(Im)Possibilities

It is a warm day as the sun seeps through the gaps between the trees. The ground, littered with growth, is lush and green. The sweet song of a bird is there, and off in the distance, the gleeful splashing of water. A glance around shows nothing but greens and browns, the soft hues of nature. From these colors emerge shapes, at first appearing random. A second look will reveal the truth: the repetition of a shape gives way to the leaves, bushes, and vines all around. These are fractals, an unending pattern that often appears in nature. 

Fractals are commonly used in geometry, yielding five essential components: recursion, scaling, self-similarity, infinity, and fractional dimension. In African Fractals, recursion is described as “…fractals are generated by a circular process, a loop in which the output at one stage becomes the input for the next. Results are repeatedly returned, so that the same operation can be carried out again” (Eglash 17). Essential recursion is the repetition of input becoming output and vice versa. Scaling is when multiple parts of varying sizes are taken into consideration. Self-similarity is what aspects of the pattern are repeated and how. Infinity is the tool used to connect fractals to dimensions. Finally, the fractional dimension is the dimension that fills in between the dimensional areas of the plane (Egral 19). Fractals always have a seed shape or the starting shape that is then repeated. In any class, there are seed shapes that connect one part to the next. These appear in course concepts. The central idea that seems to be this course’s seed shape is the concept of the both/and. Through the analysis of the works we go through we find the application of the both/and.

The both/and is the careful consideration of a muli-point-of-view state of mind. It is understanding one side and then looking at a concept from the other. With every encounter with the works in this course, the both/and has been applied demonstrating the recursion of the seed shape. One of the first instances was when working with Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use.” This story features the visit home by Dee/Wangero, the daughter of the narrator, and her partner. The concepts of art versus use and which honor heritage more come into play. Upon the first encounter with the story, the class was practically in unanimous agreement: Wangero is a dislikable character who is condescending and entitled. This is an easy opinion to obtain from the way she is described. However, on a second look, one must recognize that the story is written from one perspective: the mother’s. It is from this perspective that the audience gains all information about Wangero. However, with this knowledge, one can glean an understanding of Wangero’s perspective. Here came a reading with the notion of resentment. Wangero seems to be everything the mother is not, she is confident, beautiful, graceful, and smart. When the mother reflects on how Dee used to read to them she thinks, “She used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice…Pressed us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away, like dimwits, at just the moment we seemed about to understand” (Walker). Wangero was the only one able to read in the family, placing her above her mother and sister. In the section alone, a sense of resentment can be found from the emphasis on dimwits and ignorant and from how the mother phrases the reading as “forcing words.” with this in mind, perhaps what appears as Wangero’s transgressions might be dramatized from the quiet envy seeping from the narrator. In this instance, the both/and is necessary to fully understand the story. Without it, the work is almost incomplete. 

Another work is Octavia Butler’s short story “Bloodchild.” In this story, the tale of a young man who lives in a human colony on an alien planet is told. It grapples with concepts of pregnancy, insects/parasites, and knowledge. At the end of the story, Butler includes a section titled “Afterword” in which she explains the intentions of the story, “On one level, it’s a love story between two very different beings. On another, it’s a coming-of age story in which a boy must absorb disturbing information and use it to make a decision that will affect the rest of his life” (Butler 30). The story is about so many things and yet, somehow, people reduce it to something it is not: a story about slavery. Here is where the both/and appears in its next iteration. For most of the class, it was easy to interpret the story as about anything but slavery. There is not any subtext that even seems to hint at this being the hidden goal. Despite this, many believe the story is actually about slavery. Since we could see one side very clearly, the next step was to view the opposing viewpoint. This was the tricky part, but with considerable effort, there were a few potentials for why we guessed someone maybe could see it as such. One option was the notion of being owned. In the story, a point is made that the main character is owned by the alien, something that could be seen as justification for this view. The other potential was simply the fact that people believe that African Americans only write about slavery as a narrative. While this is untrue, it is something people genuinely believe. With this story, both/and requires you to think outside of your comfort zone, working actively to see from every perspective, even the ones you do not agree with.

The seed shape of the both/and is imperative to the analysis of literature. Without this careful thought, certain themes, tones, and perspectives can be lost. The intentions and meanings fall to the wayside, leaving a more literal and flat study. Even beyond literature, keeping an open mind to varying perspectives and the simultaneousness of seemingly opposite aspects allows for a deeper understanding of the world and other people. If an open mind was a constant, there would seemingly be a more general sense of respect and acceptance. Trying to see the both/and of any situation or literary work can be difficult, but it is certainly needed. With every iteration of the both/and, the fractal shape of the ENGL 337 African-American Literature begins to take its shape. 

By using the process of racialization, Jemisin is able to create a world of science fiction with an oppressive social system comparable to our own world. Jemisin uses the fictional world in the Fifth Season in order to magnify the corruption and prejudice that has become so normalized and unnoticed in our society. Although the fictional aspects in The Fifth Season such as the powers of orogenes, stone eaters, and guardians are obviously not a reflection of our world, Jemisin uses these embellishments as a way to entertain the reader while stressing the correlation to racism, social classes, and corruption in governmental powers in our society. According to “The Sociology of Racism”, from Scholars at Harvard, the process of racialization uses “perceived patterns of physical difference” in order to distinguish people into groups, thus classifying each group as a “race”. This description goes on to detail the difference between racialization and racism, explaining how exactly racism develops. “Racialization becomes racism when it involves the hierarchical and socially consequential valuation of racial groups.” (The Sociology of Racism). I believe that this definition directly correlates to The Fifth Season. There is a hierarchy established in this society, and there are severe consequences from valuing each “race” differently. Jemison uses the process of racialization in The Fifth Season by distinguishing each “race” clearly, showing the effects of this distinction and describing the hate and violence that it causes, and creating a governmental system that uses its power in order to control society. Jemisin unfolds a deeply layered plotline that unveils a social system with a corrupt imbalance of power and uses the process of racialization to create a prejudiced and divided society.

