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 sits in his dormitory feeling devastated that Lev is here and will be unwound. Two guards interrupt his thoughts and tell him it’s time to go to the harvest clinic. Connor thinks that maybe Risa wants him, but one guard tells Connor that he’s a liability since so many kids look up to him, and so he’s being unwound today. The guards grab Connor and the boys still in the dorm won’t look at him. Another guard says that he has a friend who’s looking for brown eyes and explains that the guards sometimes get first dibs on parts, so Connor can rest assured that his eyes are going to a good place. In a panic, Connor wonders how to prepare himself and thinks that maybe they’re right and unwinding could be okay. He decides to go to his unwinding with dignity and pride.
The choice to meet his unwinding with dignity and pride, rather than fight, speaks to the major transformation that Connor has undergone over the last few months. He now recognizes that violence isn’t the best way to make anything happen. Instead, he realizes that it’s more important for him to act in such a way as to make other people trust him, as doing so also gives him opportunities to learn from others’ experiences.
Themes
