Once upon a time, I was a student ignorant of the issues plaguing our nation; issues such as abortion and a frightening scarcity of organ donors meant little to me, who was neither pregnant nor in need of replacement body parts. Today, I fortunately remain a simple witness to these scenarios rather than a participant, but I have certainly established a new perspective since reading Neal Shusterman’s Unwind several years ago.
Unwind is a brilliant novel set in the near future following the United States’ second civil war, known as the Heartland War, in which the definition of human life was debated with fatal passion: when does life truly begin and when should it be legally permitted to end? Desperate for an end to the warfare, the factions united in the decision to forbid abortion prior to birth. Instead, children would be given the chance to become worthy of the lives they have been given, but between the ages of thirteen and eighteen they could be sent to “harvest camps,” where they would then be “unwound” and sold for little more than scraps to those in dire need of organ donations, a supposedly moral alternative to abortion. The tale follows three “Unwinds”—Connor, Risa, and Lev—as they learn about their twisted society while attempting to escape their fates.
The premise of Unwind is a thrill to any teenager who has ever either defied an authority, like Connor, or has ever felt unwanted, such as Risa. As a thirteen-year-old who had dabbled in a little of both from time to time, Unwind was a welcome glimpse into my own subconscious and a realization at how privileged my life has been. The world this novel constructs is a society quite similar to our own, yet its morals have been contaminated: certain lives are considered m...
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...ricts, I can’t ignore the fact that districts such as mine, which has already lost so much of its funding, are in need of inexpensive ways to increase efficiency. Another technique implemented in Japan is the use of students as janitors: each day a group of students is assigned to clean their classroom. I believe that if the number of janitors in our schools must be reduced the students should play a part in keeping their environment tidy, be it out of goodwill or punishment. I see this as a great, economical opportunity to maintain the school’s image and promote service.
The United States is a melting pot: we have built our country on the customs of many others. We cannot be afraid to revert to old tactics so long as they are successful. Other countries hold the key to success in the education system and the United States must be willing to take note.
The demand for human cadaver research continues to exist. Countless notions have been voiced to augment the supply of human cadavers. Science writer Mary Roach believes that our bodies are of significant importance above ground instead of below. In “The Cadaver Who Joined the Army” Mary Roach primarily focuses on the benefits of human cadaver research and how cadaver donation can be rewarding. Mary Roach bypasses the super-replicator beliefs of human cadaver research and highlights the joy one will receive after donating their body to research. Psychologist Daniel Gilbert primarily focuses on how surrogates pass on super-replicators in which we consider truthful. In “Reporting Live From Tomorrow” Gilbert presumes that e rely on super-replicators to make choices that will determine happiness. As a surrogate, Mary Roach convinces us that through informed consent, our decision to donate our bodies to cadaver research will bring happiness.
The United States has proven to be a world leader with their powerful military, democratic government, and stringent foreign policies. There is one category however, the United States struggles to be number one in, education. As shocking as this may sound, the public school system in America is not superior to other developing countries. I have witnessed this scandalous phenomena firsthand, engrossed in the public school system from kindergarten to freshman year of high school. The student body and the school administration is morphing into a nonproductive system with a zombie-like attitude. American students lack academic drive and curiosity compared to European and Asian countries because the standard for academic success is constantly lowered. Americans must reform the school system and change their perspective on how important an education is to the rest of the world.
In Unwind the author develops the theme that in society, the easiest way isn't always the best way. In the beginning part of the book show this theme by describing how Connor ran away from his home and the parents of his home made Connor hate his parents and made it harder on themselves. This shows that the parents didn't want her son anymore and the easiest way out backfired on them. In the middle of the book it added that the medical field has gotten lazy using unwind parts to fix health problems and relide of unwinds too much. This shows the theme by when unwinds runaway they make a big deal because they need the parts of them and depend on them in the medical field. In the end of the book describes how much Connor and Risa did to get
Protected by a cocoon of naiveté, Holden Caulfield, the principal character in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, therapeutically relates his lonely 24 hour stay in downtown New York city, experiencing the "phony" adult world while dealing with the death of his innocent younger brother. Through this well-developed teenage character, JD Salinger, uses simple language and dialogue to outline many of the complex underlying problems haunting adolescents. With a unique beginning and ending, and an original look at our new society, The Catcher in the Rye is understood and appreciated on multiple levels of comprehension. The book provides new insights and a fresh view of the world in which adolescents live.
While Caucasians are now referred to as sienna and African-Americans are now called umber, race is not a common determining factor in the decision for one to be unwound. However, teenagers are treated differently and discriminated against based on their title. Children that are set to be unwound or “Unwinds” are seen as troublemakers by their peers, whereas tithes are seen as angelic children of God. In harvest camps, the Unwinds or “Terribles” are forced to workout and be at their physical peak before their unwinding. Tithes, on the other hand, are put on a metaphorical pedestal and paraded around the athletic fields in white, silk outfits (Shusterman, 272-274). People in Unwind are not judged by their race, but instead their social and legal statuses and their fate.
