Summary Of Neal Shusterman's Scythe

In the book Scythe by Neal Shusterman, the two protagonists have different relationships with their families. Citra Terranova is an independent teenage girl who values her small family over everything. On the other hand, Rowan Damisch lives with too many siblings to count. Having such a large family, Rowan gets ignored at home and seems to develop a certain dislike for his mom in particular. While Citra strives to be the best at whatever she does, Rowan makes sure to try his hardest in order to not stand out. Whether he’s taking a math test or training to become a scythe, Rowan purposefully underperforms. It’s what he’s used to at home, and he’s scared of standing out.

Citra’s family is very important to her. When she is beginning to

On the same page where Citra describes how hard it is to live without her parents and brother, Citra notices that: “Rowan seemed to have no problem with being separated from his family. ‘They’d much rather have their immunity than have me around, anyway,’ he told Citra. ‘Boo hoo,’ Citra said. ‘Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?’ ‘Not at all. Envious maybe. It makes it easier for me to leave it all behind’ (Shusterman, 83). It’s interesting how Citra automatically assumes that Rowan’s situation is a bad one. A lot of people would, actually. Rowan, on the other hand, accepts the fact that he’s on his own. This independence contradicts the whole system that scythes are meant to live by. Every single scythe is supposed to follow “The Scythe Commandments,” which include killing with no bias, being a scythe for as long as you live, writing journal entries every day, and more. Someone who grew up with a family that doesn’t care about them enough to tell them what to do doesn’t seem like the ideal candidate to become a scythe. Interestingly, the way the book ends confirms

The last two pages of the book are comprised of a journal entry that Citra, now known as Scythe Anastasia, wrote. It reads: “According to the rumor, there is someone out there who is seeking out corrupt, despicable scythes . . . and ending their existence by fire. One thing is certain: He’s not an ordained scythe. 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. It all makes sense if you tie Rowan and Citra’s pasts with how things turned out. Citra, the girl who values family over everything, became a part of a group that establishes rules to make sure it’s members can’t do anything fueled by their own decisions. Rowan, on the other hand, who never experienced the luxury of having a family that loved him, transformed into a vigilante who doesn’t follow anyone’s rules but his own. The question is, who’s the real Devil here? The one who kills with or without