Previous
Storking
A child raised with the express intent of being unwound when they reach 13. Tithing is most often practiced in religious communities, as the term has biblical origins and, in that sense, refers simply to offering up 1/10 of one’s earnings or crop yields as a sacrifice to God. Tithes are raised to look forward to their unwinding and are treated with the utmost respect by their community and family members.
Tithe Quotes in Unwind
The Unwind quotes below are all either spoken by Tithe or refer to Tithe. For each quote, you can also see the other terms 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.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 68
Quotes
“You may be responsible for your actions,” Pastor Dan says, “but it’s not your fault you weren’t emotionally prepared for life out there in the real world. This was my fault—and the fault of everyone who raised you to be a tithe. We’re as guilty as the people who pumped that poison into your blood.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Unwind LitChart as a printable PDF.
Tithe Term Timeline in Unwind
The timeline below shows where the term Tithe appears in Unwind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...and trusted childhood pastor. He admits that he’s afraid, even though he’s known he’s a tithe his entire life. He wonders if he feels isolated because of this, or if there’s...
(full context)
...to pull him across the freeway. Lev begs to not be taken since he’s a tithe. Connor incredulously asks if Lev is an Unwind, which offends Lev. They cause a bus...
(full context)
Chapter 6
...Connor says he saved Lev’s life. Lev decides to not explain to these people that tithing is the ultimate blessing. He bites back his anger and revulsion and thanks them for...
(full context)
Chapter 7
...and he doesn’t run. Connor wonders if Lev has gotten over his duty of being tithed.
(full context)
Chapter 14
...stork, and Connor sarcastically points to the hypocrisy of Lev’s parents accepting unwanted babies while tithing their own. Lev insists that tithing is in the Bible and that Moses was storked.
(full context)
Chapter 15
...will. Desperately, Pastor Dan says that nobody else knows Lev is gone—they believe he’s been tithed, so they won’t ask questions. Lev insists he wants to be tithed, which makes Pastor...
(full context)
Chapter 21
...his parents believe that everyone is equal in God’s eyes. He admits that he’s a tithe, which seems to impress CyFi. CyFi notes when they cross the state line, but Lev...
(full context)
One night, CyFi asks why Lev’s parents tithed him. CyFi explains that he was storked and his dads were so pleased to wind...
(full context)
Chapter 35
...group and tells them his story when asked. Cleaver is thrilled that Lev was a tithe and asks how much Lev hates the people who were going to unwind him. Lev...
(full context)
Chapter 53
...white passes by the court. One kid tells Connor that the kids in white are tithes and think they’re better than everyone else. The staff don’t help, as they refer to...
(full context)
Chapter 54
...now clean-cut again and is at Happy Jack Harvest Camp. He doesn’t see Connor because tithes, who “have a higher calling,” are told not to “look at the terribles.” He pretends...
(full context)
Chapter 57
After dinner, Lev stands in the tithes’ workout room on a treadmill that’s not on. He studies his hands and thinks identification...
(full context)
...joins Lev and asks if Lev is going to the candlelighting, a ceremony where the tithes light candles for those being unwound the next day. Lev finds it abhorrent, but he...
(full context)
Chapter 62
...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...
(full context)
Chapter 68
...didn’t clap and instead, saved three people from the wreckage. He says that the other tithes held back, but Lev led the rescue effort. Lev remembers running back in and realizing...
(full context)
...says he left the church because he doesn’t believe in a God who condones human tithing. Lev chokes up and says he didn’t know that was a choice. For the first...
(full context)