Jemison introduces the world where the story takes place as “The Stillness”. It is a world full of environmental chaos such as “quakes” and “seasons”, but the theme of chaos continues as the social constructs that are in place develop. Jemisin combines myth, science, and racialization in order to stress the idea of racism in our own society. She does this by first introducing and distinguishing each “race”. In this society, there are many different groups, such as leaderships, guardians, orogenes, and stone eaters. The orogenes are an essential part of this story seeing as they are constantly discriminated against and controlled. Orogenes have the power to harness energy from the earth which can help them perform certain tasks such as calming the quakes which can have catastrophic effects on the towns that exist throughout this world. This is the reason why orogenes are crucial to the survival of the human race. Their powers can also be unpredictable and deadly, which is one explanation as to why orogenes are so feared, hated, and disrepected. When we meet the character Damaya, an orogene who was born from nonorogenic parents, we learn more about what orogenes are and how they are treated. “Damaya had hidden it from them, Mother said, hidden everything, pretended to be a child when she was really a monster, that was what monsters did, she had always know there was something wrong with Damaya, she’d always been such a little liar” (Jemisin, 31)”. This quote shows Damaya’s mother’s reaction to her being an orogene. This quote only begins to explain how hated and misunderstood orogenes are, and how that hatred translates to orogenes’ perceptions of themselves. 

After distinguishing each “race”, Jemisin takes the process of racialization further by describing the complexity of the valuation of orogenes. The Leadership, Guardians, and the institution of the Fulcrum all work together in order to control orogenes. I believe that their need for control comes from their deep rooted fear of orogenes and the power that they hold, which is not completely known by anyone. The first instance we see of violence towards an Orogene happens almost immediately in the book when we meet Essun, an orogenic mother who has hid her orogeny from the town she lives in, including her husband. Her baby is killed by her husband when he finds out that the child is an orogene. When imagining the scene of her child’s death, she explains that she had “seen the imprint of Jija’s fist, a bruise with four parallel marks, on Uche’s belly and face” (Jemisin, 19). This description shows the extremely violent nature of the death of her son, Uche, and successfully introduces the dynamic between orogenes and the rest of the world. This is the first instance in the book where we see extreme discrimination against orogenes, to the point of violence.  This horrific event in Essun’s life causes her to leave her town in order to track down her husband. When she is aggressively confronted about leaving, her emotions take hold of her, and her powers become out of control. “These people killed Uche. Their hate, their fear, their unprovoked violence… People run out into the streets, screaming and wondering why there was no warning, and you kill any of them who are stupid or panicked enough to come near” (Jemisin, 59).  I believe this quote is extremely important because it describes the effect that discrimination has on orogenes directly from an orogene’s point of view. It also describes the immense power and destruction that orogenes are capable of.

The final aspect of racialization that Jemisin uses to fully develop a hierarchical society is creating a governmental system that uses its power in order to control society. The Fulcrum does train orogenes on how to use their power, but the teaching methods they use specifically cater to the needs of society. When we first meet Damaya, we learn more about what the Fulcrum is, and what it aims to do. When a Guardian comes to bring her to the Fulcrum, he tells Damaya that, “The orogenes of the Fulcrum serve the world… Within a comm or without one, you are orogene. With training, however, and with the guidance of other skilled orogenes at the Fulcrum, you can be useful not merely to a single comm, but all the Stillness” (Jemisin, 34). This quote shows how orogenes are used for their power in order to service the world and the comms that they work for. Although this aspect of control over orogenes doesn’t seem too severe, we later learn how much worse this control becomes. When Syenite, another orogene introduced later in the book, realizes that Alabaster, the man she is working with, is settling the small quakes around them, she claims that it is the job of the node maintainers to settle the quakes. Alabaster then decides to show her how the node maintainers accomplish this job. “The body in the node maintainer’s chair is small, and naked. Thin, its limbs atrophied. Hairless. There are things–tubes and pipes and things, she has no words for them–going into the stick-arms, down the goggle-throat, across the narrow crotch” (Jemisin, 139). This quote depicts a child orogene attached to a chair that controls their power in order to perform the job of the node maintainer. This horrific image signifies to Damaya and to the reader that the Fulcrum and the guardians take control of orogenes more forcefully and violently than the world seems to understand. 

Jemisin flawlessly creates a dangerous and chaotic world out of environmental disasters, fictional geological ideas, and humans with extreme power. I believe that the underlying intention in creating this dangerous world is to create a need for power so desperate that the only solution is force. In this world, it seems as though there is a common conception that a corrupt system of power is the only solution for survival. This conception leads even the most powerful beings to fall under this system. Jemisin works to aid the reader in asking the question: Why do these extremely powerful beings continue to allow themselves to be controlled? I believe that this is a point that Jemisin strives to imply throughout the book, and it seems there is potential for her to continue to develop this idea throughout the trilogy. As we discussed in our mini-collaboration in class, “The Fifth Season works to reverse the false assumption that societal power is an inherently dominant force by exaggerating the idea that people instinctively condemn themselves to systems of power in society.” I hope that throughout this trilogy, we are able to see more clearly why the orogenes feel so stuck under this system of power. Perhaps if they are able to overcome it, we as readers will understand more about the systems of power in our society and how we can overcome that control.

-Stella Kahnis

Citations

Sociology of Racism | Matthew Clair | Scholars at Harvard, scholar.harvard.edu/files/matthewclair/files/sociology_of_racism_clairandenis_2015.pdf. Accessed 23 Feb. 2024. 

N.K Jemisin, The Fifth Season English 111, Mini-Collaboration 1, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ehBvrciNLrDhTUtEBtkfAYBJaV5CChKSa-p7PYXHUow/edit?usp=sharing

Fractals are patterns of shapes created by a mathematical algorithm, these structures are repeatedly building the same shape onto itself, and they have no defining end. As mentioned in “African Fractals” by Ron Eglash, fractals undergo recursions, which is the output for a first iteration is the input for the next iteration, and so on. These structures can either follow a seed shape or a base shape. The seed shape fractal can be visually represented by the Koch curve, where the seed shape undergoes a recursive replacement process. Fractal shapes and patterns are commonly found in a wide variety of things—in nature and in culture.

Fractals are intentionally designed in some places, and randomly appear in others. In African culture, fractals are used in architectural design to create a divide between sacred and everyday buildings/structures. For example, according to “African Fractals”, an aerial photo of Ba-Ila settlement in southern Zambia reveals that the whole settlement has the same shape; “it is a ring of rings.” Fractal structures are also seen in naturally occurring things, such as the structure of human lungs and the way roots travel in soil. 

Fractals appear very frequently across many different aspects of culture. Some cultural artworks include fractal patterns, like a couple kinds of quilt designs. Even though they are composed of mathematical algorithms, fractals structures can be observed in literature as well. In African American literature, fractals take form as concepts—a concept that is repeated and built upon. In class we’ve discussed ‘seed shapes’ (concepts) that we’ve noticed present throughout many of our course texts; some are more commonly seen than others and some are more important than others. 

