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Literary Devices
Definition of Alliteration
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought the box of bricks to... read full definition
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought... read full definition
Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the... read full definition
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Conscience, Consciousness:
In the excerpt from Scythe Curie's gleaning journal at the beginning of Chapter 5, she describes the Thunderhead and its early development. She notes especially one major check on the Thunderhead's power: the Scythedom, and death itself, would be left to humans. She describes this using an important instance of alliteration:
There was only one thing the Thunderhead was not given authority over. The Scythedom. When it was decided that people needed to die in order to ease the tide of population growth, it was also decided that this must be the responsibility of humans. Bridge repair and urban planning could be handled by the Thunderhead, but taking a life was an act of conscience and consciousness. Since it could not be proven that the Thunderhead had either, the Scythedom was born.
The Thunderhead could not control the Scythedom because "taking a life was an act of conscience and consciousness." The alliteration (and overall similarity) between these two works links them together, but they are not exactly the same. Conscience is a sense of right and wrong, whereas consciousness is simply being sentient, aware, and able to respond to stimuli. Curie implies through the alliteration that conscience and consciousness are related—that to be conscious, like a human, indicates that one is more likely to have a conscience. At the time of Curie's writing, it was believed that the Thunderhead was not conscious, and therefore likely did not have a conscience, and should not be in charge of killing.
This implication is important in the novel because it will be repeatedly shown to be untrue. Scythes Goddard, Rand, Chomsky, and others consistently act with very little conscience, while clearly still having consciousness. On the other hand, the Thunderhead appears remarkably conscious in its brief conversation with Citra in Chapter 30 and seems to act with more of a conscience than most scythes. The novel as a whole is concerned with the balance between the relative consciousness of human beings and computers, and the ability of humans to maintain a conscience when licensed to kill. Scythe Curie's alliteration connects these two terms early on, a sign of things to come.
Related Themes:
Chapter 27
Explanation and Analysis—Daggers in Her Eyes:
At the Harvest Conclave in Chapter 27, young apprentices swarm Rowan asking about Goddard, while adoring girls drape over Rowan's newly buff figure. Citra eventually finds him but regards him with a piercing look that the narrator describes using a simile as well as alliteration:
Then Citra pushed her way through, and Rowan felt as if he was caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Citra, hi!”
[...] “Looks like you’ve made a lot of friends,” Citra said.
“No, not really,” he said, then realized he’d just insulted them all.
“I mean, we’re all friends, right? We’re in the same boat.”
“Same boat,” repeated Citra with deadpan dullness but daggers in her eyes as sharp as the ones that used to hang in Faraday’s weapons den. “Good to see you too, Rowan.” Then she strode away.
The alliteration sets off the description of Citra's expression: she spoke with "deadpan dullness but daggers in her eyes." The repeated /d/ sounds make a dull, thudding sound that seems to reflect Citra's desire to thump Rowan for prioritizing a group of strangers over her, and for aligning himself with the evil Scythe Goddard.
This alliteration is the beginning of a larger metaphor: she had "daggers in her eyes as sharp as the ones that used to hang in Faraday's weapons den." The narrator describes Citra's anger in this way to connect it to the widespread imagery of weapons in the book. Note that in an earlier scene, Citra had a formative moment in Faraday's weapons den, where she first considered the possibility of really being a scythe. Thus the reference back to those particular daggers implies that Citra's new distrust of Rowan is a result of her long training in tact and emotional strength as an apprentice. As she has learned under Scythe Curie, Citra learns how to stare with daggers, as well as how to wield them.
Related Themes:
