1. Rowan notes that “imagination had atrophied.…become vestigial and pointless, like the appendix—which had been removed from the human genome more than a hundred years ago” (15). What does the simile foreshadow will happen within the narrative milieu? How does it do so?

2. Xenocrates engages in a “trialogue” in a cathedral confessional with a representative of the Thunderhead and an Interlocutor, the latter of which serves as a go-between (20-23). There is a symbolic component to the meeting; what is it, and how does it manifest?

3. The Thunderhead remarks that its Charter Regions are experiments (59). What experiment is it conducting in Texas? What result does it expect?

4. What reasons does the Thunderhead give for finding employment for all people who want it?

5. What reason does the Thunderhead give for not accepting responsibility for dealing death?

6. Why does Anastasia feel the need to call upon Greyson after his denigration to unsavory status, per her report?

7. What reasons does Scythe Curie give for taking an excursion to Endura when Anastasia is excused from gleaning?

8. What reasons does Scythe Constantine give for the scythedom’s efforts to protect Anastasia when she is excused from gleaning?

9. Scythe Brahms observes that “no one should see a scythe so indisposed and live” when a couple sees him bestrewn with rotting food and helps him; instead, he gives them immunity from execution and sends them on their way (11-12). How does the passage serve to reinforce his personal authority?

10. Why is it irony, as the Thunderhead remarks, “that with no body, the world itself becomes [its] body” (75)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the following passage: “‘He didn’t go out with the garbage,’ Scythe Rand said. ‘I took care of it myself, then spread his ashes in a field of wild bluebonnets. Just saying” (306). Assuming that Rand is being truthful, what does the passage imply about her? What in the text affirms the implication? How is the implication supported?

Essay Topic 2

Scythe Curie advises “Guard your conscience, Anastasia, and never let it wilt. It is a scythe’s most valuable possession” (191). Does the novel as a whole agree or disagree with the sentiment? What in the text indicates the dis/agreement? How does it do so?