In this course, African American literature, the author’s context in their writing is a really important seed shape that we have to think about when approaching our course texts, and for just reading in general. Thinking about the context something was written in when reading is useful to your comprehension of the text because it can help explain why something happened, a decision was made, etc… (in fiction or non-fiction). 

We can observe the importance of this seed shape in our course text, “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler. The story takes place on an alien planet that humans, or “Terrans”, are living on. The planet is dominated by the “Tlic” which are an insect species. Unable to reproduce on their own, they depend on using the bodies of human men to carry and birth their young, in order to keep their species’ survival. “Bloodchild” is narrated by the main character, Gan, a human boy living on the planet. The story begins, “My last night of childhood began with a visit home,” because Gan is now approaching the age of being able to carry one of the Tlic’s young, and first witnesses a birthing process: it is so disturbing and violent. Gan struggles with a crisis when he begins to question why they are complicit with continuing this tradition. At the end of the story, Gan is forced to have the Tlic eggs implanted into him, and he will have to live through the horrifying act he just observed. 

This story is actually often misinterpreted to be about slavery. This kind of mistake typically comes from generalizing—because the author is a black American, people will just assume they must be writing about slavery. Octavia Butler addresses the readers and writers who interpreted “Bloodchild” this way in her afterword, where she describes what the story is actually about. It’s about so many things: it’s about love, coming of age, colonialism, and gender. Authors will write an afterword for their work, providing readers with more context and information when trying to understand ideas and make connections in the reading. 

Paratext is material that surrounds but is separate from any piece of writing (poem, story, essay, etc…). The paratext basically ‘sets the tone’ for the text, giving readers an idea of what the writing is going to be about. It’s another mode in which authors can tell something important to their readers. In W.E.B. Dubois’s writing, he includes a song as a paratext, including some lyrics and the music notes on a staff. He describes each of these phrases as, “a haunting echo of these weird old songs in which the soul of the black slave spoke to men.” Chapter III of Dubois’s book recalls some of the events of Mr. Booker T. Washington’s career. The paratext song for this chapter says, “From birth till death enslaved; in word, in deed, unmanned! Hereditary bondsmen! Know ye not who would be free themselves must strike the blow?”. These lyrics describe the intense and dark emotions expressed when wanting freedom. This idea relates to what is said in this chapter, Mr. Washington acted as a mediator between the South and the North for the discussion of what civil rights Freedmen should get. While the North was much more progressive than the South, Mr. Washington was able to find a way the two sides could compromise. 

In James Snead’s essay “On Repetition in Black Culture”, he describes some of the differences between “Black culture” and “European culture”. First, in European culture, culture is viewed as linear; something with consistent growth. On the contrary, Black culture believes culture to be like a circle, and being able to achieve an equilibrium. This difference between cultures exists in economical opinions. Because European culture pushes the idea of accumulative growth, that perspective prefers to see the economy be linear. 

Since “European culture” cultural norms dominate the United States, in general, but specifically the school systems, it’s especially important for American students to be careful and considerate readers of writing from authors of all cultures. It’s very important to be understanding and open-minded of the perspective and intent of the authors when studying all kinds of literature. We should be applying this same mindset when reading African American literature. 

In Geraldine Heng’s The Invention of Race in the European Middle Ages, she states, ‘race’ is one of the primary names we have—a name we retain for the strategic, epistemological, and political commitments it recognizes—attached to a repeating tendency, of the gravest import, to demarcate human beings through differences among humans that are selectively essentialized as absolute and fundamental. This description can help give readers a perspective on how race has nothing to do with real or internal things. It’s the idea that privileges can be given to some and taken away from others based on bias. Throughout the first book, The Fifth Season in N.K. Jeminson’s Broken Earth Trilogy, this idea of race, myth, and science is used to divide the people who live amongst the Stillness. In LitCharts theme analysis of the Hierarchy, Oppression, and Prejudice in the Fifth season, the Stillness is described as “a single massive continent… which is ruled by the remnants of the Sanzed Empire and is rigidly divided into various “use-castes” and other systems of ranking. Among these divisions are the people called orogenes, who have the power to affect seismic activity by manipulating energy, yet are also officially considered non-human and harshly discriminated against.” Among the many people in these castes are Orogenes, who are born with the ability to affect and control the seismic activity that occurs below the surface and possibly even above the surface. And those are those who are part of the use-castes, which can range from breeders to strongbacks.  Because these Orogenes have such tremendous power, it is important to know that this power is incredibly difficult to control. This idea of having to control this power makes all other castes fear it and usually ends in the death of the young Orogene child. 

In this first stage of her life, we are introduced to our main character with the birth name Dama Strongback, who goes by three different names throughout the story: Damaya, Syenite, and Essun. Throughout her story, we can see many different perspectives on how race is used to discriminate against those who are under the power of Orogenes. 

When Damaya’s parents learned that she had this power, they locked her in a barn so they could hide her from the world. It wasn’t until a Guardian showed up that Damaya would be free from her parents’ fear and oppression. Before The Guardian, Schaffa, took Damaya under his wing, we heard some of the stereotypes around Orogenes directly from Damaya’s mother. “‘If you could assemble a package for her—a coat—we’ll be on our way.” Mother draws up in surprise. ‘We gave away her coat.’… In winter?’… “She’s got a cousin who needed it… ‘And you’ve heard that orogenes don’t feel cold the way others do,’ That’s a myth’… The mother looks flustered. “Yes. But I thought… ”That Damaya might have been faking it… Damaya had hidden it from them, Mother said. She had hidden everything and pretended to be a child when she was really a monster. Damaya, she’d always been such a little liar.’ “ (Jemison, 29). Through the lens of Damaya, we see the fear and discrimination people have about orogenes. This idea of race This ostracization of Damaya starts to show readers a pattern of how marginalization and oppression are faced by those deemed different. Because they are deemed different and hard to control, they must be dealt with effectively. 

When Schaffa arrives, Damaya is angry with her parents because they have opted to just give their daughter away like some sort of commodity. Schaffa follows these disgruntled words of sadness with a statement of  ‘You’re alive and well’, and that is no small thing’… They chose to keep something rather than lose everything. But the greatest danger lies in who you are, Dama…’Every time the earth moves, you will hear its call. When a threat is imminent, of course you’ll do what you must to protect yourself (Jemison, 30-31). This view Schaffa gives allows readers to see a new perspective from the eyes of Damaya’s parents. One can argue that the way her parents dealt with Damaya was simply a way to protect themselves, but the way I see it, they tried to find a way to protect their daughter, and by hiding Damaya, they risked losing everything. Based on this notion, it becomes evident that the societal structures within the Stillness are deeply rooted in a system of hierarchy, oppression, and prejudice. Orogenes, like Damaya, are only feared and marginalized due to their inherent abilities. The fear surrounding orogenes stems from a lack of understanding and control over their powers, leading to their dehumanization. 

