Power and Control

          Neal Shusterman’s book, Unwind, places the debate of pro-life and pro-choice directly in the reader’s face.  While reading the book, the reader may question what stance Shusterman has on abortion.  I do not think that he was trying to force the reader to question pro-life and pro-choice, rather he wants the reader to look at a far deeper theme involving the choice of life: the theme of Power.  Power can be a good thing, when used in the correct way, this book demonstrates how too much power can be a destructive thing as well as make the reader question what power exactly is.

           

            Power is heavy from the first page of the book where the Bill of Life is explained.  Human life is not to be touched until the age of thirteen, which is later called, “the age of reason”.  A woman must give birth to her baby and then she has a choice on whether to keep it or stork it.  The possibility a child becoming a ward of the state is also noted, as in the case of Risa.  A pregnant woman has no options when she discovers she is pregnant, other than having her child.  Then she is given few choices on what she may do with the child after his/her birth.  The child must remain alive until the age of thirteen when the parents have the choice to unwind that child.  But the government has put restrictions on the timeframe of when a tween/teen can be unwound.  After he/she turns eighteen, the option to unwind is gone and the teenager is safe. 

            The government has completely eliminated the power a woman has over her own body.  Whether the reader is pro-choice or pro-life, that is a disturbing thought.  Nowhere in the book is the scenario of a woman whose pregnancy is life threatening given.  While situation is not given, the reader is left to make an assumption that the government probably does not care and the woman is left powerless in her choice.

           

            Between the age of thirteen and eighteen, a human is left powerless in their right to life.  This power starts with their parents and should the parents choose, transcends to the government.  If parents decided that they want to unwind their child, that child has lost the power to “live.”  The parents sign the order and the government then takes over that’s child’s life.  Once the form was signed, there is no turning back, “Everyone knew that an unwind order was irreversible…”(6).  There is the debate over if life truly ends after a person is unwound.  The government makes the decision to declare that life is not over for the unwound; instead they are living in a different state.  When Roland demands a priest before his procedure he is told, “Priests give last rites. That’s for people who are dying.  You’re not dying—you’ll still be alive, just in a different way” (286).  This leads into the last idea of power—the power of the mind.

            There is no death when one is unwound.  That is what the government tells its “people” and that it what parents believe when they choose to unwind their child.  But what happens to the mind?  Lev begins the story as a tithe, but soon becomes an aid of sort for Cy who has received parts from an unwind.  Cy is trying to understand what is happening to him.  He cannot control his desire to steal shiny objects and his pull to Joplin. Cy also has flashes of Tyler’s (his “donor’s”) memories in his mind.  Is this a sign that the mind does still continue on after a person is unwound?  If it is, this shows that Cy no longer has control over his own mind and body.  He lost the power to control himself when he received parts from an unwind.  Cy thinks to himself, “I’m not myself.  That other kid is taking over” (187).  Tyler has lost the power to live, while Cy has lost the power to control his body and his thoughts.

           

            The theme of power is heavy throughout the book Unwind, ranging from the power the government has to the power the mind loses and gains throughout the unwinding process.  The government controls women’s choices in regards to their body their children.  Parents have complete control over if their child deserves to “live” between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.  The question one is left with at the end of the book is in concern with the power the mind has after a person is unwound.  Who has the power?  The person who has been unwound and now “lives” in another person or the person who has received the unwound’s body part?