The Way Hope Moves: Scythe By Neal Shusterman

Kiki Chen

Mr. Sherman

English 10 Honors

14 March 2023

The Way Hope Moves

Hope has been known by humankind to be an influential force, a force that works tirelessly to drive and inspire individuals. As the old expression goes, people often look forward to seeing "the light at the end of the tunnel.” Comparably, Citra Terranova believes “hope in the shadow of fear is the world’s most powerful motivator” (Shusterman 8). The powerful way in which hope motivates is explored in the novel Scythe, crafted by author Neal Shusterman. Throughout the novel, those who exist in the dystopian realm constantly exhibit the chokehold hope has on humanity.

Within the story, the extent of hope is demonstrated through society's desire to please scythes by any

Humans living outside of the story find hope to be an equally compelling force. Through his analysis of college students, psychologist John Maltby found that the students having more hope also had greater academic success. He and his colleagues found “that hope was even better at predicting academic achievement than intelligence, personality, or previous academic achievement” (Weir). Another scientist, Shane Lopez, found that hope directly impacted productivity. Their research found “that hope accounts for 14 percent of productivity in the workplace” (Weir). Similar to Maltby’s results, Lopez concluded that hope was a better indication of productivity than any other factor. On a greater scale, hope has shown to be life-altering. A study by the University of Texas determined that hope can be life-saving. Out of the 800 people they surveyed, “29 percent of people classified as hopeless had died, compared with just 11 percent of the hopeful” (Weir). All of the studies conducted proved how inspiring hope can be. The capability that hope possesses is amazingly illustrated in Scythe. Those who exist in the fictional universe exhaust all their efforts when in the light of hope, they do all within their ability to influence the scythes. Ultimately, it is crucial to acknowledge how impelling hope is, how it is gained, how it is utilized, and how advantageous it can be. After all, without that light at the end of the tunnel, it is easy to become lost in the dim throes of