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
The dormitories at Happy Jack are divided into units of 30 kids. That evening, Connor notices that two beds in his unit are stripped. Nobody talks about the missing kids and Connor feels horrible that he can’t remember their names or faces. He also feels bad because kids seem to think he can save them, when he knows he can’t. Risa is the one bright spot in his life. He watched her play earlier and wishes that he’d gotten to know her better while they were together. Connor sits on his bed, thinking, and before he knows it, he’s the last in the room. Everyone else is at dinner.
The realization that Connor can’t remember the names or faces of the unwound kids reveals another way in which those at Happy Jack are forced to deny the humanity of others in order to maintain any hope that they’ll escape. This is also a form of complicity with what’s happening, as Connor now can’t make a fuss and memorialize those kids who are already unwound.
Themes
Connor gets up to go, but Roland blocks his path. Connor realizes that Roland isn’t really any taller than him and tells him to move. Both boys blame each other for their predicament, and Connor says that Roland would’ve murdered the Admiral and the Goldens if he’d had the chance—he’s a killer. The boys begin a brutal fistfight and though Connor fights well, Roland is stronger. Roland slams Connor’s head against a wall and says that now he’s going to be a killer. He begins to suffocate Connor, and Connor realizes that he’d rather die like this than be unwound. Just as Connor starts to lose consciousness, Roland lets him go. Roland is crying as he leaves. Connor thinks that Roland is probably both disappointed and relieved that he’s not a killer.
The realization that Roland isn’t any taller than Connor is the moment in which Connor begins to realize that he and Roland aren’t all that different. They may have slightly different aims and a different level of control over their anger, but at their core, they’re both boys who have been abused by a system that doesn’t think they have the right to exist—and they’re both rightfully angry about this. When Roland can’t kill Connor, it’s another indicator that Roland isn’t as evil as Connor thought he was.
Themes
