R-E-B-E-L, to refuse allegiance to and oppose by force an established government or ruling. This definition from the American Heritage dictionary perfectly describes the main characters from rash and unwind. Although the heroes Connor in Neal Shusterman's Unwind and Bo in Pete Hautmans Rash both respond similarly to their dystopian settings. The way they handle and show gender stereotypes/ norms is different.
In both Rash and Unwind, the heroes Bo and Connor respond to their settings by rebelling against the government. Both of these heroes have a hard time staying out of trouble which plays a big role in thasem deciding to rebel. Connor is always getting in trouble which is part of why his parents signed his unwind order. He wants to escape. I know this because Connor is having a conversation with a girl he likes about running away and rebelling, they say “We should run away,”. “I’m fed up with everything, too. My family, school, everything. I could kick-AWOL, and never look back.” (Page 4). Similarly, Bo is having the same problem. He
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In the book unwind, the author uses the main characters to break gender stereotypes/Norms. Connor specifically breaks stereotypes when he cares for and nurtures the storked baby that they found. He offers to hold it and watch over it while risa is gone. Another time a stereotype is broken is when risa saves connor from rowan when rowan is trying to kill connor on the plane. In contrast, Bo from Rash really reinforces gender stereotypes. He is very tough and is always getting into fights. The author portrays him as a mean, reckless character who doesn't care about anything but what he wants. He swears a lot and is always getting into trouble. What the author is trying to tell us is that we can't judge someone based on their gender. We never know who somebody really is and that everything we know isn't