We learn through Damaya’s story that she adopts the name Syenite, and on her journey, we learn about the possible outcomes for Orogene children. It is in Chapter 8 that we are introduced to the characters known as node maintainers. LitCharts defines node maintainers as “node maintainers who have been essentially lobotomized, sedated, and strapped into a wire chair so that they constantly use their incredibly powerful orogeny to quiet earthquakes while having no free will or control of their own. Essentially, node maintainers are used by the government for their power orogeny to control earthquakes. The node maintainer conditions are described by Syenite and her companion, Alabaster. “The body in the node maintainer’s chair is small and naked. Thin, its limbs atrophied. Hairless. There are things—tubes and pipes and things. One of the tube things is for putting that medicine into the node maintainer. And this one is for pushing in food, and that one is for taking away urine, oh, and that cloth wrapping is for sopping up drool. A newborn orogene can stop an earthshake. It’s an inborn thing, more certain even than a child’s ability to suckle—and it’s this ability that gets more orogene children killed than anything else. The best of their kind reveal themselves long before they’re old enough to understand the danger. Drug away the infections and so forth, keep him alive enough to function, and you’ve got the one thing even the Fulcrum can’t provide: a reliable, harmless, completely beneficial source of orogeny” (Jemison  106–108). Since node maintainers are so powerful, the government tries to control them by stripping them of their humanity and turning them into mere tools for controlling seismic activity. This treatment highlights the oppression faced by Orogenes in this society. To make matters worse, these children are still not safe from being physically, emotionally, and sexually abused. Syenites Companion Alabaster describes “a still-livid bruise on the boy’s upper thigh. It’s in the shape of a hand; finger marks are clearly visible even against the dark skin. “I’m told there are many who enjoy this sort of thing. A helplessness fetish, basically. They like it more if the victim is aware of what they’re doing. The node maintainers feel terrible pain whenever they use orogeny. The lesions, see. Since they can’t stop themselves from reacting to every shake in the vicinity, even the microshakes, it’s considered humane to keep them constantly sedated. And all orogenes react instinctively to any perceived threat… ‘Every (Orogene) should see a node, at least once.’… He jerks his head toward the body of the abused, murdered child. You think he mattered after what they did to him? The only reason they don’t do this to all of us is because we’re more versatile and useful if we control ourselves (Jemison 108–109). The government’s exploitation of the Orogenes abilities is justified, as they need to be controlled because they can’t control themselves. Furthermore, these children are sedated, so there is this notion that they can’t feel pain, but that is far from the truth. The doctors who care for these node maintainers take advantage of their helpless state, and when these children awaken, it results in the deaths of themselves and their abusers. This idea of race and hierarchy is used to overshadow the mistreatment and exploitation of these children under the disguise of societal necessity and control. It is fair to assume that those who live in stillness know that this cruelty is occurring right under their noses, and they benefit from it. It makes me wonder: if those who live in the stillness knew what really happened to children who are born with orogeny, would they change their preconceived notions or would they remain the same? This really makes me think about the idea of the complicity and silence of those within the Stillness society regarding the exploitation of marginalized groups. Despite the knowledge of these atrocities, many may turn a blind eye or rationalize the mistreatment as a necessity for the greater good, thereby perpetuating the oppressive structures that benefit them.

Oppression, racism, and violence are vital issues that we struggle with today in our world, but are also vital issues found in the Stillness, a world built by N.K. Jemisin in her novel The Fifth Season. In her text, the stratified society living in a future dystopian world closely mirrors our own society in which oppression and racism exist at the institutional, structural, and individual levels. Jemisin strategically racializes characters and institutions in her world in order to create this parallel between reality and her book, and she does so inconspicuously. Our course epigraph defines race as “a structural relationship for the articulation and management of human differences,” and the epigraph connects it to “a repeating tendency, of the gravest import, to demarcate human beings through differences among humans that are selectively essentialized as absolute and fundamental, in order to distribute positions and powers differentially to human groups.” Essentially it means that race is a way of sorting humans based on their differences. The process of racializing can be complex, especially when you’re attempting to world-build and discard all preconceived notions of race that we think of in context to real life. My goal is to break down elements of the text and explain in-depth how Jemisin uses different methods to racialize people in The Fifth Season.

One major way that Jemisin utilizes racialization in her first book of the Broken Earth Trilogy is through showing racism at the structural level. An important element of the Stillness to note is the Sanzed Equatorial Affiliation. In the novel we find out that Sanze has been around long before the events in the first book, and only after taking over other comms in the Stillness through tactful violence did they acquire the significant power that is talked about in The Fifth Season. In fact, Erlsset, the emperor of the Equatorials during the second decade of the Season of Teeth, was quoted saying “Tell them they can be great someday, like us. Tell them they belong among us, no matter how we treat them. Tell them they must earn the respect which everyone else receives by default. Tell them there is a standard for acceptance; that standard is simply perfection. Kill those who scoff at these contradictions, and tell the rest that the dead deserved annihilation for their weakness and doubt. Then they’ll break themselves trying for what they’ll never achieve.” (Jemisin, 76) While this is quite clearly textbook racism, these are also the foundations of which the Fulcrum was created and is run in the text. Jemisin effectively establishes Orogenes as the oppressed peoples, and then foreshadows the way in which they are exploited systemically by the Equatorials on an institutional level in the Fulcrum, which was founded very soon after Erlsset said this at a party. The young Orogenes grow up being told those exact words, and the effects are lasting.

Another way that Orogenes are racialized to be structurally oppressed involves the Guardians. As soon as a young Orogene gets their Guardian, the Guardian breaks their hand and establishes the hierarchy of power between the two. However, the way they brainwash the poor Orogenes goes much deeper than that. We get an in-depth look at the interactions between Orogenes and Guardians during Damaya and Schaffa’s trip to the Fulcrum in chapter six. Immediately after Schaffa breaks Damaya’s hand, he tells her he loves her. “‘Never doubt that I do, little one. Poor creature locked in a barn, so afraid of herself that she hardly dares speak. And yet there is the fire of wit in you along with the fire of the earth, and I cannot help but admire both, however evil the latter might be.’ He shakes his head and sighs. ‘I hate doing this to you. I hate that it’s necessary. But please understand: I have hurt you so that you will hurt no one else.’” (Jemisin, 99) Schaffa is essentially rewiring Damaya’s brain to believe that is what love is, preying on the fact that she has never known what real love is like; not from her parents or anyone from her comm. 

