Immorality and its Impact in Unwind free essay sample

Unwind, a dystopian novel written by Neal Shusterman, addresses many concerning matters in the world today and in the foreseeable future. A blatant theme that is conveyed throughout the novel is the always present need for organ donations. The importance of organs in our society and that of Unwind, is shown through the outcomes due to a deficiency of organs, the immoral ways of attaining organs, and the shocking agreement of society concerning immoral actions. In a time where technology is at its most advanced,   people still die every day due to the lack of organ donations. Organ donors are a rarity in a world where spare organs are needed. This is a highlighted issue in Unwind, where a whole system of organ donation against the will of the donor has been devised. The process of unwinding utilizes every part of the body in turn giving up your life. Unwinding is an extremity in this futuristic world, but it does address the issue of the need for organs. We see in Unwind that organ donation became such a big crisis, that a civil war was the outcome (cite). The people were stuck between deciding sides; one their own, and the one the side of justice. The country of the United States of America in Unwind have dealt with the problem of organ donation, they made the decision to prioritize lives. In our society however, there exists no such process of socially acceptable forced organ donation or self sacrifice. This problem has not yet amounted to a national concern level and for that reason we can say there is not yet a solution. The lives of those waiting on organ transplants are lost every day as the government does not give their situation enough importance. Although the people of the world we live in today choose the path that is morally correct, this does not change the people’s desperation to attain organs or make a profit. Both the society in Unwind and our society have similar needs when it comes to organ donations. Our government does not go to such extreme measures as unwinding or forceful organ donation. Our society illicitly does however. An extra organ could mean life or death for many people. Since hospitals do not have large supplies and are slow to distribute them, many in need of spare organs get them illegally (cite). Black markets provide people with what they need, but at a cost to others. Many organs found on the black market are taken unlawfully from the donor. Just recently a man in Mexico was drugged after entering a bar with his girlfriend. When receiving a routine check up from his doctor, he found that he was missing a kidney (cite). The people in both our society and in that of Unwind are conscious of their immoral decisions. In Unwind, parents willingly give up their children’s lives to lessen the stress in their own. They make the decision between their safety and that of their kids. It is not only the parents that turn in children to be unwound. In the beginning of his journey, Connor has a run in with a trucker. The trucker deceives him saying, â€Å"There are truckers who’ll take whatever you offer, then turn you in anyway (14). † This shows that there are people desperate enough to hand in innocent children with the pathetic justification of making a profit. Although we are only shown that truck drivers turn in children who come to them, it is common knowledge that world always has black markets. In this dystopia, illegal organs must be a greater concern and issue, as the lives of teenagers are not valued as much and the terms inhumane and immoral are close to nonexistent. In today’s day, unwinding would be considered unacceptable. However this is only because the need for organs has not yet escalated to what it did in Unwind, which is a civil war. Using examples from the novel Unwind and from the past history of our world, one can prove the saying, â€Å"Desperate times call for desperate measures†. Society possesses a great adaptability when it comes to committing what are considered immoralities. We see the similarities between our society and that of the novel’s through the mistreatment of others and the abandonment of children. When people reach a certain level of distress, they opt for more inhumane solutions. In Unwind, this is evident not only through unwinding itself and its whole process, but also through storking. â€Å"She considers ringing the bell and running, but she realizes that would not be a good idea. If they catch her, she’s obliged to keep the baby. † These are the thought of a girl who is abandoning her baby on a stranger’s doorstep, a girl who is storking her baby. Although this seems incredulous and ghastly, it is similar to options there are today for giving up a baby. Orphanages show the same mentality as storking. (Fact and cite) The abandonment of babies is something that we have been doing for centuries, overvaluing the life of the mother from than that of the baby. This just shows that the problem concerning organ donation is one that must be solved before it reaches new heights. The actions of people in desperate situations can be unpredictable, merciless and morally wrong. Slavery is also something that the whole of society participated in. All of society accepted the capture of an entire race when it came to profiting from it. This same mentality applies to the Second World War. The people outlawed many races and religions, never minding the fact that those were people too. Who is to say that when organ donation becomes a national or international concern, that society will not react callously or severely? Neal Shusterman addresses a very concerning issue in today’s world through his novel Unwind. He showed the importance that organ donation has for our society and the great need we have of it. Through the results of a lack of organs, the lengths that people will go to, to attain an organ and the disquieting conformity that society has when it comes to acting inhumanely and immorally, both societies of today’s world and that of a dystopian show that there have corresponding needs concerning the major problem of organ donation.