Neal Shusterman's Unwind: Chapter Analysis

Euthanasia is the practice of ending the life of an individual for the purposes of relieving pain and suffering. Over the years, there has been a big debate about its merits and demerits, and the debate is not about to end anytime soon. However, no matter what side of the debate one supports, it is important to consider a few facts. One, the prolonged stay in hospital is bound to raise medical costs. Two, some medical complications bring suffering and pain to the patient without any possibility of getting back to one 's normal activities of daily living. However, ending the life of a person intentionally may be treated as a serious crime in some jurisdictions. Given these facts, it is evident that making a decision about euthanasia is bound to be a challenging task. Although not everyone might agree, euthanasia is a necessary procedure that relieves the pain and suffering of the patient and rids the family and the government of expensive medical costs that would not necessary improve the life of the patient.

Unwind written by Neal Shusterman is scoped with ideas that are very relevant in our society today. The novel is based in the future where a child is both terminated and yet kept alive, however in a divided state. The main themes in the novel are the right to life and the right to do what we want with our own bodies, these ideas are in all three of the main characters lives. The idea of the right to life is very important in today’s society the reason for this is that taking away someone's life is murder, except in our society it comes in all different forms. "We have a right to our lives! We have a right to choose what happens to our bodies” -Connor.

“Is it worse to kill someone than to let someone die?” – James Rachels. At the end of the disagreement, many philosophers say euthanasia, also known as physician-assisted suicide, is a compassionate method of death. At the other side are the opponents of euthanasia, who may consider this technique as a form of murder. In this paper, I will show that it is not important to know the distinction between killing and letting die on request which is performed by a physician. Both killing and letting die on request are similar because it is based on the controversial issue called euthanasia also known as physician-assisted suicide.

In the novel Unwind, by Neal Shusterman, many kids are subject to a government controlled practice called “unwinding”. When your child turns 13, there is a time gap, until you turn 18, in which you can choose your child to be sent to the government to be well, murdered. If that doesn’t seem crazy enough, it gets worse. The kids whom are unwound, have to get their body parts sent to a hospital to be used for surgeries. When a few more kids are signed up to be unwound, chaos erupts. One of the kids, Risa Ward, chooses to run away from all her problems and escape. Doing this, it proves that Risa is snappy, motherly, and smart.

In Unwind the reader notices how ignoring what’s happening around you, or accepting the things that have become typical in the world isn’t always the right thing to do. Connor, Risa and Lev all have certain skills that set them apart from the others, allowing the reader to connect to different characters on different levels. Each character in the story served a specific purpose in showing the importance of teamwork, observance, protecting oneself, and being kind to others, to show the reader how one's life is all dependent on the small decisions we

Euthanasia as defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is a quiet and easy death. One may wonder, is there such a thing as a quiet and easy death? This is one point that I will discuss in my paper, however the question that my paper will answer is; should active euthanasia be legalized? First, I will look at Philippa Foot's article on Euthanasia and discuss my opinions on it. Second, I will look at James Rachel's article on active and passive euthanasia and discuss why I agree with his argument. Finally, I will conclude by saying that while the legalizing of active euthanasia would benefit many people, it would hurt too many, thus I believe that it should not be legalized.

Someone once said; “When we acknowledge the value in every human life and witness such, we thrive and succeed and protect one another”. The value in life is a prospect that should not be suppressed, even in times of hardship. Conveying this message through literary elements can be tough at times, consequently leaving the message unclear. Neal Shusterman’s “Unwind” demonstrates the opposite and conveys the theme thoroughly, leaving no room for uncertainty. His characters, one of the most important elements of an amazing story, all adapt realistically to a situation where the safety of their life comes first. Additionally, the conflict in “Unwind” is a central point of interest and engages the reader in the motives behind the battle faced by the characters. Finally, the narrative perspective further expresses a sense of meaningfulness when dealing with the topic of life significance. Evidently, Shusterman emphasizes the worth in human life through his character development, the conflicts and the theme.

Now, there’s probably been that one time in your life that you hoped for the best, but the outcome wasn’t the way you wanted it to turn out. Roland, one of the characters in Neal Shusterman’s Unwind, had the same intentions. In fact, Shusterman creates a setting that gets the characters to see what actually were Roland’s intentions. In Chapter 24, the characters are preparing for dinner as Risa goes to wash-up, in the bathroom, which gives Roland the opportunity to go for what he wants. A possible theme for this chapter could be, “Plans don’t always go they way you want them to,”or for life in general LIFE doesn’t always go they way you want it.”