Let’s fast forward to Syenite and Alabaster. When we see the older version of Damaya and Alabaster interact, we can see the effects that their upbringing in the Fulcrum has had on them. Alabaster has ten-rings, he’s older, he’s “wiser,” and yet he is always referring to Orogenes (specifically himself and Syenite…) as animals in multiple instances. “Ferals—the ones from outside—often don’t know, or care. But when an Orogene is born from parents who weren’t, from a family line that’s never shown the curse before, that’s how they think of you. A wild mutt to my domesticated purebred.” (Jemisin, 72) In addition, he says “‘Either the Fulcrum owns us, or we have to hide and be hunted down like dogs if we’re ever discovered.’” (Jemisin, 123) This process of dehumanization is crucial to re-establishing and supporting the oppressive society in which the Orogenes live. It is ingrained into their minds from such a young age that even well into adulthood they fully believe that they are inhuman, monstrous animals. Not only is this taught to them in the Fulcrum, but the stonelore that they read in school in the comms is also full of anti-Orogene text. For example, Alabaster tells Syenite in chapter eight, “They kill us because they’ve got stonelore telling them at every turn that we’re born evil—some kind of agents of Father Earth, monsters that barely qualify as human.” (Jemisin, 124.) 

While I could go on for days about racialization in this book, there is a unique relationship between racialization, science, and myth within this text. The science aspect is one that is quite obvious; Orogeny itself, the power to manipulate the earth and start shakes is described in-depth. Jemisin defines Orogeny as “The ability to manipulate thermal, kinetic, and related forms of energy to address seismic events.” (Jemisin, 462) Many of the characters in the novel are named after rocks or geological substances as well, such as Alabaster, Syenite, Antimony, Corundum, and Feldspar. I can admit that I am not sure what will come of this revelation, but hope to be able to come back and revise when I find out and (or) finish the Trilogy. Myths play a very powerful part in The Fifth Season. We know about stone eaters- the mysterious statue-like people that live forever and eat stone. However, that is about it. We don’t know their intentions or anything else about them other than their abilities and appearance. Well… we also know what their favorite meal is. This element of not knowing in relation to stone eaters is a crucial aspect of the book. Tied in together with the aspects of racism and oppression showcased in the first book of the trilogy, there is no other choice for a sane reader other than to keep going. In my opinion, Jemisin did an excellent job with revealing just enough information to keep me grounded in the plot, but leaving out just enough to leave me (and hopefully you, too) wanting more. 

Racializing is a common issue in today’s real world but it has also been shown in the book The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin. By having this in the book, it shows the problems that people have to go through in the world and the author may have done this because she has gone through it. N.K. Jemisin is a black woman and by putting these issues into her book, she may want to bring more awareness to the unfair treatment by people when they racialize. There are many examples of racializing in The Fifth Season to the people called “orogenes”. This is because of what they can do which is seen as supernatural but people use bad faith and certain myths to believe that their powers hurt them more than save them. 

There have been a lot of examples of racializing in the book with the character Damaya. Damaya is considered an orogene which her parents and the people in her town know which has caused a lot of unfair treatment to her. When Damaya is first introduced into the book, we learn she has been locked away in a barn by her parents. On page 26, it states “When Damaya doesn’t respond, Mother says ‘She can’t have gotten out. My husband checked all the barn locks himself.” This quote shows that she is treated like an animal for who she is even though she has absolutely no control over it. When Jemisin wrote “She can’t have gotten out” it sounds like Damaya is just some barn animal but she is a human being just like her parents. During this chapter in the book, we learn that Damaya’s parents took away her coat during winter and gave it away to her cousin. This shows that they think she is less than other people and doesn’t even deserve a coat in the cold season. On page 31, it states “Mother draws up in surprise. ‘We gave away her coat.’ ‘Gave it away? In winter?’ He speaks mildly but mother looks abruptly uncomfortable. ‘She’s got a cousin who needed it.” Damaya’s mother also talks about how she gave the coat away because she believed a myth that orogene’s don’t feel the cold the same way others do. This myth can be harmful to believe because Damaya had to suffer in the cold just because her mother believed it. On page 31, it states “And you’ve heard that orogenes don’t feel cold the way others do.’ says the man, with a weary sigh. ‘That’s a myth. I assume you’ve seen your daughter take cold before.” This quote also shows that Damaya’s mother is never with her and has no idea how Damaya is when it is cold. Towards the end of the book, the readers learned that Damaya was never taught how to read. This seems like such a basic need but since Damaya is looked down upon, her parents didn’t believe she deserved it. It also shows that her parents never cared or spent time with Damaya, all because of who she is. On page 297, it says “The instructors have taught her to read as her parents did not.” Damaya’s storyline shows the huge problem of racializing and the harm it has done to her.

In the real world, there are terms and slurs that are used to dehumanize and degrade people. This is also a problem in The Fifth Season where the term “rogga” is known as a slur to orogene’s. The term “rogga” has been talked about many times in the book when either a character calls themselves it or is called it by another person. Characters have spoken about how the term is a slur and how dehumanizing it is to them. On page 89, it says “Damaya inhales, horrified. It has never occurred to her that roggas-she stops herself. She. She is a rogga. All at once she does not like this word, which she has heard most of her life. It’s a bad word she’s not supposed to say, even though the grownups toss it around freely, and suddenly it seems uglier than it already did.” This quote also demonstrates that when Damaya was first thinking, she didn’t even consider herself to be one because she knows that it is a slur. This is a huge part of racializing because all the orogenes are grouped together when they are called this term. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they have done, they are “roggas” which is the same issue that people have in the real world with the slurs that people call them. This issue has come up in the book again, when the readers learn that rogga is a slur to orogene’s and not just some word. On page 140, it says “Sometimes a rogga can’t learn to control.’ Now she understands that his use of the slur is deliberate. A dehumanizing word for someone who has been made into a thing.” This quote also shows that the term is used when people believe that orogenes are not human beings, they are below them. This is exactly how it is in the real world when people use slurs to degrade people, believing that they themselves are higher up than the people they are degrading.

