Monday, October 5, 2009

Who is Lev in Unwind?

Lev is one of the three main characters in Neil Shusterman's book Unwind. 


Lev is an Unwind, but he is distinctly different from all of the other Unwinds in the book.  Lev is different because he is a "tithe."  His parents are having him unwound because Lev is their tenth child.  



Lev reluctantly nods, knowing it's true. He was a "true tithe." With five natural siblings, plus one adopted, and three that arrived "by stork," Lev was exactly one-tenth. His parents had always told him that made him all the more special.



In the Christian religion, believers are asked to give one-tenth of their earnings back to God.  This usually happens by that person or family donating money to the church.  


In Unwind, Lev's parents take the one-tenth rule to an entirely new level.  They are donating their tenth child to be taken back to God because no matter how the government tries to spin it, unwinding is killing a teenager.  


Lev is also a very dynamic character in the book.  I believe that he changes more than any other character in the book.  Lev goes from being a person that totally embraces the idea of unwinding and tithing to being a clapper.  A clapper is the equivalent of a suicide bomber.  He/she has his/her body injected with a special chemical that explodes when hit hard enough.  A clapper typically detonates himself by clapping his hands together.  Lev's plan is to blow up the facility where unwinding takes place.  He doesn't end up doing it though, and by the end of the book Lev has become a symbol of the fight against unwinding.  



"What you did, Lev—it confused people. No one knows whether you're a monster or a hero."  


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