Character Archetypes In Unwind

The ability to trust others is a good quality to have, but too much trust can lead to betrayal which then can cause a change in someone. The dystopian novel Unwind by Neal Shusterman is about kids ages 13-18 trying to survive in a disloyal world from getting killed and stripped for body parts. In the novel The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, there is an alien invasion where all the aliens manipulate all the human’s fears and weaknesses to eventually kill them off. Both authors of the stories use character archetypes and symbolism to indicate the theme that people who have been betrayed in the past, tend to change as a person whether the change is good or bad.

First, in Unwind, Shusterman uses character archetypes to uniquely show how Lev has changed as a person after being betrayed by his mentors. In the beginning of the novel, the author chooses to portray Lev as an innocent character archetype. All his life Lev was naive and was brainwashed by his parents and pastor into believing that being a tithe was a good thing, and that the only way he could prove himself with god was by sacrificing himself. “ Lev knew he was a tithe from the time he was little…’you’re special,’ his parents had always told him. ‘Your life will be to serve god, and mankind.’ ”(ch. 21) But, later in the story when Pastor Dan (Lev’s mentor) tells Lev to run away and live right before arriving at the harvest camp, Lev reevaluates his life purpose of being a tithe and decides to help Risa and Connor from being