Self Respect In Neal Shusterman's Unwind

“[Connor] can’t believe that his life is being stolen from him at sixteen.” (Shusterman 3)

Neal Shusterman’s Unwind envisions a future where a person between the ages of 13 to 18 can be unwound, where their entire body is split up and transplanted to different donors. Self respect is the character trait that saves Connor, Risa, and Lev from being transplanted in Neal Shusterman’s Unwind. Self respect is the most important character trait in Connor and is what saves him in Neal Shusterman’s Unwind. Firstly, Connor will do whatever it takes to keep himself safe. It is demonstrated when Connor knows if he is in the same crate as Roland, he might die, so he makes the decision to fight now instead of later in the crate. Therefore, he decides to “...turn to one of Roland’s henchmen and

Firstly, Risa has the self respect to not allow others to take advantage of her. She is not afraid to protect herself using violence if necessary. She will not allow other to use or manipulate her. She is also aware of her surroundings. When in the argument with Connor and he holds her arm, she knows “even a gentle violation is a violation.”(Shusterman 48). She also looks at his knee. She realizes a well placed kick could break his kneecap. Secondly, Risa’s self respect, dignity, and determination is what causes her to out of the bus during the accident. When the bus crashes “[she]...races towards that door.” (Shusterman 27). By running out of the bus, she is able to survive from the unwinding. Thirdly, Risa rejecting the unwind body part is an great example of her strong moral principles. Risa realizes “They fix it by replacing a severed spine with the spine of an unwind. That’s why [She]... refused the operation.” (Shusterman 321). She sacrifices her ability to walk because of what she believes as the right thing and also in order to not support the unwinding