diff --git a/src/jsx_encoder.erl b/src/jsx_encoder.erl
index d39d49a..12b1c67 100644
--- a/src/jsx_encoder.erl
+++ b/src/jsx_encoder.erl
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 
 -module(jsx_encoder).
 
--export([encoder/3, encode/1, encode/2, unzip/1]).
+-export([encoder/3, encode/1, encode/2]).
 
 -spec encoder(Handler::module(), State::any(), Config::list()) -> jsx:encoder().
 
@@ -44,11 +44,10 @@ encode(Term, EntryPoint) -> encode_(Term, EntryPoint).
 -endif.
 
 -ifdef(maps_support).
-encode(Map, _EntryPoint) when is_map(Map), map_size(Map) < 1 -> [start_object, end_object];
+encode(Map, _EntryPoint) when is_map(Map), map_size(Map) < 1 ->
+    [start_object, end_object];
 encode(Term, EntryPoint) when is_map(Term) ->
-    lists:flatten(
-        [start_object] ++ [ EntryPoint:encode(T, EntryPoint) || T <- unpack(Term) ] ++ [end_object]
-    );
+    [start_object] ++ unpack(Term, EntryPoint);
 encode(Term, EntryPoint) -> encode_(Term, EntryPoint).
 -endif.
 
@@ -56,28 +55,29 @@ encode_([], _EntryPoint) -> [start_array, end_array];
 encode_([{}], _EntryPoint) -> [start_object, end_object];
 
 encode_([{_, _}|_] = Term, EntryPoint) ->
-    lists:flatten(
-        [start_object] ++ [ EntryPoint:encode(T, EntryPoint) || T <- unzip(Term) ] ++ [end_object]
-    );
+    [start_object] ++ unzip(Term, EntryPoint);
 encode_(Term, EntryPoint) when is_list(Term) ->
-    lists:flatten(
-        [start_array] ++ [ EntryPoint:encode(T, EntryPoint) || T <- Term ] ++ [end_array]
-    );
+    [start_array] ++ unhitch(Term, EntryPoint);
 
 encode_(Else, _EntryPoint) -> [Else].
 
 
-unzip(List) -> unzip(List, []).
+unzip([{K, V}|Rest], EntryPoint) when is_integer(K); is_binary(K); is_atom(K) ->
+    [K] ++ EntryPoint:encode(V, EntryPoint) ++ unzip(Rest, EntryPoint);
+unzip([], _) -> [end_object].
+
+
+unhitch([V|Rest], EntryPoint) ->
+    EntryPoint:encode(V, EntryPoint) ++ unhitch(Rest, EntryPoint);
+unhitch([], _) -> [end_array].
 
-unzip([], Acc) -> lists:reverse(Acc);
-unzip([{K, V}|Rest], Acc) when is_binary(K); is_atom(K); is_integer(K) -> unzip(Rest, [V, K] ++ Acc).
 
 -ifdef(maps_support).
-unpack(Map) -> unpack(maps:keys(Map), Map, []).
+unpack(Map, EntryPoint) -> unpack(Map, maps:keys(Map), EntryPoint).
 
-unpack([], _, Acc) -> lists:reverse(Acc);
-unpack([K|Rest], Map, Acc) when is_binary(K); is_atom(K); is_integer(K) ->
-    unpack(Rest, Map, [maps:get(K, Map), K] ++ Acc).
+unpack(Map, [K|Rest], EntryPoint) when is_integer(K); is_binary(K); is_atom(K) ->
+    [K] ++ EntryPoint:encode(maps:get(K, Map), EntryPoint) ++ unpack(Map, Rest, EntryPoint);
+unpack(_, [], _) -> [end_object].
 -endif.
 
 
diff --git a/src/jsx_parser.erl b/src/jsx_parser.erl
index 4fea49d..7a8f230 100644
--- a/src/jsx_parser.erl
+++ b/src/jsx_parser.erl
@@ -87,36 +87,26 @@ incomplete(State, Handler, Stack, Config=#config{incomplete_handler=F}) ->
 handle_event(Event, {Handler, State}, _Config) -> {Handler, Handler:handle_event(Event, State)}.
 