A character in the book is called Essun and she has dealt with people seeing her and just knowing that she is an orogene. When someone saw her, they immediately raised their weapon even though Essun was no threat to them. This can also be related to the real world, when police would treat black people as criminals when they did nothing wrong which became a huge problem. On page 55, it says “Perhaps he does not see the latter woman quickly shoulder her weapon and orient it on you.” In this scene in the book, Essun was walking with another man but he was not an orogene which shows that Essun was seen as the issue. This part of the book was quickly escalated when the woman with the weapon shot at Essun. When Essun felt threatened by the woman and knew she was most likely to shoot at her while she was unarmed, she started to use her “supernatural” powers to protect herself. Essun stated in the book that she deals with these types of situations a lot which is why she decided to protect herself. It is unknown to the readers if the woman was going to shoot at Essun even if she didn’t protect herself but it still shows that Essun has dealt with weapons being pointed at her a lot. It can also be shown that Essun could have died many times just because of what people think of her but she has protected herself to stop her death. On page 55 and 56, it says, “And because once upon a time and in another life you learned to respond to sudden threats in a very particular way, you reach for the air around you and pull and brace your feet against the earth beneath you and anchor and narrow and when the woman fires the crossbow, the bolt blurs toward you.” This scene shows that Essun was just using a weapon to defend herself just as that woman did to her, but Essun is much more powerful than her. This shows the powers that caused people to racialize the orogene’s.

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin has shown many examples of racializing in her book. There are numerous ways that the book connects to the issue of racializing in the real world. Scenes in the book can relate to problems that people have to deal with in our world and having it in a book can show these issues to a broader audience. The grouping of people is dangerous and extremely dehumanizing which the book shows how orogene’s are affected by this issue.

An important seed shape within the African American works and slave narratives discussed thus far is the authors’ ways of recruiting their audience, specifically, by appealing to core American ideals. The term seed shape is conveyed by Ron Eglash in African Fractals as the “starting shape” that will eventually create a fractal. It can be any shape, and then each part of the seed shape is replaced, “with a reduced version of the original seed shape;” this process continues infinitely, creating a fractal—a visual representation of infinity. Applying the idea of a seed shape within literature would/could refer to an element—theme, arc, symbol, event, purpose, structure, etc.—that appears within a piece or genre and continues to appear at different scales. Douglass and Jacobs recruit the attention and sympathy of their audiences on many scales, sometimes explicitly as Jacobs directly addresses the “reader,” and often implicitly through emotional connection. A common throughline is how these authors implicitly utilize American values, and the American (or patriotic) identity to appeal to readers. The ideals of ‘liberty,’ and ‘freedom,’ are a core of American goals and the American identity. Each of the authors expresses that slavery denies the rights of liberty and freedom. So as long as slavery exists within America, the country has not and cannot actualize these ideals. This argument, and the narrative form it takes, is likely to pull at the heartstrings of many devout Americans and abolitionists, thereby recruiting their sympathy and support.

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Douglass defines the contradiction between freedom and slavery. While he was sent out to live with Mr. Covey, to break his spirit, Douglass could see the sailing ships on the Chesapeake Bay. In his narrative, he writes an apostrophe to ships, which expresses the freedom belonging to the ships, but also the freedom that he is denied, as well as the torments of slavery. Douglass states, “‘You are loosed from your moorings, and are free; I am fast in my chains, and am a slave! You move merrily before the gentle gale, and I sadly before the bloody whip! You are freedom’s swift-winged angels, that fly round the world; I am confined in bands of iron! O that I were free!'” Douglass’ apostrophe demonstrates his longing for freedom, but also the depths of this disparity for all slaves. The ships have more freedom than Douglass; they are free to sail and travel, but Douglass is held down by the chains of slavery. He is not free to go where he pleases, he is stuck at Mr. Covey’s property. The ships are objects and yet, these objects have greater freedom than any slave. The personification of the ships furthers this idea. Douglass’ yearning and longing to be free of the chains and torment of slavery is evident. The use of the word freedom harkens back to the American ideal. Its continuous use within this section draws greater attention to that linkage. In engaging audiences, the notion of freedom is a long-held American value. Thereby, it may be a linkage audiences can easily grasp. Meanwhile, the ship having greater freedom than a slave may be revelatory to readers. Douglass’ apostrophe shows that this freedom is no small desire. Even if readers were not abolitionists, they may be able to connect this idea of freedom and understand that slavery deprives and denies the freedom on which the nation was founded.

While Douglass’ apostrophe centers on his yearning for freedom, Jacobs focuses on the system that denies her (and other slaves) this freedom, in The Fugitive Slave Narrative. Jacobs utilizes notions of ‘liberty’ and ‘freedom,’ similar to Douglass, but she also calls out America’s false perception of itself as civilized. She criticizes the hypocrisy inherent in America/Americans asserting themself as a civilized society while practicing and/or enabling slavery. In her piece, Jacobs writes about the moments before she boards the boat that will take her to New York. She mentions her friend Peter, a slave who helped ensure her safety, but wouldn’t be leaving with her. He would still be subject to the torments and injustices of slavery. She expresses her indignation, stating, “that intelligent, enterprising, noble-hearted man was chattel! liable, by the laws of a country that calls itself civilized to be sold with horses and pigs!” While Jacobs is undoubtedly thankful for her coming escape, she is aware the torture of slavery will continue for her friends and all other slaves like Peter. And no matter the goodness in their heart, they will still be seen and treated as nothing more than livestock. Her narrative, like many, humanizes and shows the true experiences of those who were enslaved. In this section, Jacobs engages readers by utilizing an implicit violation of American ideals. This violation is exemplified by Peter not having freedom or liberty. It is a reminder that true freedom does not exist for everyone in America. Her condemnation of calling America ‘civilized’ while these heinous violations of liberty occur is a wake-up call. Even though Jacobs is leaving for the north she reminds readers that while she may have escaped, many did not. Simply because she eventually obtained freedom did not mean the battle was over, the institution of slavery still stood strong. And her outrage at the system is not quieted after she arrives in New York, and neither is her struggle.

After heading north, Jacobs is still not safe. Following her arrival in New York, Jacobs is hunted down by Mr. and Mrs. Dodge, who are seeking to bring her back South and enslave her. Jacobs is physically and mentally fatigued. Throughout her life, she has been subject to the system of slavery and witnessed the hypocrisy inherent in American society. As the church bells in the city ring, she monologues, “‘Will the preachers take for their text, ‘Proclaim liberty to the captive, and the opening of prison doors to them that are bound’? Or will they preach from the text, ‘Do unto others as ye would they should do unto you’?'” She contrasts this against the open discussions of slavery, as “John Mitchell was free to proclaim in City Hall his desire for ‘a plantation well stocked with slaves;’ but there I sat an oppressed American.” Jacobs condemns the faulty assertion that liberty and slavery can occur simultaneously. They cannot coexist: inherently, slavery denies liberty and true liberty would not allow slavery. Jacobs’ words might’ve been motivating, if not to abolitionists, then to others who prided themselves on holding fast to American ideals but remained impartial to slavery. Another aspect that may have engaged readers is Jacobs’ self-reference as an “oppressed American.” There is a unity in the American ideals, America as a nation and as a people. This may be a branch-off (or recursion) of engaging the audience through core American ideals. The larger identity seems to rest upon these ideals. Thinking in common speech, the statement “fellow Americans” is a uniting sentiment. Jacobs’ statement might’ve evoked this common identity in her audience. The idea follows that if Jacobs’ was oppressed, already having fled the South, slaves were still Americans suffering oppression. This could’ve been a greater rallying cry for her readers, connecting with the American identity.

