payment page
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text's major themes.
Technology
The novel features astonishingly advanced technology that easily revives people from most deaths and quickly heals debilitating injuries. The Thunderhead that administers the world is a high-functioning, infinite computer system that knows how to govern effectively and efficiently. Though this technology is impressive, many, such as Curie, think it has made life too convenient for people. However, the Thunderhead is not the enemy. Far from technology run amok, acting as a threat to humanity, the Thunderhead is instead a neutral computer system far more aware of its own limitations than the people it governs are of their own, and it is benevolently interested in people though unable to curb their worst impulses, despite its best efforts. The problem is not the technology itself, but rather that people have surrendered their responsibility and initiative over to it.
Journals
Scythedom requires that scythes and apprentices maintain journals of their work. These journals form a key aspect of the narrative, since the book juxtaposes entries penned by various scythes with the chapters that make up the main narrative. In addition to revealing the personal thoughts of characters who would otherwise remain quite remote, such as Curie and Faraday, the journals even serve a role within the story itself. For instance, Xenocrates frames Citra with one of Faraday’s journal entries. Though the journals are often a source of honest reflection for the scythes and even feature frank critiques of problems within Scythedom and society as a whole, they should not always be accepted at face value. Rowan blatantly lies in his journal under Goddard, and Volta presumably does as well. In this superficial society that has little appreciation for humanity, the journals reflect both the best and worst in human nature and serve as one of the few outlets for personal philosophizing.
Mortal Culture
Society within the novel has a complicated relationship with mortal culture, which predates the defeat of death and the rise of the Thunderhead. Post-mortal people largely scorn or dismiss mortal culture as irrelevant, outdated, and inferior. Curie eventually reveals that a purge that targeted people born during mortal times destroyed much mortal knowledge and left people afraid to reveal their mortal origins. Nonetheless, much of the commentary about how people view mortal culture derives from scythes, who have underlying philosophical reasons for their observations. Still, individuals within Scythedom seem open to recognizing the merits of mortal culture. Though Goddard often rants about it, he borrows from mortal culture when it suits his purposes, comparing himself to ancient Roman figures and even defending traditional religion as a justification for slaughtering Tonists. Faraday and Curie both reveal themselves to be admirers of mortal culture, with Faraday enjoying opera and fine art, while Curie openly mourns the loss of appreciation for mortal culture. Despite the contempt society can have for mortal culture, all the scythes in the book draw their professional names and identities from mortal figures, including scientists and politicians. This lingering mortal influence suggests that mortal culture holds more merit than this society wants to acknowledge.
