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
Lev hides his detonators in a sock and tries not to think about it; he knows Blaine will tell him when it’s time. Lev joins other tithes on a nature walk led by a pastor. The pastor takes them to an odd tree with branches from all different types of trees. He says that they don’t know what kind of tree it was to begin with and says it’s wonderful. Lev spits that there’s nothing wonderful about the tree, but he recovers by saying that it’s the work of man and they shouldn’t be prideful. This pleases the pastor and he leads them back to their housing. As they pass the dormitories, Lev finds himself face to face with Connor. The pastor steers Lev away after snarling at Connor and tells Lev that Connor is being unwound later.
The tree acts as a symbol of sorts for what’s theoretically possible with unwinding: being made up of all kinds of different parts, to the point where it’s difficult to tell what’s original and what’s not. While this novel doesn’t explore the possibility of creating people like this tree, the tree signals that there could be way more going on than just transplanting individual organs or tissues into others, setting the stage for moral quandaries to come.
Themes
Lev takes his first opportunity to sneak away and find Blaine. A staffer reluctantly lets Lev “say good-bye” to Blaine. Once he and Blaine are alone, Lev insists they have to “do it today.” He lies that the staffers know there are clappers here, and soon they’ll be found out. Blaine curses and says he’s not ready, but Lev reminds him that if they’re found out, the staffers will detonate them somewhere where nobody will see, hear, or care. They settle on detonating at one p.m.
The way that Lev convinces Blaine that they have to detonate sooner shows that part of the clappers’ goal is to make a scene and draw attention to themselves—everything they’ve done is worthless if they’re just going to explode somewhere where nobody will care. This represents an extreme and egotistic side to Lev’s anger.
Themes
Lev frantically rummages through his cubby looking for his detonators, but he can’t find them. Another kid comes in behind him and tells Lev that he has the wrong cubby. Lev pockets his detonators and explains his appearance by saying he was running on the treadmill. The boy calls Lev’s bluff since he was just at the gym, which makes Lev shout that they’re not friends. A man silences Lev and leads him away.
Lev’s inability to control himself here stands in stark contrast to Lev’s tight control over his actions when Connor and Risa first kidnapped him. His lack of control suggests that his anger has now overcome him, and he’s no longer capable of even thinking rationally.
Themes
Lev sits in a room with a counselor and two pastors. The counselor and the pastors want to know why Lev is so upset and they insist that Lev can’t be tithed like this—he isn’t in the proper frame of mind. Lev feels ready to burst as he sees that he only has 12 minutes to meet Mai and Blaine. When the counselor asks why Lev keeps checking the time, Lev says that he heard that his kidnapper was being unwound today and wonders if it happened yet. The pastor suggests they hold a special group meeting tonight so Lev can talk about his experience as a hostage. Lev agrees and then sits through guided relaxation exercises.
Because Lev is a fake tithe, and in theory, heading to his unwinding willingly, this counselor and these pastors have no conception of the possibility that Lev might be rethinking whether he wants to be a tithe. This suggests that these adults are extremely closed-minded, and that their unwillingness or inability to recognize Lev’s discomfort means that they’ll probably be unable to stop Lev from clapping.
Themes
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