The slave narratives presented by Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs exemplify the recruitment of readers by appealing to deep-rooted American ideals. Developing from these ideals is a uniting American identity. Simply because these elements recruit readers may not mean they are entirely intentional acts by the writers. Both these authors crafted their lives on the page and took into account what information may be important to exclude or include, but they also wrote of personal, emotional, and physical experiences. Not everything may be a purposeful move to engage audiences in support of the abolition of slavery, which is important to keep in mind. The ways in which Douglass and Jacobs engaged audiences through the utilization of American beliefs is a seed shape within itself, which presents on smaller scales such as the activation of an American identity. As with mathematical fractals, seed shapes exist recursively, possibly appearing on smaller scales within these works as well as others. The significance of this seed shape—engagement of the audience—is how it leads the writer, reader, and text to interact. These interactions affect readers’ understanding of the world in which they live and have the power to change minds, attitudes, and actions. The recruitment of readers, especially the northern, abolitionist, American audience could have helped manifest change in the real world.

Before this class, I had heard of racialization before, it was brought up and defined but not until Geraldine Heng’s definition did I truly understand its meaning. He states that race is not something within us, it is not set by our genetics or our biology, race is something created by culture and the humans within it. The process of racialization works for and against humans. Race gives some power, while taking away rights and freedoms of others. Heng explains this by saying “in order to distribute positions and powers differentially to human groups.” Heng says how race is strategic and it truly is. This can be seen not only through human history but also in the world you see outside your window today. 

Millions of people experience the effects of racialization every single day, one of these people being N.K Jemisin. N.K Jemisin is an African American author (Britannica) who grew up witnessing the evils of racialization, and being a target of them. She now develops and creates powerful stories that include vivid aspects of racialization and the horrors that come with it. In our mini collaboration groups we discussed how N.K Jemisin manipulates her own experiences and the experiences of other minorities whose race has been used to work against them, and embeds them in her novels. 

The Broken Earth Trilogy is a powerful example of Jemisin using science and fantasy fiction to bring to light the injustices of racialization and the consequences of it. In the first book of the trilogy, The Fifth Season, there are many notable aspects of racialization and how it works to keep specific people in power while others suffer. In the Fifth Season there are humans (referred to as Stills), Orogenes and Stone Eaters. For this interpretation I will be focusing on the relationship between the humans and Orogenes. Orogenes are humans (however they are not truly viewed as humans by others) who have control and power to manipulate seismic events and the earth. For example, they can stop earthquakes or create them. Although the Orogenes are immensely powerful, humans use racialization tactics to maintain their political and social powers and keep the Orogenes powerless and vulnerable. The Stills fear the Orogenes and therefore hunt them, discriminate against them and view them inhumanely. 

In our mini collaboration groups we discussed many examples of racialization and systemic inequality that can be seen throughout The Fifth Season. We focused a lot on the school featured in the book, which is called the Fulcrum. The Fulcrum is similar to a military facility, where Orogene children (who are referred to as Grits) are ripped from their homes and sent to learn how to control their powers. They are constantly taught how dangerous they are and that the pain and suffering they receive is important to protect others. The school’s entire purpose is for the Stills to be able to control the Orogenes from a very young age and make them “useful” for the Stills and their political interests. The school supports and encourages racialization as it makes sure that the Orogenes are instilled with the idea that they are less than the Stills and that the only thing Orogenes are useful for is being weapons. I believe the entire existence of the school is an example of racialization as it makes sure that Orogenes are controlled through a structural institution, it takes away their freedom and ability to choose, and most importantly ensures that the Stills maintain their power. This is especially shown through the character Damaya, who is a young Orogene and is a “student” at the Fulcrum. When we were discussing Damaya in our mini collaboration groups, Connor brought up a quote that I believe perfectly describes how racialization impacted Damaya. She says “Friends do not exist. The Fulcrum is not a school. Grits are not children. Orogenes are not people. Weapons have no need of friends.” (The Fifth Season, 297) The way Damaya is maybe 14 years old and considers herself a weapon, non-human and non deserving of a regular childhood and friends shows how influential the racialization is. Going back to Heng’s definition of racialization we see how the Fulcrum is an institution that “constructs a hierarchy of peoples for differential treatment.” The Fulcrum is able to move people into specific categories due to their differences, Grits being treated as weapons who need to become useful for the Stills rather than the children that they are. On the other hand, through the Fulcrum Stills are put in positions of power.

 Emily, from my mini collaboration group, highly connected the Fulcrum to her school in NYC which was predominantly people of color. She explained how her school did not have much time for leisure or offered any help for higher education such as AP or IB classes, similar to the Fulcrum where the Grits’ only option is to learn. Grits are not given leisure and their choices and future are taken away from them. In her school in NYC you had one expectation which was to learn, there were no other choices or further opportunities except the set curriculum. Racialization exists in our real world just as it exists in N.K Jemisin’s creations. Why did Emily’s majority POC school not have further opportunities like AP classes or clubs, but predominantly white private schools have theater programs, AP classes and dual credit options? 

