UnWholly

Airplanes—valuable machines which serve their purpose but eventually get decommissioned and dismantled for parts—are used in similes regarding both the Whollies and their experiences. Early in the novel, both Starkey’s and Miracolina’s escapes feature airplanes. Starkey is transported in a coffin on an airplane, and Miracolina consoles another frightened tithe by comparing their journey toward a divided state to a plane trip, asking, “Have you ever been on an airplane?” (39). This shows Miracolina’s belief in the propaganda surrounding unwinding: trusting the process and the outcome despite it resulting in her death.

Planes also show permanency and indifference, contrasting the often-erratic teens. While new Whollies are escorted to the dozens of planes they will be shuffled between during their time in the Graveyard, “Airplane tail fins stand as monumental and as quiet as tombstones” (77). This contrast highlights the nature of the dystopia, with temporary victims and eternal structures through which they move. This concept of eternal indifference peaks in Chapter 68, which is from the POV of the planes themselves: “No doubt the planes of the Graveyard has witness many things and perhaps they are the only ones with a clear perspective of fight and folly on the day the Juvenile Authority invades” (342). The planes, unlike the AWOLs and Juvey-cops, are indifferent and ageless witnesses to everything that occurs, from the Heartland War to the destruction of the Graveyard. Lastly, the planes symbolize teens themselves, especially those destined to be unwound: they’re valuable, they serve a purpose, and they are eventually dismantled.