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The Admiral’s helicopter pilot and right-hand man. He’s a greasy man with long hair, and unbeknownst to the Admiral, is a recruiter for the clappers. Indeed, nobody suspects him; even though Connor doesn’t like him much, Cleaver is nothing more than a background figure in Connor’s mind. Cleaver recruits Blaine and Mai and leads them in murdering the Goldens before orchestrating an attack with Lev on the Happy Jack Harvest Camp. Cleaver dies in the riot outside the Admiral’s airplane, as he’s the only adult around for the teens to direct their anger toward. Rather than being scared or sad, however, he dies insisting that he loves chaos—even if the chaos, in this case, brings about his own demise.
Cleaver Quotes in Unwind
The Unwind quotes below are all either spoken by Cleaver or refer to Cleaver. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 35 Quotes
He could join them just out of spite, but that’s not enough—not this time. There must be more. Yet, as he stands there, Lev realizes that there is more. It’s invisible, but it’s there, like the deadly charge lurking in a downed power line. Anger, but not just anger: a will to act on it as well.
“All right, I’m in.” Back at home Lev always felt part of something larger than himself. Until now, he hadn’t realized how much he missed that feeling.
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Chapter 57 Quotes
Lev was terrified of these people, and yet he felt a kinship with them. They understood the misery of being betrayed by life. They understood what it felt like to have less than nothing inside you. And when they told Lev how important he was in the scheme of things, Lev felt, for the first time in a long time, truly important.
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"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Cleaver Character Timeline in Unwind
The timeline below shows where the character Cleaver appears in Unwind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 32
...parts of or whole decommissioned airplanes. The Admiral only employs one adult on the property: Cleaver, his trustworthy helicopter pilot. The Unwinds spend their days stripping planes for parts to sell,...
(full context)
Chapter 34
...keeps Connor’s mind off of both Risa and Roland, who wheedled his way into being Cleaver’s helicopter assistant. Other kids fear and respect Roland for this, but they all want Connor...
(full context)
...helicopter and wants to get to work. He gives rides to lots of kids when Cleaver isn’t around, which allows him to spread rumors about the Admiral. Connor works hard to...
(full context)
Chapter 35
...to go to a corner of the Graveyard. Lev climbs into the plane and tells Cleaver who sent him. Cleaver is thrilled and introduces Lev to Mai and Blaine. Lev asks...
(full context)
...wants to be a part of the group and tells them his story when asked. Cleaver is thrilled that Lev was a tithe and asks how much Lev hates the people...
(full context)
Chapter 36
There’s a work call the next day, which Cleaver runs. There are only a few jobs, one of which is a brutal one on...
(full context)
Chapter 45
...to destroy everything else in the Graveyard with a mixture of fury and odd joy. Cleaver sees the smoke rising and feels drawn to it. He flies the helicopter closer, lands,...
(full context)
Chapter 46
...everywhere. A group of kids kicks something, and Connor realizes they’re kicking a person. It’s Cleaver. Connor rushes in, scattering the kids, and comforts Cleaver. Cleaver, however, smiles and says that...
(full context)
Chapter 65
...worse was watching the Goldens bury him carelessly. She eventually shared what she saw with Cleaver, and he plotted their murder of the Goldens. Blaine drugged the Goldens, but Mai sealed...
(full context)