 
-value([start_object|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) ->
-    object(Tokens, handle_event(start_object, Handler, Config), [object|Stack], Config);
-value([start_array|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) ->
-    array(Tokens, handle_event(start_array, Handler, Config), [array|Stack], Config);
-value([{literal, Literal}|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when Literal == true; Literal == false; Literal == null ->
-    maybe_done(Tokens, handle_event({literal, Literal}, Handler, Config), Stack, Config);
-value([Literal|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when Literal == true; Literal == false; Literal == null ->
-    value([{literal, Literal}] ++ Tokens, Handler, Stack, Config);
-value([{integer, Number}|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_integer(Number) ->
-    maybe_done(Tokens, handle_event({integer, Number}, Handler, Config), Stack, Config);
-value([{float, Number}|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_float(Number) ->
-    maybe_done(Tokens, handle_event({float, Number}, Handler, Config), Stack, Config);
-value([{number, Number}|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_integer(Number) ->
-    value([{integer, Number}] ++ Tokens, Handler, Stack, Config);
-value([{number, Number}|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_float(Number) ->
-    value([{float, Number}] ++ Tokens, Handler, Stack, Config);
-value([Number|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_integer(Number) ->
-    value([{integer, Number}] ++ Tokens, Handler, Stack, Config);
-value([Number|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_float(Number) ->
-    value([{float, Number}] ++ Tokens, Handler, Stack, Config);
-value([{string, String}|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_binary(String) ->
+value([String|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_binary(String) ->
     try clean_string(String, Config) of Clean ->
         maybe_done(Tokens, handle_event({string, Clean}, Handler, Config), Stack, Config)
     catch error:badarg ->
         ?error(value, [{string, String}|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config)
     end;
-value([String|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_binary(String) ->
-    value([{string, String}] ++ Tokens, Handler, Stack, Config);
-value([String|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_atom(String) ->
-    value([{string, atom_to_binary(String, utf8)}] ++ Tokens, Handler, Stack, Config);
+value([true|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) ->
+    maybe_done(Tokens, handle_event({literal, true}, Handler, Config), Stack, Config);
+value([false|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) ->
+    maybe_done(Tokens, handle_event({literal, false}, Handler, Config), Stack, Config);
+value([null|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) ->
+    maybe_done(Tokens, handle_event({literal, null}, Handler, Config), Stack, Config);
+value([start_object|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) ->
+    object(Tokens, handle_event(start_object, Handler, Config), [object|Stack], Config);
+value([start_array|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) ->
+    array(Tokens, handle_event(start_array, Handler, Config), [array|Stack], Config);
+value([Number|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_integer(Number) ->
+    maybe_done(Tokens, handle_event({integer, Number}, Handler, Config), Stack, Config);
+value([Number|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_float(Number) ->
+    maybe_done(Tokens, handle_event({float, Number}, Handler, Config), Stack, Config);
 value([{raw, Raw}|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_binary(Raw) ->
     value((jsx:decoder(?MODULE, [], []))(Raw) ++ Tokens, Handler, Stack, Config);
 value([{{Year, Month, Day}, {Hour, Min, Sec}}|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config)
@@ -129,6 +119,10 @@ when is_integer(Year), is_integer(Month), is_integer(Day), is_integer(Hour), is_
         Stack,
         Config
     );
+value([{_, Value}|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) ->
+    value([Value] ++ Tokens, Handler, Stack, Config);
+value([String|Tokens], Handler, Stack, Config) when is_atom(String) ->
+    value([{string, atom_to_binary(String, utf8)}] ++ Tokens, Handler, Stack, Config);
 value([], Handler, Stack, Config) ->
     incomplete(value, Handler, Stack, Config);
 value(BadTokens, Handler, Stack, Config) when is_list(BadTokens) ->
@@ -203,35 +197,35 @@ clean_string(Bin, Config) -> clean(Bin, [], Config).
 
 clean(<<>>, Acc, _) -> iolist_to_binary(Acc);
 clean(<<X/utf8, Rest/binary>>, Acc, Config) when X < 16#20 ->
-    maybe_replace(X, Rest, Acc, Config);
+    clean(Rest, [Acc, maybe_replace(X, Config)], Config);
 clean(<<34, Rest/binary>>, Acc, Config) ->
-    maybe_replace(34, Rest, Acc, Config);
+    clean(Rest, [Acc, maybe_replace(34, Config)], Config);
 clean(<<47, Rest/binary>>, Acc, Config) ->
-    maybe_replace(47, Rest, Acc, Config);
+    clean(Rest, [Acc, maybe_replace(47, Config)], Config);
 clean(<<92, Rest/binary>>, Acc, Config) ->
-    maybe_replace(92, Rest, Acc, Config);
+    clean(Rest, [Acc, maybe_replace(92, Config)], Config);
 clean(<<X/utf8, Rest/binary>>, Acc, Config=#config{uescape=true}) when X >= 16#80 ->
-    maybe_replace(X, Rest, Acc, Config);
+    clean(Rest, [Acc, maybe_replace(X, Config)], Config);
 clean(<<X/utf8, Rest/binary>>, Acc, Config) when X == 16#2028; X == 16#2029 ->
-    maybe_replace(X, Rest, Acc, Config);
+    clean(Rest, [Acc, maybe_replace(X, Config)], Config);
 clean(<<_/utf8, _/binary>> = Bin, Acc, Config) ->
     Size = count(Bin, 0, Config),
     <<Clean:Size/binary, Rest/binary>> = Bin,
     clean(Rest, [Acc, Clean], Config);
 %% surrogates
 clean(<<237, X, _, Rest/binary>>, Acc, Config) when X >= 160 ->
-    maybe_replace(surrogate, Rest, Acc, Config);
+    clean(Rest, [Acc, maybe_replace(surrogate, Config)], Config);
 %% overlong encodings and missing continuations of a 2 byte sequence
 clean(<<X, Rest/binary>>, Acc, Config) when X >= 192, X =< 223 ->
-    maybe_replace(badutf, strip_continuations(Rest, 1), Acc, Config);
+    clean(strip_continuations(Rest, 1), [Acc, maybe_replace(badutf, Config)], Config);
 %% overlong encodings and missing continuations of a 3 byte sequence
 clean(<<X, Rest/binary>>, Acc, Config) when X >= 224, X =< 239 ->
-    maybe_replace(badutf, strip_continuations(Rest, 2), Acc, Config);
+    clean(strip_continuations(Rest, 2), [Acc, maybe_replace(badutf, Config)], Config);
 %% overlong encodings and missing continuations of a 4 byte sequence
 clean(<<X, Rest/binary>>, Acc, Config) when X >= 240, X =< 247 ->
-    maybe_replace(badutf, strip_continuations(Rest, 3), Acc, Config);
+    clean(strip_continuations(Rest, 3), [Acc, maybe_replace(badutf, Config)], Config);
 clean(<<_, Rest/binary>>, Acc, Config) ->
-    maybe_replace(badutf, Rest, Acc, Config).
+    clean(Rest, [Acc, maybe_replace(badutf, Config)], Config).
 
