Religion plays an important role in the novel Unwind by Neal Shusterman. Unwinding is the process in which a parent can retroactively abort their child if they do not meet certain expectations. This is the most common reason for getting unwound unless you are a tithe. The idea of tithing comes from the Bible and it is said that people in church must tithe and give back to God one tenth of what they received in order to get twice as more in the future (Chronicles 31:5). Tithing is a privilege and if a kid is considered a tithe then he/ she would be considered special. From the time that a kid is born they are destined to become a tithe in order to be given to God. The unwound body parts are then donated to other people in society. In the novel, religion is used to separate the main character Lev, who was a tithe, from the real purpose of being unwound. Religion gave Lev a sense of belonging and purpose ever since he was born. In the novel, people needed religion in order to make sense of events that cannot be explained and used it to make answers for unnatural occurrences. Religion was also used to form separation between the victims that were unwound, while at the same time creating a belief system that will lessen the effect of unwinding. …show more content…
Religion was also used in order to keep Lev oblivious from what was going outside his religious circle. Being a tithe gave him a different understanding about the unwinding process. For him the idea of unwinding meant a sacrifice of himself for the greater good. This completely differs from the ideas that other characters had. However, the novel also showed the dependency of Lev and his family on the church. Unwind, presents the same concept of tithing, which was why Lev’s parents decided to give him back to God as a sacrifice by having him