Neal Shusterman's Unwind

Aristotle once said, “The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” The value of life isn’t something that cannot not be priced. In his novel, Unwind, Neal Shusterman showcases how the characters, Connor, Risa, and Lev, are trying to escape their unwinding after their lives being deemed invaluable. Life isn’t something that can be decided for another person whether they are storked, “bad teenagers,” or clappers as shown through Connor, Risa, and Lev in Neal Shusterman’s novel Unwind.

The first way life can’t be judged is through storking. The Bill of Life had a law in it called “Storking.” This law gave the rights to young girls to give up their children after birth if they

were not ready to be mothers or if they were incapable of becoming parents. The law was going into the idea of “finder’s keepers.” Storking is when someone puts a baby on your front porch, knocks, and the homeowner is obligated to keep and raise the child. If you are caught, you must take the baby back. For example, in the novel Unwind, Connor and Risa were running from the police and they found a baby on a front porch that were possibly being storked. The life of a baby shouldn’t be forced upon someone who doesn’t care, however, their life should be given to someone who truly wants them.
Another way life can’t be judged is from teenagers not having the capability of being a good person. Bad teenagers are teenagers who don’t understand or know how to control themselves. These sets of teenagers are categorized from their behavior when they are still young and developing. Neal Shusterman states “Connor makes a split- second decision and bolts, pushing the officer against the truck and racing across the busy highway” (18). This quote shows how Connor was being aggressive with the police officer just to get away from the juvey cop unit, and he runs onto a busy highway causing a bad accident. Controlling your behavior will help you go far in life someday.
Lastly, a way life can’t be judged is from being a clapper.

Clappers are “young terroists” whose circulatory system have been replaced with a nitroglycerin blend that makes their blood explosive. They are suicide bombers who don’t live for the applause, they die for it. Clappers set themselves off by clapping their hands together, and then explosion begins. Connor and Risa use the thought of clappers to escape from the police officers at the school. Shusterman expresses the quote, “Clappers!” everyone scrams, and the crowd becomes a stampede. Kids bolt, but no one is sure where to go. All they know is that they must get away from the school as quickly as possible” (88). This quote from the novel shows how serious the case of being a clapper is. If any sources of a clapper are present, get away quickly. However, Lev Calder is an example of a clapper. After the chop shop exploded, Lev is held in a cell designed for his specific needs in a high- security federal detention center. This quote states “The cell is padded. There is a steel blast door three inches thick. The room is kept at a constant forty- five degrees Fahrenheit to keep Lev’s body temperature from rising too high. Lev is not cold, though-- in fact he’s hot. He’s hot because he’s wrapped in layer after layer of fire resistant insulation” (323). Lev was apart of the cause of the explosion and the detention center was trying to keep safe. The life of clappers should not go unknown because the major destruction and

deaths they may cause.
In conclusion, Neal Shusterman shows many ways the value of life cannot be priced. Life is a precious thing, and you should cherish every moment you have. Connor, Risa, and Lev really did not understand the value of life throughout the novel. Life should not have to be decided by someone else whether you are storked, a “bad teenager,” or a clapper.