Novel Study - Unwind - Part 2, Storked

What is the story based on a nursery rhyme that circulates among the youth? P 105

- Humpty Dumpty, it is explained in the story as they base it off a character that was first unwound, his parents had gone insane and the nursery rhyme becomes gruesome.

Risa overhears two nurses debating law and human nature. Which argument do you think is the stronger? Why do you think this? Write a paragraph explaining your thoughts on law and human nature.  P 115

- Personally, I think that the argument which states that you can't change human nature without changing the law is the strongest. My reasoning is that we have been following these rules since we were young. Human nature is how a human being acts, without having rules or restrictions. Law is the system that people follow in society that chooses what is right or wrong and gives penalties that are suitable for that crime. they are two very different things, one being something natural to humans, the other enforced by humans to restrict and to help civilisation. Since you were born you have told what you should and shouldn't do, to suddenly be told that you can act freely, it must be foreign to you. You wouldn't know what to do and when you do something that used to be a crime in the law, you would think that you are in the wrong, when in fact you aren't. It makes you think much more than if you were free, laws can also change peoples thoughts on normal things humans do. Society now judge many people for anything that they do, to be told that you can act freely and then being judged by other people can cause you to also think that you are doing something wrong. These are some reasons on why you can't change human nature without changing the law. 

This section opens with a mother abandoning her newborn infant on the doorstep of a house in a good neighbourhood. As she leaves, she thinks "How wonderful it is that she can get a second chance. How wonderful it is that she can dismiss her responsibility so easily." 

In your opinion, by allowing new mothers to give up their children so readily, does it take away from the value of a child?

-  I don't think it takes away the value of a child as it's not the child's fault or problem that the mother has left them. It's the mother's fault as they are not ready to be responsible for something and thus give their "problem" to someone else to deal with. It doesn't mean that the child is faulty or has disabilities, it just shows that the birth mother isn't prepared and feels it's ok to leave problems instead of dealing with them.

What is the role of a mother? Do you think the title of mother is something that should be earned or a natural right of the woman who gave birth? 

- I think the role of a mother should be earned. I think it should be earned because some mothers who have children don't care for them whereas females that can't have children care for them as if they are their own. It depends on the type of person you are than if it is related to you by blood.

What skills or attributes do Connor and Risa have that work well together?
- Connor is an impulsive human being who is also hot-headed. He doesn't think about anything and can't tell if he will regret his decision or not.

- Risa is a wise person who thinks before she acts on something. She thinks about the consequences and acts when she knows nothing will really go wrong. If she knows she won't succeed she won't try, knowing that if she does she would most likely die.

- They both work well together as Connor is impulsive whereas Risa thinks before acting, Risa can help Connor understand what will happen and make him more aware of his decisions. She will also put the blame on him if anything goes wrong which is also good, as it can cause him to properly think about what he has done and how it was caused. 

Connor and Lev have very different experiences with storking. How has this helped shape each of their attitudes toward the society they live in?

- Connors experience of storking is deeper, as his experience involves a baby dying in front of his eyes. He has the emotional trauma of knowing he let something die, even though he could've saved it. 

- It has shaped Connors attitude towards the society as he thinks the world is unfair, in the story, it states that the baby was passed around his neighbourhood until it got back to his house where it was slowly dying. At the funeral for the baby, the whole neighbourhood showed up and cried, as they realised that they could've prevented this but instead put the burden onto someone else. Connor realises that and understands that the world isn't perfect, and a lot of people make mistakes.

- Lev's experiences with storking is more religion-based and happier as in a religious book, a hero was stoked due to law and to stop him being killed his mother sent him down a river. His siblings were storked and his parents were happy with it as they thought it was a gift from god. 

- Lev has been given good memories which have shaped his attitude towards society to think that the world is quite fair and that everything given to you is a blessing.

Connor is concerned the baby won't be loved, and ultimately will die, so he takes it. What does this show us about him as a person?

- It shows us that he is caring and acts on from past memories he has seen or gone through. He acts tough on the outside so that people won't disturb him but in reality, he cares about other people and will act for them if he has to.

What makes Lev realise he doesn't want to be unwound? P79

- Realising that the person who made him believe that it was a blessing to be tithed, not believing in that part of their religion made him realise that what he was taught was a lie. Pastor Dan also telling Lev to run and be free also made him understand Pastor Dans earlier statements of running away. He realised he didn't want to be unwound as a very important person in his life told the truth about his life and opened his eyes to see what he was actually trying to do.

Each of the other characters on the run has a tragic background story. Why were Hayden, Roland and Mai set to be unwound? Which, do you think, is the most tragic? Explain your response.

- Hayden was sent to be unwound as his parents had divorced and were fighting over custody of him and then thought after two years it would be better to have him unwound instead of letting the other parent have custody of him.

- Mai was sent to be unwound as she was from China, in China, the law states that each family can only have one child. Mai's parents wanted a boy, but not after having Mai and her sisters. Mai was the fourth daughter so she was sent to be unwound. 

- Roland was sent to be unwound as he was a "rebellious" kid. He wanted to be a military boeuf but had "too much testosterone" and often got into fights. He had been in many fights and was finally unwound when he beat up his stepfather after he beat Roland's mother. His mother had sided with his stepfather and he got off with a warning whereas Roland was sent to be unwound.

- I think Mai's story was the most tragic as she was sent to be unwound just because of laws stated and the fact that she is a female. I have heard about China's one-child law and I think that it is quite a weird thing and is also kind of problematic as you must get rid of extra children just because the law states it and also because of overpopulation. Her family wanted a boy but weren't as lucky as they also had three other daughters excluding Mai, so as soon as they had a boy they started got rid of their other children, we don't even know if her other sisters have been unwound or are still alive. 

What tattoo does Roland have?

- Roland has a Tiger Shark tattoo on his arm, Connor had mistaken this as a dolphin tattoo before Roland told him off for saying that.