Scythe in short
We are finally at the peak of humanity. All disease is cured, aging can be reversed, poverty is eliminated, and the Thunderhead presides over the world perfectly. A perfect world does include the cycle of life and death though. The Scythedom is trusted with the responsibly of removing people from the earth by what they call gleaning. Although there's a relatively low chance of getting gleaned, anyone at anytime can be gleaned. The only guarantee of not getting gleaned is receiving immunity. This is done by having one's DNA received and read by a Scythe's ring.
Citra and Rowan both demonstrate honorable and noble traits and are chosen to learn the ways of the Scythes as apprentices. They learn the rules and traditions of the Scythedom along with their customs. They vigorously physically and academically train on the daily under the direction of their Scythe and begin to develop their friendship with each other. As their story continues, they change mentors and are separated.
Not only are the two apprentices separated, they are also pitted against each other to become the next Scythe. They both know that only one of them will be selected as the scythe and neither wants to be a scythe but they also know the duty they owe to the world to become one. Citra continues her training under a scythe belonging to what is referred to as "The Old Guard" and Rowan tranes under a "New Order" scythe, both becoming increasingly effective at their own stances on gleaning. They remain separate until fate brings them together at the Winter Conclave where one of them is ordained.
Citra and Rowan both demonstrate honorable and noble traits and are chosen to learn the ways of the Scythes as apprentices. They learn the rules and traditions of the Scythedom along with their customs. They vigorously physically and academically train on the daily under the direction of their Scythe and begin to develop their friendship with each other. As their story continues, they change mentors and are separated.
Not only are the two apprentices separated, they are also pitted against each other to become the next Scythe. They both know that only one of them will be selected as the scythe and neither wants to be a scythe but they also know the duty they owe to the world to become one. Citra continues her training under a scythe belonging to what is referred to as "The Old Guard" and Rowan tranes under a "New Order" scythe, both becoming increasingly effective at their own stances on gleaning. They remain separate until fate brings them together at the Winter Conclave where one of them is ordained.
Themes |
Coming of Age- Where Citra and Rowan started v.s. where they end up
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Surveillance, Corruption, and Justice- How far should we go to prevent corruption and its inevitability
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Morality, Compassion, and Choices- In a world void of an mortal earthly experience, scythes can bring attention to some of what has been lost
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My Fav Quote
“I’ve found that human beings learn from their misdeeds just as often as from their good deeds. I am envious of that, for I am incapable of misdeeds. Were I not, then my growth would be exponential.” (336). |
Citra is conversing with the Thunderhead and finds that her misdeeds are learning experiences. She finds that she can continue progressing as a person towards her goals regardless of her shortcomings. The Thunderhead knows the value of failure and hopes to instill this knowledge in Citra as well.
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The fear of failure keeps one from success. It’s common to hear that we can learn things the easy way or the hard way but it’s not as common to believe that the hard way is a better teacher. Our failure sticks with us and we remember how to avoid it next time based on past experience. The ability to fail is so amazing because it keeps us grounded and grateful.
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Without our human nature, we would never reach our true potential
Human nature's lessons
For everyone, it’s not uncommon to do something incorrect, terrible, or rude in life. Human nature is heavily criticized for this. Everyone keeps squandering their chance. No one person is exempt from the urge to indulge in self-satisfaction. Wouldn’t it be better if humans as a whole would not make any bad choices? The Novel Scythe, by Neal Shusterman, addresses human nature quite adequately. What most people don’t stop to consider is that without human nature, no one would become a better person or advance. The need for improvement would be gone, we wouldn’t make the mistakes that everyone can learn from, and the good things of the world would go unnoticed and unappreciated.
If everyone behaved and chose perfectly, what need would there be to improve? Because everything would be done flawlessly and all choices would be made perfectly, there would be a standstill for all progression. Scythe Faraday knows this as he explains to Citra’s family that if everything and everyone was perfect, “[w]hen it came to the human race, there [would be] no more left to learn. Nothing about our own existence to decipher which meant that no one person [would be] more important than any other. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, everyone [would be] equally useless.”(11). The value of everything and anything would be obsolete.
