Scythe

by

Neal Shusterman

Scythe: Chapter 32 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Scythe Curie writes that she often gleans in her dreams. She has one recurring dream of carrying a pitchfork and trying to glean a woman, but the woman doesn't die as Curie stabs and stabs. She always wakes up screaming.
This dream reminds the reader that the good scythes in particular are haunted by what they do, and they never grow desensitized to the act of gleaning.
Themes
Mortality and Life Theme Icon
Morality, Compassion, and Choices Theme Icon
Citra does as she's told and changes publicars every hour for the next day. She changes into her Tonist dress and pulls the hood over her head, sometimes only narrowly avoiding scythes pursuing her. Curie told her to go to Amazonia. This is because scythes from around the world used to vacation and glean in Amazonia, which makes the Amazonian Scythedom unfriendly and unhelpful to other regions. In Buenos Aires, Citra joins a group of Tonists. She tells them she's searching for whether the bident rings in A-flat or G-sharp and then excuses herself.
The experience of impersonating a Tonist, while difficult for Citra because she doesn't take them seriously, does impress upon Citra that the Tonists are a very convenient cover for her, since they oppose the Scythedom. This expands her worldview and helps her to feel more empathy and compassion for these people she believes are fundamentally different from her.
Themes
Coming of Age Theme Icon
Morality, Compassion, and Choices Theme Icon
In the bathroom, a man bursts in, puts a knife to Citra's throat, and tells her that he's going to glean her. She admits that she's a scythe's apprentice, and he explains that there are disguised Chileargentine scythes on the train looking for her. He leads her back to his car and introduces himself as Scythe Possuelo, from Amazonia. A man walks slowly up the aisle with a device in his hand that starts beeping as he gets close to Citra. She reveals herself and he announces that he's arresting her. Possuelo points out that they're in Amazonia now, so Citra can legally defend herself. Citra pulls out a knife and, seeing a porter coming, confirms that it's illegal for scythes in Amazonia to not wear their robes and rings. Citra asks for the scythe pursuing her to be kicked off the train.
Amazonia acts as a larger symbol for working both within the system and outside of it, as Citra and Curie are trying to do. Though technically part of the international Scythedom, it functions more by its own rules and isn't willing to help other regions, especially in situations like this when there's foul play afoot. This continues to remind Citra that as she matures and enters the Scythedom, her community will continue to expand and she can draw on a number of sources as she performs her work and fights corruption.
Themes
Coming of Age Theme Icon
Surveillance, Corruption, and Justice Theme Icon
Citra changes into street clothes from someone's luggage, and Possuelo advises her to take several different trains out of the next station to throw off her pursuers. Citra takes his advice and boards six trains before getting on a train to Caracas. She then follows the coastline east on foot, wondering what it will be like to confront a murderer. She knows that the Thunderhead usually prevents murder, but an ordained scythe would be able to murder. She thinks that scythes are powerful, yet extremely vulnerable.
For Citra, the concept of a murderer is something far removed from her lived reality, so the possibility of finding one, especially within the Scythedom, is extremely compelling for her. This allows her to feel like a hero as she moves toward Faraday's killer and feel as though she's serving humanity by rooting out corruption.
Themes
Coming of Age Theme Icon
Mortality and Life Theme Icon
Surveillance, Corruption, and Justice Theme Icon
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Citra finds the house she's looking for and settles in to observe. She knows that she needs to just harm the murderer and extract a confession. She wonders if she could stay in Amazonia and never have to face Rowan again. As night falls, Citra sees her target come onto the patio. She fires a pistol at his knee and races to him. She grabs the man and then drops him in shock when she sees that it's Faraday.
Faraday's existence shows that Amazonia is more than just a place for wrongly convicted scythes like Citra to hide—it's also a perfect place for someone like Faraday to reconnect with the human he is, not just the scythe he became.
Themes
Surveillance, Corruption, and Justice Theme Icon