UnWholly

Shusterman’s Unwind series, like other dystopian series that feature strong yet emotional teenagers, explores how being a hormonal adolescent can hinder saving the world. Shortly before being killed by a clapper, Pastor Dan says to Lev, “Most fourteen-year-olds aren’t actively trying to fix the world. Cut yourself some slack and try dealing with normal fourteen-year-old things” (181). Despite Pastor Dan’s words, Lev and his friends aren’t “normal” to others because they should be unwound and are fighting against this process. When Shusterman’s teen characters try to change a world that has demonized them and legalized killing them, they unsurprisingly encounter emotional and intellectual setbacks due to adolescent tendencies.

Major issues for several teen characters include anger management and ego. When the Admiral and the ADR left Connor in charge of the Graveyard, it was essentially making a “problem kid responsible for hundreds of other problem kids” (243). Connor, and other Whollies, are known for being troublemakers. Starkey initially idolizes Connor because of the trouble he caused in Book 1 as the Akron AWOL; Starkey “longs for the kind of notoriety that Connor Lassiter has” (10). While Connor eventually takes on a martyr complex (tries to go down with the Graveyard ship like a captain) and learns that not every situation merits causing trouble or giving into anger, Starkey is willing to incite violence and sacrifice others to gain fame for aiding storks. Neither of these paths of adolescent excess will help the greater good. In fact, anger and ego harm just as many teens as (adult) plans like unwinding and rewinding, large-scale plans fueled by anger and ego.

Excess of emotion also motivates other characters’ actions. Cam reacts with “the rage of dozens of unwound kids” (142) when interviewers insult him. Furthermore, he decides to rebel against his creators, Proactive Citizenry, because of his crush on Risa. When she leaves him, “the anger begins to rise in him” (366). Unlike Connor or Starkey, who want to help other Whollies (or at least appear to be altruistic, in the case of the latter), Cam only thinks about impressing one girl. Though Connor, Starkey, and Cam allow anger to affect their thinking at different points in the novel, Cam’s character—at least when it comes to Risa—follows a traditional/stereotypical trope with his role of the selfish teenager, one obsessed with “getting the girl” no matter what.

While Risa does develop feelings for Cam, it is her love for Connor that inspires some of her unadvisable actions. Her inexperience in romance—and Connor’s lack of communication—lead to Risa making poor judgment calls. While she notes that “Connor won’t approve” (158) of her turning herself in at the hospital, Risa does not comprehend how deeply upset Connor will be, and how this excess of emotion will aid in him overlooking the warning signs of Starkey’s mutiny. Likewise, Risa takes issue with the ways Connor fails to show love and appreciation. He never built a ramp for her wheelchair use on his plane, and he’s horrible at expressing his feelings of love toward her. She internalizes these faults and pushes Connor away because of them. Connor himself lets the fact that his arm belonged to a person who tried to harm Risa previously cloud his thoughts about her. Both want to protect the other person. Instead of communicating this want, the teenagers hold grudges that eventually push them apart.

It can also be argued that the adults were able to legalize the killing of teens and spend years oppressing them because of these adolescent limitations. When teenagers began rebelling rising up, the government took steps to quell this so-called teenage anger by allowing the legalized, large-scale murder of teens by way of the unwinding process. With age and experience, a great deal of the interpersonal conflicts that stand in the way of Whollie liberation—especially many of the conflicts and plot points in this installment—could be avoided.