Unwind Literary Analysis

Analytical Essay

In Unwind, Neal Shusterman utilizes literary elements to show issues of morality. Through the course of the novel, 3 teenagers have different reasons for being “unwound”. Neal Shusterman is a successful writer whose stories challenge world issues and moral values. In “Unwind” Neal Shusterman uses both symbolism and imagery to effectively demonstrate how human life is being unvalued.
The setting established by Shusterman creates a mood that aids the development of the theme of the novel. Unwind takes in the United States, after a civil war somewhere in the near future. After the “The Heartland War” which was a war in the book for abortion came a compromise called “The Bill of Life.” The Bill of Life states that human life
may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, later lowered to seventeen, a parent may choose to retroactively "abort" a child on the condition that the child's life doesn't "technically" end. The process by which a child is both terminated and yet kept alive is called unwinding. The way that this devalues human life leaves the reader feeling dreary and somber, which only validates the issues of immorality that are being portrayed by this society.
Shusterman’s use of characterization and conflict in Unwind work together to assist in the creation of the novel’s theme.
This is most clearly seen in the characters of Connor, Risa, and Lev as they are the characters to initially set to be “unwound.” Although they all come from different backgrounds they find a common purpose which is to survive. This leads to the conflict of the story as they are running from their unwanting societies. These 3 characters are running from practically a city looking for them until finally they come upon a lady named Sonia. This lady hides unwind that from the juvey cops and takes them in until they're sent to “The Graveyard,” which is a desert where they are finally
free.
Shusterman utilizes symbolism throughout the novel to develop its theme.
They’re seen abundantly in the story, since everything is firmly structured. For instance, the “Graveyard” symbolizes hope throughout the novel. This is because the the graveyard is the only place where the unwind reach safety. Throughout the book the “Graveyard” is looked as the only bright light in a dark society. In doing this Shusterman gives human life the value it deserves as the unwind are fighting for survival and shows how much society is dishonoring the natural rights of life. Likewise, Shusterman also provides “The Bill of Life” which states “Human life may not be touched from the of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen.” The Bill of Life symbolizes the evil in humans. This is shown when parents are willing to without any necessity give away their own children. It divides a person's life into many pieces making it worst than being dying. This once again shows the devaluing of human life as the parents are willing to destroy their own flesh for the immoral purpose of
unwinding.
Furthermore, Shusterman uses imagery throughout the novel to develop its theme. The imagery paints vivid pictures in the reader's mind about this futuristic world. Clev says "The last bit of daylight is gone from the sky now; the only color left is dark blue fading to black (Shusterman, 194).” The author is displaying imagery painting a picture of where the truth has finally come out, and Cy’s innocence is gone. This portraits the theme because Cy’s life didn't seem to matter to their parents, his parents lie to him and hesitate about telling him the truth. The author also displays imagery when he says “Her hip is hurt, but not bad. It's just a bruise. She gets up, quickly taking stock of the situation (Shusterman, 27).” Shusterman draws a picture in the reader's mind showing the effects of the crash and makes it seem like it was the reader who was in the crash. This displays imagery of the theme because he makes the Risas life seem not really important, affecting the way the reader looks at her in the book basing off her importance.
On the whole, Neal shusterman use of literary elements inclusive of symbolism and imagery support the development of the central theme that human life is being unvalued. In Unwind, these elements are used masterfully to establish the theme in an effective way by being recurrent and having a clear meanings that are easy to connect together to form the theme.