Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Unwind, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Inequality, Injustice, and the Law
Anger, Violence, and Radicalization
Activism, Compassion, and Atonement
Morality and Perspective
Summary
Analysis
Connor knows they have to be in town to get food and information, but it makes him nervous. He finds a newspaper and they flip through it to see if it mentions them. They find an article about the pileup on the interstate, but it doesn’t mention them. Both Lev and Risa are confused, since the news always mentions Unwinds, but Connor shouts that this is a gift—no report means no pictures. Connor struggles to keep his temper under control, but he knows that Risa will realize this is a good thing. Instead, Risa suggests that the cops might want them dead, which will be easier if nothing gets out. She asks if Lev’s parents may have paid off the police to kill his kidnappers, which Lev considers.
The disconnect between how Connor and Risa interpret the lack of a story about them shows again that Connor allows his anger to rule him, which keeps him from considering far more likely (and dangerous) alternatives to his first thought. Risa, meanwhile, already knows how to look for motivation and who might profit from their situation, putting her in a better position to both channel her anger and keep them alive.
Themes
They see a police car turn onto the street and hear a baby cry out. Connor wants to run, but Risa grabs him. Instead of going with his first thought, he thinks ahead and realizes that running will draw attention. He looks around and suggests that they head for the bus stop, where other kids their age are gathered. Lev is unwilling to go, but the bus rounds the corner. He walks across the street as Connor yells that he’ll get a detention for being late. Risa assures Lev that they won’t board the bus, but its lights begin to flash, and the cop car stops where the cop can see kids loading. They have to get on.
The fact that Connor is learning to think through his thoughts and not give in to his anger shows again that he does have the potential to change how he moves through the world in such a way as to keep himself and others alive. The fact that Lev isn’t running for the cop car suggests that he may be questioning whether he really wants to be tithed—perhaps Marcus’s impassioned objection to the practice has planted a seed of doubt in Lev’s mind.
Themes
Connor becomes suddenly aware of the crying baby, which is on the porch by the bus stop. He knows the baby was storked and stops. Risa yells at Connor, but just then, the door of the house opens and a small kid yells to his mother that they’ve been storked again. Connor tells himself that this isn’t the same baby, but he bolts for the porch, grabs the baby, and Risa tells the mother in the house that the baby is hers. The woman taunts Connor and Risa as Risa gathers the wailing infant. Connor feels hopeless, helpless, and broken.
Connor telling himself that this isn’t the “same baby” shows that there’s more to this than just not thinking storking is a great idea—rather, there’s something in his past that makes him believe that taking the responsibility for the baby himself is better than leaving it on the porch. Depending on one’s thoughts on storking, it’s also possible to see this as activism, again showing that one’s perspective can change everything.
Themes
