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The Bill of Life
Humphrey Dunfee is a symbol of the trauma that unwinding can cause for both direct victims of the procedure and their families. Humphrey’s story is an urban legend that holds that when Humphrey was a teen, his parents unwound him—but after the fact, they experienced crushing remorse and went on a killing spree, murdering every person who received a body part from their son. Despite being an urban legend, Humphrey’s story speaks to the very real costs and consequences of unwinding teens: it’s impossible to reverse, for one thing, and it’s traumatizing for adults and teens alike. The novel expands on this idea of trauma when it reveals that the Admiral is actually Admiral Dunfee, the father of Harlan Dunfee—the real person who inspired Humphrey’s story. The Admiral runs a refugee camp for Unwinds and refuses donor organs exactly because of the remorse and trauma he experiences after unwinding Harlan, showing that embellished trauma and real trauma alike can be powerful motivators for someone to begin to challenge the status quo and change the world for the better.
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Humphrey Dunfee Symbol Timeline in Unwind
The timeline below shows where the symbol Humphrey Dunfee appears in Unwind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7
Connor reasons that they could’ve ended up like Humphrey Dunfee. Lev is surprised that Connor knows the story, but Risa insists it’s made up....
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Chapter 19
...back together. Mai says they’ll just blame each other, but Hayden suggests they could reenact Humphrey Dunfee. Mai has never heard the story, so Hayden puts his candle between them all...
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Hayden says that Humphrey isn’t the kid’s real name, but his parents had him unwound. It went off without...
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Chapter 37
...Emby. After Emby is gone, the Admiral looks at Harlan’s picture. Many know Harlan as Humphrey Dunfee. The Admiral feels like he’s redeeming himself.
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Chapter 69
...himself alive thinking about Harlan’s party. He reasons that in a way, the stories about Humphrey Dunfee are true, since now all of Harlan’s parts are in one spot again.
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