FRQ3

This page has two essays that were written about Neal Shusterman's books, using prompts from the 3rd question from the AP Lit exam. The prompts are an analysis of a specific concept or element.

Violence and Morality in Scythe

Prompt

In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Either from your own reading or from the list below, choose a work of fiction in which the reader is confronted with a scene or scenes of violence. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how the scene or scenes contribute(s) to an interpretation of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

Essay

As entertaining as it can be to watch or read about fictional characters having epic battles and fighting each other with unique and powerful weapons, not every scene of violence exists for the sole purpose of entertaining. Some, if not, most, fight scenes exist to further strengthen or emphasize the plot, or the development of specific characters. This is the case with a violent scene towards the end of the novel Scythe, where teenager Rowan Damisch gleans (kills) his mentor. In the novel Scythe, Neal Shusterman utilizes third-person narration along with graphic imagery in order to represent what led to Rowan’s act of violence, ultimately illustrating that repeated exposure to violence could lead to someone adopting those violent tendencies themselves.

Shusterman firstly uses a third-person narration in order to showcase Rowan’s reactions to the violence around him. Scythe takes place in a post-mortal world where natural death no longer occurs. Select individuals known as scythes work under the Scythedom and have the ability to take life away to maintain the population, known as gleaning. Rowan Damisch is an apprentice under Scythe Goddard, a cruel person who sees scythes as “superior” and has no respect for the Scythedom’s practices. Scythe Goddard and three other scythes take Rowan to a monastery with the intention of gleaning everyone there. Rowan does not want to do this, as it violates the Scythe commandments and he thinks it’s immoral. Because Shusterman wrote the novel in third person, the reader can see the scene from a neutral perspective. The reader can see Goddard’s bloodthirsty motivations, along with Rowan’s refusal to comply. The scythes glean everyone in the monastery, and Goddard leaves the last one for Rowan to glean. Rowan’s thoughts aren’t directly visible because of the way the story is narrated, and his thoughts are expressed through dialogue and interactions. Consequently, showing development primarily through dialogue makes the scene between Goddard and Rowan more intense. Goddard is taunting Rowan by saying that he knows he has the capacity to kill, along with the capacity to enjoy it. So, Rowan raises his sword at the last person but slashes Goddard instead. The use of third person narration makes this scene more powerful because if it were written in first person, Rowan’s unexpected actions would have been easier to anticipate, and the tension between Rowan and his mentor wouldn’t have had as much buildup or strength. Rowan did the one thing he vowed to never do– enjoying gleaning someone. The use of third person strengthens Rowan’s emotional response, as his fear is represented through descriptions of his body language. Therefore, the use of third person narration is able to strengthen and intensify the emotions within the scene, along with giving the reader more room to think.

In addition to the point of view, Shusterman utilizes brutal and graphic imagery in order to convey the severity of the scene, and the significance of Rowan’s actions. When Rowan gleaned someone for the first time, it left a disturbing emotion within him– he enjoyed it. He repressed the enjoyment he felt throughout the rest of his mentorship under Scythe Goddard, as he deeply feared becoming exactly like Goddard and consequently losing his humanity. The mass gleanings performed at the monastery caused a lot of physical damage. The buildings were ablaze and destroyed. There is repeated mention of Rowan seeing and feeling blood, despite not gleaning anyone. The imagery is meant to paint an awful view in the reader’s mind, and because of that, the reader can get a better grasp at how dire the situation is. Rowan did not want to glean anyone, but he already had the blood on his hands. Consequently, being able to see the blood further reminds Rowan that what Goddard is doing is inhumane, and that something needs to be done about it. And so, Rowan carries out the act of gleaning Scythe Goddard so that illegal mass gleanings, such as this one, and the corruption by those with absolute power cannot happen anymore. As if the imagery wasn’t brutal enough, it is amplified by the description of fire. Rowan used a flamethrower to burn Goddard’s body, making it impossible for him to be revived. This was a step further than what was necessary. Being surrounded by literal fuel only continued to fuel the flame of Rowan’s sense of justice combined with his morality. In this case, the imagery is both literal, but it also functions as a symbol. Having literal blood on his hands and being surrounded by fire is what led to Rowan gleaning Goddard, making the figures of speech become literal. Therefore, the use of brutal imagery is able to showcase the impetus for what caused Rowan to glean his mentor.

Rowan’s gleaning of Scythe Goddard serves as a turning point for his character in terms of behavior and morality. Despite previously vowing to glean with mercy, the increasing intensity of the environment around Rowan, expressed through third person narration and brutal imagery, ultimately leads to Rowan breaking his vow by using violence in order to bring justice.

