...core of the genre.” (The Pleasure 19) In each of the three books, the reader can see individual or groups of young adults having to unite to achieve a certain goal. In class Professor Walker discussed how rebellious many young adults become as they reach their mid-teens and twenties. Becoming rebellious as a young adult is often seen by our parents as a reckless, impulsive eruption of emotions from within that allow rash decisions to be made. However, in each of the young adult, dystopian novels being reviewed, the main characters are considered rebellious by the law makers and rulers even though they are pushing for change in their unjust society. This essay will discuss three dystopian young adult novels, Divergent, The Hunger Games and Unwind and how each of them reflects on possible futures for humanity and the way young people are called to respond to the changes in the worlds they live in. Before getting started with the novels themselves, getting a brief overview of dystopian societies in Young Adult fiction is necessary. In, Contemporary Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults: Brave New Teenagers, the authors examine young adult dystopian societies, “YA dystopias can uphold that tradition of optimism, embrace a more cynical vision, or oscillate between the two. All these questions underscore the negotiation between often conflicting literary influences, political ideologies, and intended audiences that these texts must undertake.”...
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...Dexter Phipps Unwholly by Neal Shusterman Genre: Science Fiction !*Spoilers Ahead*! (Summary will not make sense unless you have read the first book) Plot Summary: The book Unwholly is a followup on the book Unwind, however adds new characters and details. The book starts off by introducing a character with the name of Starkey, whose parents have signed a document for him to be unwound. Although the people who are having him unwound because of his behavior, aren’t even his real parents. They are his parents because he was storked. Storking is a method people use to get rid of infants (without any consequence) by leaving them on a doorstep of a house. Anyways, two juvey cops come to take Starkey to be unwound, but he doesn’t know that the...
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...Connor Character Analysis No other character could compare to Connor in Neal Shusterman’s Unwind. His intentions were simple but he ended up helping to convince a boy to stay alive and helping other kids and teens escape death. Connor lived the life of an average boy, until he finds out that his parents have signed an order for him to be Unwound, or basically killed to have his body parts recycled. And although he’s just an average sixteen year old, he ends up unintentionally helping many others in the same situation as him. And his journey isn’t a short one. He encounters many unique people along his way that have been impacted by his leadership and heroism. With his heroism comes a few flaws in his character, though. Instincts are his worst enemy and end up almost getting him caught while on the run from the police. Not only is he instinctive, but he also has a bit of stubbornness that changes his relationships with many of the other characters. All of Connor’s distinct character traits, including instinctiveness, stubbornness, and heroism play a lot into the plot. Many considered Connor a hero. And it’s true, he helped save a lot of people along his journey. His heroic tendencies, however, also caused a few complications. Especially early in the book, when he saved a random boy that was about to be tithed. However, this boy was not very greatful for what Connor did for him. Lev had been brainwashed by his parents to think that tithing was a religious sacrifice and that...
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