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Chapter 1
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
Risa waits for her turn at the piano. Onstage, she sits and thinks of Mr. Durkin, her teacher, in the audience. As a resident of Ohio State Home 23, Risa is lucky to have a teacher she likes. She begins to play. She makes a few mistakes and begins to cry, thinking that Mr. Durkin would tell her that no one is judging her. She thinks that he can believe this since he’s not 15 and a ward of the state. Everyone congratulates her warmly after the concert, but a week later, Risa finds herself in Headmaster Thomas’s office. There are two other adults there. A woman identifies herself as Risa’s caseworker, reads through Risa’s file, and says that Risa has “reached [her] potential here.”
Risa’s aside that Mr. Durkin has the privilege to believe that nobody is judging him drives home that because of who and where Risa is, she’s in constant danger of being unwound. Further, the idea that a 15-year-old has already reached her potential is patently ridiculous: 15-year-olds are still children, legally and developmentally. This shows that there’s another reason why the state is presumably choosing to unwind Risa, one that has nothing to do with her potential.
Themes
Risa asks why she’s here. The adults talk over each other about how wards of the state are only guaranteed care until age 13, that they have to make room for unwanted babies, and that they’ve experienced budget cuts. The adults are silent when Risa asks if she’s being unwound. Risa spits that she’s going to die, which the lawyer deems inflammatory and unnecessary. The lawyer assures her she’ll still be alive, just in a divided state. Risa asks if she has a choice, but she knows she doesn’t.
Risa is a victim of budget cuts and of being an unwanted cog in a machine; unwinding her is, to these adults, a reasonable way to accommodate other babies and get rid of kids they no longer care about. The lawyer’s comment about Risa’s tone suggests that there’s likely a major attempt to police how people speak about unwinding intended to preserve the idea that unwinding is good and just—when clearly, it’s anything but.
Themes
Risa goes immediately to the transportation center. A few of her friends gather to say goodbye, but Mr. Durkin’s absence stings. The next morning, Risa boards a bus with many other kids. A military boeuf flirts with her until another boy points out that Risa is an Unwind. The boy says he’s being unwound because he did nothing, and now, there’s a chance that a part of him will go on to greatness elsewhere. Risa angrily moves seats and ponders how she might escape. Ahead, she sees a commotion up the road: one boy has another young boy in a chokehold and drags him across traffic, right in front of the bus. The driver slams on the brakes and Risa flies forward. She takes stock of the situation and then exits the bus.
The way that the other Unwind on the bus talks about possibly going onto greatness through someone else speaks to the success of the efforts of people like Risa’s lawyer, who insist on speaking about unwinding in positive terms—they even have victims convinced that this is their best option. The fact that Risa doesn’t agree with him makes it clear that there are a vast number of opinions on the matter, all of which have their merits. The fact remains, however, that the practice as it stands preys on society’s most vulnerable members.
Themes