Rowan Damisch and Deception

Prompt

Many works of literature feature a character who intentionally deceives others. The character’s dishonesty may be intended either to help or to hurt. Such a character, for example, may choose to mislead others for personal safety, to spare someone’s feelings, or to carry out a crime. Choose a work of fiction in which a character deceives others. Then, in a well written essay, analyze the motives for that character’s deception and discuss how the deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Essay

Deception is a tactic often used by characters as a way of hiding the truth from other characters. Deception has a negative connotation to it, since it’s often paired with mischief and dishonesty. But not every character that deceives does it for “bad” reasons. Such is the case with Rowan Damisch in the novel Thunderhead, where Rowan hides his identity in order to remove individuals he views as corrupt. In the novel Thunderhead, Neal Shusterman utilizes the element of suspense and symbolism of fire in order to express Rowan’s actions and morality under his disguise, ultimately illustrating that even those who want to remove corruption can become corrupt themselves by doing so.

Shusterman initially employs the element of suspense in order to showcase the path Rowan has taken. In a perfect utopia where natural death no longer occurs, there is an establishment called the Scythedom that is responsible for population control. Ordained scythes are carefully chosen individuals that are given the power to take life away, or glean, by wearing a special ring. Scythes have commandments that they have to abide, and one of them is that no scythe is to glean another scythe. In the previous book, Rowan failed to get ordained, and ended up stealing the ring from his evil mentor, Scythe Goddard, and killed him. At the beginning of the novel, a mysterious scythe is seen threatening to glean Scythe Brahms. The mysterious scythe is actually Rowan, who is hiding under the alias “Scythe Lucifer.” Because Shusterman wrote this scene at the very beginning of the novel, it creates an element of mystery and suspense. Scythe Lucifer’s reasoning for gleaning Scythe Brahms was because he deemed the latter to be corrupt, and he believed that corruption has no place in the Scythedom. This is ironic, because the one seeking someone to stop abusing their power is simultaneously abusing their own power. But, since Scythe Lucifer was never ordained, he holds no official power in the eyes of the Scythedom. Rowan is trying to uproot the system from within, without having the actual power. But at the time, the reader doesn’t know that Scythe Lucifer and Rowan are the same, which increases the amount of suspense. Consequently, the increasing suspense allows for both the reader and Rowan to ponder his motives for doing this, along with his own morality, the longer the encounter goes. Had things gone differently and Rowan was ordained, he would have been horrified upon knowing there was an infiltrator in the Scythedom, even if they had agreeable reasons for doing so. But Rowan was on the other end, being the one who’s infiltrating. Even though he’s not an actual scythe and moreso a “fallen apprentice”, his actions are ironic because of how contradictory they are. Therefore, this goes to show that despite having good intentions and reasons for wanting to get rid of corrupt scythes, Rowan’s moral ambiguity and abuse of Scythe powers ends up making his actions hypocritical.

In addition, Shusterman utilizes symbolism of fire, both figuratively and literally, in order to represent Rowan’s morality. Fire is the only way to die naturally in this world, and it can be used as a way to render someone permanently dead, with no chance of revival. It is illegal for scythes to use it as a method of gleaning. But since Rowan isn’t ordained as a scythe, and isn’t recognized in the Scythedom, he has used fire to glean the scythes he deemed as corrupt. Because of the significance that Shusterman placed on the usage of fire, he is able to further illustrate Rowan’s moral ambiguity. Normally, attacking a scythe for any reason is a gleanable offense. But since Rowan used literal fire to glean other scythes, this creates a spark of panic within the Scythedom and everywhere else in the world. Since not even Scythes, the experts and masters of killing, are immune to death by fire, what does this mean for everyone else? Rowan believes he’s bringing enlightenment to the world by removing corrupt scythes, but his own morality can easily be questioned after he violated the Scythe Commandments in order to stop others from violating the same commandments. Additionally, on top of the literal use of fire, there’s figurative uses of fire. At the end of the day, Rowan wants to seek justice for those that have been wrongfully gleaned by corrupt scythes– scythes like his former mentor. His desire for justice is like a burning fire within his soul, that became more intense when he witnessed scythes abusing their power firsthand. This intense fire ended up triumphing his sense of morality, which is what led to him creating the disguise of Scythe Lucifer. Therefore, even though Rowan had the right reasons for his actions as Scythe Lucifer, the irony and hypocrisy in his actions ultimately led to him questioning his own morality and validity of his actions.

Rowan Damisch deceived others by creating his alter-ego Scythe Lucifer, an unordained scythe that permanently kills corrupt scythes. He did not have malicious intent for his deception, but the power he had (or lack thereof) led to him becoming what he vowed not to be. Rowan’s moral ambiguity combined with his deception ultimately represents that even those who want to remove corruption can become corrupt themselves by doing so.

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