Three connections I made were one text to society and two text to world.One connection I made was that Unwinds sometimes think other people think they are not good enough to live. That’s how some kids feel in many schools. They don’t feel accepted into the community, and it hurts so much that some people can feel suicidal. In Unwind, some kids might feel like they deserve to be unwound. Both societies have people who think they are not good enough to live. One other connection I made was text to world. When I thought of the Heartland War, I immediately thought about World War Two. In the Heartland War, the “Bill of Life” was passed, saying that people could Unwind their children if they wanted to. In World War Two, if Adolf Hitler would’ve won, our society might have been similar to this, because Hitler wanted to take over the world. He would have gotten to bend people against their will, much like the parents and their children in Unwind. I believe this connection was especially important because if the Axis powers would have won, our society could have been similar to this one. The last connection is similar to the second one. In the story, they reference clappers a lot. Clappers are very similar to suicide bombers today. In the book, clappers try to explode along with thousands of people, kind of like bombers. One bomber incident is 9/11. The bombers killed themselves to hurt America,
Connie, a stereotypical fifteen year old girl, views her life and her family with dissatisfaction. Jealous around her twenty-four year old sister, June, despite June’s outward plainness, and tense around her irksome mother, Connie escapes to the mall with her friends. She and her clique of friends feel like they own the place, and the rest of the world: “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home…” (1-2). The sense of freedom intoxicates them.
A few weeks ago The New York Times published the article Hopeful Start for First Uterus Transplant in the U.S. The article talks about the candidate who will be receiving the first uterus transplant and the expected outcome (Grady). This is exciting news for many women in the United States, but there are a few people that don’t share the excitement. Although there have been uterus transplants performed in other countries before, bioethical issues still arise. There have been some heated debates on this issue in the past, and both the supporting and opposing sides make good points. The truth of the matter is that even though there is risks uterus transplants can benefit women and medicine a great deal.
As the years go by our society advances in all fields. As a result, we as a society have come to question many elements in our lives by comparing them to longstanding morals and traditions. The medical fields has always, and probably will always, raise many controversial issues. The latest concerns whether euthanasia or physician assisted suicide should be universally legalized in the U.S. Those opposed see that there are other alternatives other than taking a person’s own life, with the help of a doctor. Not only are they essential to incorporate into the options for people experiencing terminal illnesses, legalization would allow an overall upgrade in combating abuse with this treatment, at the same time, people are thoroughly against the
Over the course of the last century, abortion in the Western hemisphere has become a largely controversial topic that affects every human being. In the United States, at current rates, one in three women will have had an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45. The questions surrounding the laws are of moral, social, and medical dilemmas that rely upon the most fundamental principles of ethics and philosophy. At the center of the argument is the not so clear cut lines dictating what life is, or is not, and where a fetus finds itself amongst its meaning. In an effort to answer the question, lawmakers are establishing public policies dictating what a woman may or may not do with regard to her reproductive rights.
Would it not be morally wrong, if your parents could choose if you lived or died? “Unwind” by Neal Shusterman takes place in a dystopian world after the second civil war, having many immoral problems of human rights and being unwound. In direct comparison to the lack of people's right to live and the freedom of movement in Unwind, Syria in this day and age shows the same immorality towards the rights of Syrian Refugees.
The debate of abortion continues to be a controversial problem in society and has been around for many decades. According to Jone Lewis, “In the United States, abortion laws began to appear in the 1820’s, forbidding abortion after the fourth month of pregnancy” (1). This indicates that the abortion controversy has been debated far back into American history. Beginning in the 1900’s, legalized abortion became a major controversy. In 1965, all fifty states in the United States banned abortion; however, that was only the beginning of the controversy that still rages today (Lewis 1). After abortion was officially banned in the United States, groups such as the National Abortion Rights Action League worked hard on a plan to once again legalize abortion in the United States (Lewis 1). It wasn’t until 1970 when the case of Roe (for abortion) v. Wade (against abortion) was brought...
Americans schools have a tendency to try to reform certain parts in one’s school but chooses to ignore what’s being reformed. Although, once Americans schools do reform it would make it a lot easier for the one who is willing to learn to get the education they need. In the essay “Let’s Really Reform Our Schools” by Anita Garland. Garland explains that there needs to be changes in Americans schools. Garland mentions that Americans school are coming to a disaster and they are in trouble. Their needs to be changes in Americans schools to improve one’s education. For starters, the attendance should not be mandatory for the ones that do not attend. Next, the cafeteria food is revolting and needs to be changed. Last, having that huge dance so called
“In everyday life, men and women make decisions that affect the life and death of existing people. They decide whether to join the army; whether to donate blood, a kidney, or bone marrow to a child; whether to give money to Save the Children instead of buying a new sweater; whether to decline a life-saving blood transfusion; whether to drive a small fort on walls that may protect passengers in a crash but often kills those in less substantial vehicles” (Borgmann 23).