Scythe

Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.

Recommended Texts for Pairing

“Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas

• a villanelle poem by the Welsh poet written as his aging father was approaching death
• Compare and contrast the thematic motif of Morality and Stagnation in this work and Scythe. 
• an audio recording of the poet reading his work  (there are more contemporary readings also available on YouTube)
• “Do not go gentle into that good night” on SuperSummary

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson 

• a classic dystopian short story from 1948 that explores a small town in which one person must be sacrificed each year
• Compare and (especially) contrast the thematic motif of the Necessity of Sacrifice and The Value of Compassion in this work and Scythe. 
• “The Lottery” on SuperSummary

Thunderhead and The Toll by Neal Shusterman

• the dystopian sequels to Scythe in which the battle for the future of the Scythedom continues
• These novels continue to explore the thematic motifs of Morality and Stagnation, The Necessity of Sacrifice, The Value of Compassion, and Human Fallibility and Weakness.

“A Scientist’s Warning to humanity on human population growth” by William Z. Lidicker, Jr. 

• a journal article that breaks down overpopulation into relevant ecological factors, social behaviors, challenges that humans face, and predictions for the future 
• Connect the thematic motifs of the Necessity of Sacrifice and Human Fallibility and Weakness to this journal article. Especially consider which aspects of human nature have contributed to the issue of overpopulation and which aspects give hope for addressing this issue.

Other Student Resources

“How to recognize a dystopia” by Alex Gendler and TedEd

• a six-minute video that discusses the history of the dystopian genre, including other books from the genre and real-world connections that inspired them
• Consider how Human Fallibility and Weakness are addressed in the video’s dystopian examples.

A list of encyclopedia entries for the namesakes of important scythes:

• Michael Faraday
• Marie Curie
• Robert Goddard
• Xenocrates
• Anastasia Romanov
• These encyclopedia entries can be used to find connections between the scythes, what inspires them, and their namesakes. 

“As World’s Population Booms, Will Its Resources Be Enough for Us?” by Dennis Dimick 

• This National Geographic article examines challenges humans face as our population continues to grow.
• Consider the Necessity of Sacrifice as the human population grows while nonrenewable resources are consumed.

Teacher Resources

“The World of Scythe - An Interview with Neal Shusterman” on YouTube

• a short interview in which the author discusses what inspired the book and the research he did before writing
• Note: end at 2:43 before he begins discussing the third and final book in the series.