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
Roland crash-lands the helicopter in the hospital parking lot. Risa explains to the staff that they didn’t think he’d be able to make it onto the helipad. A doctor listens to the Admiral’s heart and tells her orderlies to prep him for transplant, but the Admiral weakly says he doesn’t want a transplant. Connor tells the doctor to do whatever they used to do before they had hearts at their disposal. The orderlies whisk the Admiral away, with Connor and Risa right behind. Roland, however, grabs the doctor’s arm and asks her to call the Juvey-cops—Connor and Risa are runaway Unwinds.
Roland’s willingness to sell out Connor and Risa suggests that he’s far too focused on revenge to consider the possible negative consequences of trying to do this—remember that Roland, too, is running from the law, so he’s at risk here just like Connor and Risa. The Admiral’s refusal of a new heart, like his insistence on wearing dentures, shows again that he’ll do whatever it takes to not profit off of the system he hopes to dismantle.
Themes