The turning point of the story is when the doctor started to act mean towards the little girl, and thinking to himself how he enjoyed it. The little girl knocking his glasses off and trying to claw at his eyes was probably the final straw for him. All he was trying to do was help her, and all she was doing was making it even more difficult. In my opinion I believe she was the reason he began to enjoy acting mean towards her, so his thoughts could have been and probably were a normal thought of someone who was trying to do their job, and just got stuck with a difficult patient.

In this historical piece, Holstein describes how death have transformed our society across time and context. Even though, Holstein doesn’t address directly the issue with physician- assisted suicide or its current legality, she offers great insight on what its dying, the problems with our current health care and what it means for a person to achieve a “death with dignity”. Finally, Holstein also touches in her piece the impact that current technology has had over a patient’s autonomy and the manner and way in which they died in our society. Hence, this paper is essential for my own research because it introduces the problem with our health care, the boundaries for maintaining control in a controlling society and the issue of dying with dignity with technologies or laws that seek to prolong our

When you think of unwinding, you probably imagine yourself sun tanning and drinking a martini on the beach. You probably see all of your worries disappear and paradise is very nearly near. In the breathtaking novel Unwind by Neal Shusterman, the teens of the world feel anything but relieved when they hear the word. Instead, they envision a world in which they no longer exist. At least, not in the way they used to. Unwind is a novel set in a dystopian society in a future time period, suffering the after effects of the Hartland War. The war was between the Pro-life and Pro-choice sides of society. A compromise was reached post war; it was called unwinding. Unwinding allowed teens to be harvested for all of their body parts. This novel tells the tale of three main teens who are to be sacrificed for unwinding. Risa, Connor and Lev struggle to stay out of sight until their 18th year when they will be considered free citizens. In Unwind, the story makes one question why a society would even consider something as radical and inhumane as unwinding. From it, we can connect to times in our own history when we made less than ideal compromises and evaluate the concept of unwinding as a whole.

Voluntary Euthanasia has been considered a controversial topic for many decades. The idea of committing an act that involves the taking of human life is not one that many people would care to discuss openly. The main argument is that a person who has been diagnosed with an incurable illness and is in extreme pain and their ability to move has been limited, while that person still has control over their destiney should they be allowed take their own life (Bowie, R.2001). The worldwide debate weather one should be allowed to end a life is still one of the biggest ethical issues. The attempt to providing the rights of the individual is in conflict with the moral values of society. Voluntary Euthanasia has been highly rejected by many religious and pro-life institutions.

In the novel The Unwinding: An Inner Story of the New America, writer George Packer gives an eyewitness account of the drastic social, political, and economic erosion the United States has experienced in the past generation of American life, following the decline of certain institutions that used to work on behalf of middle class Americans and the falling apart of a cohesive society. The backbone of Packer’s novel examines the fraying of a deal that used to exist among Americans - a contract that maintained if you work hard, if you essentially are a good citizen, there will be a place for you, not only an economic place, but a secure life. Packer’s narrative alternates between stories of various American individuals, from a factory worker

Euthanasia is a word that comes from ancient Greece and it refers to “good death”. In the modern societies euthanasia is defined as taking away people’s lives who suffer from an incurable disease. They usually go through this process by painlessness ways to avoid the greatest pains that occurs from the disease. A huge number of countries in the World are against euthanasia and any specific type of it. One of the most important things being discussed nowadays is whether euthanasia should be legalized or not. This essay will focus on comparing positive and negative aspects of euthanasia in order to answer to the question whether euthanasia should be legal or not.

This essay will aim to focus on the arguments that author, James Rachel’s presents in his article, Active and Passive Euthanasia,” In his article Rachel’s argues that both passive and active euthanasia are morally permissible and the doctors that is supported by the American Medical Association(AMA) is believed to be unsound. In this paper I will offer a thorough analysis of Rachel’s essay then so offer a critique in opposition of his arguments. In conclusion I will refute these oppositions claims by defending Rachel’s argument, and showing why I believe his claims that both active and passive euthanasia are morally permissible, to be effective.