Human nature also provides ways for the human race to improve. No one should go through life feeling that they are an inadequate person for experiencing and/or falling victim to their own human nature and failing. Although one shouldn’t feel bad for it, it is one’s responsibility to try to correct their wrong choices and actions to become a better version of themselves that can act for the benefit of more than just themself. One of the greatest methods of improvement is failure. Scythe Faraday actually expects failure from Citra and Rowen and plans to teach them from it. When Faraday catches Citra displaying her human nature to the point of failing one of his tests he explains that “[c]uriosity is human [and he] merely allowed [her] to get it out of [her] system.”(117). Without human nature, the world would lose more than just learning opportunities. The Thunderhead also realizes and points out the immense importance of failure by stating “I’ve found that human beings learn from their misdeeds just as often as from their good deeds. I am envious of that, for I am incapable of misdeeds. Were I not, then my growth would be exponential.” (336). The Thunderhead’s perfection prevents it from progressing.
The mortal human experience is rich with emotions and struggles. If given the choice between suffering or not, most anyone would probably choose to not suffer. It’s in human nature to avoid difficulties for one’s self. The only problem with always getting one’s way is that we’d be blind to the positives of not getting our way. Without our failures, we wouldn’t have our successes; without our problems, we would never gain a solution; without pain, we would never feel comfort; without resent, we would never experience love. Honorable Scythe Volta further supports this when he converses with Rowan saying, “‘[d]o you remember the pain when we beat you down?’ [...] ‘There are three reasons for it,’ [...] ‘The first is to connect you with our ancestors, relieving the pain, and the fear of pain, because that's what led to civilization and humanity’s advancement beyond its own mortality. The second is a rite of passage- something sorely missing in our passive world. But the third reason may be the most important: Being made to suffer pain frees us to feel the joy of being human.’” (244).
Being human is what makes the world so wondrous. We progress, we learn, and we can truly experience the world because of it. Humanity is on a trek to completeness. Everyone can find themselves on the path. The unlimited amount of choices can be simplified into a few simple choices for one to make. Will one take a step forward or backward and will they consider the previous result before making the next one.
If everyone behaved and chose perfectly, what need would there be to improve? Because everything would be done flawlessly and all choices would be made perfectly, there would be a standstill for all progression. Scythe Faraday knows this as he explains to Citra’s family that if everything and everyone was perfect, “[w]hen it came to the human race, there [would be] no more left to learn. Nothing about our own existence to decipher which meant that no one person [would be] more important than any other. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, everyone [would be] equally useless.”(11). The value of everything and anything would be obsolete.
Human nature also provides ways for the human race to improve. No one should go through life feeling that they are an inadequate person for experiencing and/or falling victim to their own human nature and failing. Although one shouldn’t feel bad for it, it is one’s responsibility to try to correct their wrong choices and actions to become a better version of themselves that can act for the benefit of more than just themself. One of the greatest methods of improvement is failure. Scythe Faraday actually expects failure from Citra and Rowen and plans to teach them from it. When Faraday catches Citra displaying her human nature to the point of failing one of his tests he explains that “[c]uriosity is human [and he] merely allowed [her] to get it out of [her] system.”(117). Without human nature, the world would lose more than just learning opportunities. The Thunderhead also realizes and points out the immense importance of failure by stating “I’ve found that human beings learn from their misdeeds just as often as from their good deeds. I am envious of that, for I am incapable of misdeeds. Were I not, then my growth would be exponential.” (336). The Thunderhead’s perfection prevents it from progressing.
The mortal human experience is rich with emotions and struggles. If given the choice between suffering or not, most anyone would probably choose to not suffer. It’s in human nature to avoid difficulties for one’s self. The only problem with always getting one’s way is that we’d be blind to the positives of not getting our way. Without our failures, we wouldn’t have our successes; without our problems, we would never gain a solution; without pain, we would never feel comfort; without resent, we would never experience love. Honorable Scythe Volta further supports this when he converses with Rowan saying, “‘[d]o you remember the pain when we beat you down?’ [...] ‘There are three reasons for it,’ [...] ‘The first is to connect you with our ancestors, relieving the pain, and the fear of pain, because that's what led to civilization and humanity’s advancement beyond its own mortality. The second is a rite of passage- something sorely missing in our passive world. But the third reason may be the most important: Being made to suffer pain frees us to feel the joy of being human.’” (244).
Being human is what makes the world so wondrous. We progress, we learn, and we can truly experience the world because of it. Humanity is on a trek to completeness. Everyone can find themselves on the path. The unlimited amount of choices can be simplified into a few simple choices for one to make. Will one take a step forward or backward and will they consider the previous result before making the next one.