 
 count(<<>>, N, _) -> N;
@@ -474,43 +468,43 @@ strip_continuations(<<X, Rest/binary>>, N) when X >= 128, X =< 191 ->
 strip_continuations(Bin, _) -> Bin.
 
 
-maybe_replace($\b, Rest, Acc, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, $\\, $b], Config);
-maybe_replace($\t, Rest, Acc, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, $\\, $t], Config);
-maybe_replace($\n, Rest, Acc, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, $\\, $n], Config);
-maybe_replace($\f, Rest, Acc, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, $\\, $f], Config);
-maybe_replace($\r, Rest, Acc, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, $\\, $r], Config);
-maybe_replace($\", Rest, Acc, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, $\\, $\"], Config);
-maybe_replace($/, Rest, Acc, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
+maybe_replace($\b, #config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
+    [$\\, $b];
+maybe_replace($\t, #config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
+    [$\\, $t];
+maybe_replace($\n, #config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
+    [$\\, $n];
+maybe_replace($\f, #config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
+    [$\\, $f];
+maybe_replace($\r, #config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
+    [$\\, $r];
+maybe_replace($\", #config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
+    [$\\, $\"];
+maybe_replace($/, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
     case Config#config.escaped_forward_slashes of
-        true -> clean(Rest, [Acc, $\\, $/], Config);
-        false -> clean(Rest, [Acc, $/], Config)
+        true -> [$\\, $/];
+        false -> [$/]
     end;
-maybe_replace($\\, Rest, Acc, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, $\\, $\\], Config);
-maybe_replace(X, Rest, Acc, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true}) when X < 32 ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, json_escape_sequence(X)], Config);
+maybe_replace($\\, #config{escaped_strings=true}) ->
+    [$\\, $\\];
+maybe_replace(X, #config{escaped_strings=true}) when X < 32 ->
+    json_escape_sequence(X);
 %% escaped even if no other escaping was requested!
-maybe_replace(X, Rest, Acc, Config=#config{uescape=true}) when X >= 16#80 ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, json_escape_sequence(X)], Config);
-maybe_replace(X, Rest, Acc, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true})  when X == 16#2028; X == 16#2029 ->
+maybe_replace(X, #config{uescape=true}) when X >= 16#80 ->
+    json_escape_sequence(X);
+maybe_replace(X, Config=#config{escaped_strings=true})  when X == 16#2028; X == 16#2029 ->
     case Config#config.unescaped_jsonp of
-        true -> clean(Rest, [Acc, <<X/utf8>>], Config);
-        false -> clean(Rest, [Acc, json_escape_sequence(X)], Config)
+        true -> [<<X/utf8>>];
+        false -> json_escape_sequence(X)
     end;
-maybe_replace(Atom, _, _, #config{strict_utf8=true}) when is_atom(Atom) ->
+maybe_replace(Atom, #config{strict_utf8=true}) when is_atom(Atom) ->
     erlang:error(badarg);
-maybe_replace(surrogate, Rest, Acc, Config) ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, <<16#fffd/utf8>>], Config);
-maybe_replace(badutf, Rest, Acc, Config) ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, <<16#fffd/utf8>>], Config);
-maybe_replace(X, Rest, Acc, Config) ->
-    clean(Rest, [Acc, <<X/utf8>>], Config).
+maybe_replace(surrogate, _Config) ->
+    [<<16#fffd/utf8>>];
+maybe_replace(badutf, _Config) ->
+    [<<16#fffd/utf8>>];
+maybe_replace(X, _Config) ->
+    [<<X/utf8>>].
 
 
 %% convert a codepoint to it's \uXXXX equiv.