Survival

Unwind is a book filled with adventure, suspense and questions waiting to be answered. It involves three characters running away from their families in fear of being unwound. They are in survival mode; therefore, a theme in Unwind would be survival. Connor, Risa, and Lev beginning to team up to help each other stay alive until they are eighteen and out of the age range of being unwound. In theory, the kids still would still survive because in terms of being unwound the person’s organs for transplanted into different donors leaving your organs alive just not in your own body. However, Connor, Lev, and Risa are trying to survive in one state and not a divided state. Through this challenge of staying alive, the three of them are responsible for themselves while learning something new about themselves.  

            Each of the kids’ families chose them to be unwound. In Connor’s case, his family did not tell him; he found out himself. He chose to be extremely nice before figuring out running away was his best bet. On page five the author tells us, “Connor wonders how he can call the place he lives home, when he's about to be evicted--not just from the place he sleeps, but from the hearts of those who are supposed to love him.” Connor’s main goal of this adventure is staying alive till he is eighteen. He tells Hayden, “Think about stuff until your head explodes. But the only thing I want to think about is surviving to eighteen” (104). We learn throughout the book he does not always make the smartest decisions; however, he accepts the challenge and continues to fight through it. We get a sense of survive mode from the very first sentence of the story. Ariana tells Connor, "and a guy as smart as you had s decent chance of surviving to eighteen” (3).

            Connor, Lev, and Risa are attempting to survive on the streets and in the wilderness. Risa even was attempting to survive on her own in her StateHo. Risa and Connor have to make it out of the school without being caught by the cops; Lev rat them out at the school because he is trying to save himself from getting caught. Risa and Connor survive that scare and are taken to a pawn shop with other kids who are hiding from being unwound. They are in survival mode at the Warehouse. Lev meets CyFi and begins running with him. The ultimate goal in survival is not to be taken to Harvest Camp.

            While at the Happy Jack, each of one them do different things to survive. Risa joins the band which plays above the Chop Shop. Dalton tells Risa, “This is survival here, and we do what we have to do to survive!” (275). At the end, Connor survives to eighteen because of his fake name after the explosive. Risa survives because she refuses get a transplant because they cannot unwind a paralyzed person. They return to the graveyard to help Admiral because he is too weak. Risa and Connor realized they have survived and want to help the other unwinds survive. Connor states, “You’re all here because you were marked for unwinding but managed to escape. This will be your home until you turn seventeen and become a legal adult” (332). At the end of the book, the kids come to a decision they have a right to choose what happens to their bodies and a right to their own lives. “It’s our job to help make that world”(333). Connor and Risa survived their challenge to save alive and now are up for the challenge to make sure all the other unwinds survive.