In Neal Shusterman's novel, "Scythe," the mentor, the initiate, and ritual archetypes play a significant role in illustrating the idea that the greater good isn't always morally correct. The story is set in a future world where death no longer exists, and society is governed by scythes, individuals tasked with randomly selecting people to die to keep the population under control. The mentor archetype is embodied by Faraday, a wise and experienced scythe who takes on Citra and Rowan as his apprentices. Faraday's character is crucial in the novel as he serves as a moral compass, teaching his apprentices the importance of compassion and empathy. Faraday's teachings and actions highlight that the greater good isn't always morally correct. For …show more content…
They are both selected by Faraday to be his apprentices, and they soon discover the harsh reality of being a scythe. As initiates, they are meant to learn the ways of the scythe, but they also question the system's morality. Citra and Rowan's initiation into the scythe's world highlights the idea that blindly following a system or tradition that is morally questionable can lead to dangerous outcomes. Finally, the ritual archetype is evident throughout the novel. The rituals of scythes are symbolic and significant, from the gleaning ceremony to the ring ceremony. The rituals serve to reinforce the scythe's power and remind society of their role. However, the rituals also emphasize the idea that the greater good isn't always morally correct. For example, the gleaning ceremony is meant to be a solemn event, but it often becomes a macabre spectacle, and the scythes who enjoy it highlight the dangers of blindly following tradition. In the novel, the idea of the greater good is a central theme. The scythes justify their actions as necessary to maintain order and prevent overpopulation, but their methods are questionable. The scythes' actions, like the selection of a pregnant woman to die, highlight the dangers of prioritizing the greater good over individual
And yet people have started to call him Scythe Lucifer… And if ever Scythe Lucifer comes my way, I hope he’ll see me as one of the good ones. The way he once did” (Shusterman, 434-435). Obviously, the person Citra is describing is indeed Rowan. Rowan has killed a corrupt scythe using fire before, and the last words of the journal entry couldn’t make it more clear.
The villain is portrayed as Scythe Goddard, he represents the evil warrior archetype. This book uses different archetypes and themes of corruption to say to the reader, “Corruption sprouts by the choices of the few being met with the resistance of none.” Rowan on page 203 thinks about his plan to sacrifice himself in order for Citra to become a scythe. ``Rowan knew he could not kill Citra '' he is set on sacrificing himself in order for her to prevail and be inducted into scythehood. “Then her first honor bound duty would be to [kill] Rowan.”
Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph” (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks). Sloot wants readers to know that morality is crucial. Truth and justice is
Not all archetypes play major roles in the story, but characters that re-appear such as Ephraim Jenkinson play key archetypes while not being main characters and can be seen from different perspectives depending on the situation. Jenkinson (who at this point in the story was not known as Ephraim Jenkinson) tricked Moses into giving away his horses in exchange for worthless spectacles toward the opening of the novel (Goldsmith 38). Later in the story, Jenkinson plays a pivotal role in the uncovering of Mr. Thornhill’s plot and the fulfillment of justice for the Primrose Family. This dynamic character changes roles in the story, first assuming the role of the serpent who is a helper and representative of evil known for his deceptive qualities. Toward the conclusion of the novel, Jenkinson reveals the Squire’s plot, and his previous actions prevent the Squire from attaining Arabella’s fortune, which places him in the role of the The Wise One, whose knowledge is key in the resolution of the story’s
The motif I chose was Dystopia, I picked this because the story Scythe showed multiple examples of why it was dystopian. The book showed how the Scythes world was very unrealistic and showed lots of injustice to those who were gleaned because they could not get away, that was the rule made by the Scythes. In the beginning of Scythe, Rowan witnessed a “gleaning” he was then framed for being involved, even though he had actually tried to stop the gleaning. The word gleaning is another word for kill, Scythes used gleaning as their way of keeping the population down, and to be in control of the people.
A few Scythes who abused their power became corrupt and damaged the world for many years. Finally, by ending on a cliffhanger and possibly the most dramatic moment of the entire series despite making people frustrated, the ending proved magnificent. All of the previous reasons earn Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman five out of five
Initially, Faraday appears to be a wise and compassionate mentor who takes great care in selecting his apprentices. However, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Faraday has his own agenda. He trains his apprentice, Citra, to be a compassionate Scythe who follows the rules, but when it becomes clear that the corrupt Scythe Goddard is going to win the contest to become the new High Blade, Faraday breaks his own rules to ensure that Citra becomes a Scythe. This act of manipulation shows that Faraday is willing to compromise his own moral code for the greater good of the Scythedom.
Ali Baba ELA 306-08 Tuesday, December 16th, 2022 The Arc of a Scythe In the book “Arc of a scythe” Bby Neal Shusterman. The scythedom pressures an Iinescapable rivalry upon the two main characters, Rowan and Citra, by allowing only one of them to be ordained as a scythe. , tThere Iis no doubt that Citra should come out on top and be ordained as one of the scythes.
The storm is a main conflict in this story, causing the two enemies to be trapped, and the climax is directly caused by the implications set by the fallen beech tree. But since there is no resolution or development of this conflict, it couldn't be the reason for the overall resolution. The other conflict, between Ulrich and Georg, is overwhelmingly evident in "The Interlopers" because the tension created by the threats of the men to kill each other when their own men come to rescue him. Ulrich does not want to be killed by Georg, makes the decision to ask Georg to be friends. " An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind," a famous quote by Ghandi, says not to get back at someone for something they did to you.
The demonstration of the narrator's imagination unconsciously leads his own thoughts to grow into a chaotic mess that ultimately ends in a death. By murdering, it’s his own way of finding peace. He is portrayed as being a sadist, sick man with an unnatural obsession for
Scythe Goddard characterizes the warrior archetype, as he is so confident in his abilities, that in all reality it is not confidence, but arrogance. His skill level for combat is a great deal, and he teaches Rowan these
“Power is dangerous. It attracts the worst and corrupts the best.” When the young boys first gathered after the crash, they were civil, mostly well behaved boys until the need for power took advantage of them. Two crucial symbols from the novel are the sow’s head and the conch shell. Each of these symbols represent power however, their powers have different meanings.
The ritual known as the Rites of Passage is made to show the movement from one social state to another. The most common example is the ritual for the young boys that will soon take the job of the older men. In this ritual the boys would wear a kachina mask to impersonate the gods. During this ritual the boys are whipped with yucca whips as a form of taking the bad luck away from them. All of the boys in the tribe would have to go through this ceremony to show they were growing and had to take responsibility of the role of the men in the
He describes the objection as, “all men desire the apparent good, but have no control over the appearance, but the end appears to each man in a form answering to his character” (1114b). This view argues that all people pursue that which seems good, but some people cannot see the true good, which is out of their control. The immediate implication of this objection, if it is indeed true, suggests that “no one is responsible for his own evildoing” (1114b).
What man would do if he could control death. The saying written on side of the scythe was “He who wields me wields the world.”. Drew took this with no worries but the saying was true. The scythe was a weapon of death for the so called “Reaper”. When Drew became the reaper he was just an ordinary man.