Well, I must confess that I was "today" old when the concept of the scythe as just a harvesting equipment and not a weapon sunk in. We have been taught to fear "the grim reaper" by society for so long that the concept goes unquestioned.
I wonder what else goes unquestioned, that is wrong.
I had a really similar reaction, and I think that's why the passage jumped off the page at me. I'd never considered the scythe as a tool of the harvest, like a modern combine. I'd always viewed the image as the weapon of death personified.
Seeing it as that tool of the harvest really adds important context. I'd love to claim the insight as my own, but alas, Bro. Shifrin gets all the credit!
It's always been a harvesting tool to me. In korea when I lived there, you would see farmers and their families out with hand scythes. Even on base, they employed locals as landscapers, and they would be out there cutting the grass with their small hand held scythes. They couldn't afford modern machinery back then. Of course, martial arts had incorporated them as weapons. Japanese in feudal times weren't allowed to carry swords, you had to be samurai, but the farmers had to protect themselves so they adopted to the tools they had on hand.
Interesting. I'd just never thought of it in that way. But, I suppose as you allude, that's just because I never saw one in actual use. Hanging in the barn, we knew what they were for of course, but never actually considered them.
Well, I must confess that I was "today" old when the concept of the scythe as just a harvesting equipment and not a weapon sunk in. We have been taught to fear "the grim reaper" by society for so long that the concept goes unquestioned.
I wonder what else goes unquestioned, that is wrong.
I had a really similar reaction, and I think that's why the passage jumped off the page at me. I'd never considered the scythe as a tool of the harvest, like a modern combine. I'd always viewed the image as the weapon of death personified.
I never thought about the symbolism of the scythe either, and how as a harvesting tool it’s relation to the Grim Reaper. Thank you Cameron M. Bailey 💀
Seeing it as that tool of the harvest really adds important context. I'd love to claim the insight as my own, but alas, Bro. Shifrin gets all the credit!
It's always been a harvesting tool to me. In korea when I lived there, you would see farmers and their families out with hand scythes. Even on base, they employed locals as landscapers, and they would be out there cutting the grass with their small hand held scythes. They couldn't afford modern machinery back then. Of course, martial arts had incorporated them as weapons. Japanese in feudal times weren't allowed to carry swords, you had to be samurai, but the farmers had to protect themselves so they adopted to the tools they had on hand.
Interesting. I'd just never thought of it in that way. But, I suppose as you allude, that's just because I never saw one in actual use. Hanging in the barn, we knew what they were for of course, but never actually considered them.