being alive implies being in one place, but after reading this chapter, my view changed. This opinion was further strengthened in the last chapter when The Admiral and his wife host the party for everyone who has one of their son's body parts. The way that together they talk as if they are collectively Harman is hauntingly beautiful. What do you think? Is unwinding killing?

The most important characters in this book are Connor, Lev and Risa. I think out of these three, Connor is the most important. He is the main reason that Lev and Risa get introduced to the story. They're the ones that go back to the unwind facility after the admiral has a heart attack and manage to escape. I one important symbol in this book is the graveyard because it represents safety and opportunity for a life. It keeps the unwind kids safe until they are eighteen, and without it, they wouldn't really have anyplace to go. The band aids were a,so a big symbol in the book. They symbolize destruction which is kind of ironic since they're band aids.they represent destruction because they are pretty much bombs in disguise, with one clap, they could make a big explosion that could blow up happy jack harvest camp. Mai and Blaine were ready to destroy the chop shop, so when given the opportunity, they did. Lev, however, couldn't do it. The good in him was brought out and he went back to save Risa and Connor even though he was supposed to be like a tough rebel. He remembered how he had been before and decided to not detonate but go back into the chop shop that was half destroyed and rescue them. I think human life is a theme because of how little the society cares about it in this book, but it is brought back so many times. Their parents thought that donating their organs is more important than letting them live. I think in this book, the society is against human life, and more of preserving the older people who are already there. I really enjoyed this book, even though it was pretty long. I think it was actually pretty realistic for a dystopian society and it was a really original book. Overall it was really good. Lucas A

I really liked the book unwind because I think it just shows how much society is agains human life, and although in real life, they wouldn't use people as spare parts, you can see how much this ties into reality. Society is built so that it can break people down and it just shows how much lack of importance society thinks human life has. Parents are willing unwind their children for typical teenager rebellion. One think I thought was interesting was that the author chose the ages 13-18 because that is teenage years and that is when children are making the most trouble. I think the theme is that we should value human life and that nobody is perfect. I also think that another message is that life should be valued and it should be important. At one point, Connor says “In a perfect world mothers would all want their babies, and strangers would open up their homes to the unloved. In a perfect world everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn’t a perfect world.”(Pg. 192) I think this really shows us the theme and the way that Connor thinks about the world. Even today in our world, everything is grouped and you can't be an individual person because you have to fit into a certain category, and if you don't you are considered "other". I think the people in this story that are "other" are the children that are being unwound. Some of the questions I have are.... Do you think it is better to be dead or unwound? Who has the right to choose if someone will live or die? If you were to be unwound, what would you do? If you were in a accident and your only chance at life would be to take parts from an unwound teen, would you take them? Overall I loved the book and I thought I really made you think.

Claire H

I liked the book Unwind because it makes you appreciate everything we have. No matter what we say, we’re still lucky enough to have loving parents who care about us. These children are not as fortunate as us, even though it is still a book. It makes one think about how fortunate they are, as well as appreciate the things we have. I liked this book because not only was it able to sustain suspense throughout, but it also included one of the most interesting types of writing that I’ve ever read. It was a sort of realistic futuristic type of writing that I could easily apply to the world that we live in, and our society. It seems almost too real, which also leads a feeling of fear that lingers in the background of the book throughout. Overall, I would say that this book could go on my top 10 list of favorite books that I’ve read, because it is so easy to see this being applied to where we live in. In the book, they included things like busses carrying kids, which reminded me of kids being “shipped” off to school on routine. They also included a thing called “StaHo”, which reminded me of fraternities and sororities, except these StaHo’s were much more strict. I would say that the author did a great job of making it seem like this could very much happen in real life. Also in this book, they made it seem as if the society was not very accepting of the kids. In our society, we are not very accepting of people who are the outcasts. The Unwinds were the outcasts, and they were being hunted down by the Juvey-Cops, sort of like how the outcasts in this society (minorities) are being targeted by police. Overall, I would recommend this book to most, if not all, people who are looking for something new to read.

Alex F.