Another important parallel and aspect of racialization that really stood out to me was the slur used for Orogenes which is “rogga.” (The Fifth Season) This is a word that can be connected to a specific slur that is used against African Americans in today’s culture. Syenite is also one of our characters in the book, she is a powerful Orogene who is traveling with another Orogene called Alabaster. I really enjoyed the development of the relationship between Syenite and the term “rogga”  throughout the book as it relates to the reclamation of the slur in real life. Alabaster uses this word comfortably to describe himself and other Orogenes, however Syenite does not understand why he uses it so comfortably as she views it as a dirty word/ She views “rogga” as a word that is used by Stills to make the Orogenes less than human and to remind Orogenes what Stills think about them. At the beginning Syenite explains her view on the word. She states “It’s such an ugly word, harsh and guttural” and that “Alabaster uses it the way other people use Orogene.” (The Fifth Season, 120) However, after she witnesses the node maintainers, orogenic children who are kept in a catatonic, painful state in order to serve the Stills and calm minor seismic activity, she begins to understand why Alabaster uses the word as he does. “‘Sometimes a rogga can’t learn control.’ Now she understands that his use of the slur is deliberate. A dehumanizing word for someone who has been made into a thing.” (The Fifth Season, 140) This shows how Syenite begins to understand Alabaster’s reclamation of this horrible slur as it reminds him and Syenite of the evils of the Fulcrum. The existence of the slur shows how racialization exists within the book. The use of the term “rogga” is to dehumanize and place Orogenes in a subordinate position, keep them powerless and put the Stills in a place of upper class. Heng’s definition of racialization describes exactly this, as the word is meant to encourage differences and sort people into those with and without power. N.K Jemisin shows the power that the slur used in today’s world has through the parallel of the slur in her science fiction novel. Alabaster’s reclamation of the word relates to real life as African Americans reclaim the slur and use it in powerful music, language and other cultural aspects. 

I believe N.K Jemisin’s writing is extremely influential and addresses many real life problems that involve racialization, racism and systemic inequality in her fiction writing. Geraldine Heng’s definition of racialization is clearly shown through the way Jemisin describes racial injustices throughout the novel. She allows readers to create connections on racial inequality between her novels and real life, which gives readers a new understanding of issues we see today. Not only does she educate readers on social injustices but also geographical sciences. Her reading is interesting yet educational. I believe that she is extremely passionate and her storytelling is incredible. I am interested to see what happens in the next novels and how these racialization parallels strengthen. 

As we move forward, we are beginning to find out that race is just as subjective as it is real. When Irish immigrants began to come over to the United States in mass during their ‘famines’ suffered at the hands of the British, they were not considered of the pure race of upstanding American whites. When Adolf Hitler was putting together his propaganda machine about an Aryan race, Werner Goldberg, a man of half Jewish ancestry, appeared on the front page of a Berlin newspaper as, “The Ideal German Soldier” (kansaspress.ku.edu). These kinds of contradictions highlight the trend of humans constantly trying to attribute more to race than is logical, or for that matter even remotely reasonable. Sentiments on race often fly around back and forth without any regard to reality or human decency. This shows to me that the idea of race is a powerful tool in drawing out the deepest emotions from people.

This is not to say that there is no actual substance to race. Once in the Fulcrum, orogenes in N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season are subject to a life of uniformity and isolation, creating the conditions for a race of Fulcrum orogenes. Under the oppression of the guardians, they are made to repress aspects of their individuality and expressions of free will, moving them closer in sync with what we consider race.

When we follow the lives of orogenes Essun and Alabaster, we see them struggle to escape the painful chains of race that have been placed upon them. Some stills control them with selectively bred, technologically enhanced guardians, whom are able to negate the orogenes natural ability to harness the power of the Earth and all living things. This is not enough though, as they are often held down with painful stereotypes, demeaning their humanity. Fulcrum orogenes often try to escape this feeling by identifying themselves with what the guardians have trapped them into. Alabaster sees through this though, and realizes the way the world really perceives them. He often uses the violent slur ‘rogga’ to remind himself and Essun of this. When they visit a node maintainer who has snapped due to sexual abuse, the way orogenes are perceived by the world connects with the reality of how the guardians are using them. Alabaster’s showing Essun of this gruesome truth, and his description, prompt an epiphany from her. “But each of us is just another weapon, to them. Just a useful monster, just a bit of new blood to add to the breeding lines. Just another fucking rogga.” She has never heard so much hate put into one word before. But standing here, with the ultimate proof of the world’s hatred dead and cold and stinking between them, she can’t even flinch this time. Because. If the Fulcrum can do this, or the Guardians or the Yumenescene Leadership or the geomests or whoever came up with this nightmare, then there’s no point in dressing up what people like Syenite and Alabaster really are. Not people at all. Not orogenes. Politeness is an insult in the face of what she’s seen. Rogga: This is all they are.” The node maintainer is the ultimate slave to the Sanze Empire/Yumenescene Elite, the political structure that rules most all of Earth as our characters know it. They are made unable to move or express thought, but are not braindead. This node maintainer was the son of Alabaster, assigned to this station only because of his powerful ability to quell the violent action of the Earth. He has been betrayed by his ‘caretakers’ at the station, likely by people who would refer to orogenes as ‘roggas’, without a hint of irony.

            In this Broken Earth, our characters live with a misunderstanding of their history. Pieces are left out, which Binof finds out as a young girl, and other pieces are misinterpreted, which Essun finds out about with the story of Misalem, long after she is told it incorrectly. From the beginning of our story we see that the obelisks are forgotten artifacts to most people, yet they end up having the power to change the state of the entire Earth. If we take the story from the eyes of Binof/Tonkee, we see the importance of uncovering history. It provides a great opportunity to reveal wisdom that had accrued over thousands of years, only to be forgotten for thousands more. Tonkee dedicates her entire life to studying obelisks, the usefulness of this to playing her part in dismantling the status quo of the Broken Earth, which is one of systematic racism and oppression, is not yet to be seen. But it is clear that it is all coming together, as it has brought her to Essun and Hoa. Alabasters channeling of the obelisks power, and his passing this on to Essun, has already shown a profound impact. He has challenged the notion of stonelore being fact on his own journey, believing it to be altered. It seems to me that the more these characters are able to uncover truths of the past, the closer they will come to restoring a peaceful Earth.

            Sinead O’Connor sang in her song Famine about British oppression of Irish history. She sang, “And so we lost our history
And this is what I think is still hurting me

See we’re like a child that’s been battered
Has to drive itself out of it’s head because it’s frightened
Still feels all the painful feelings
But they lose contact with the memory

And this leads to massive self-destruction…

And if there ever is gonna be healing
There has to be remembering
And then grieving
So that there then can be forgiving
There has to be knowledge and understanding”

She is using the instance of British misinformation being taught to the Irish in regard to Black 47’, a mass starving of Irish people in 1847. She explains that when the Irish were taught about this tragedy, it was left out that Ireland was a key crop producer for Britain, and that they were forced to ship out their crops to the British mainland while people starved in mass on the island of Ireland. She also says that the British took this difficult time for Ireland as an opportunity for them to impress British ideal onto the Irish, phasing out the Irish language and other cultural values.

This example illustrates the power that can come from history. An incorrect understanding of it can allow an abuser to break their subject, and subjugate them to their rule. The people of the Broken Earth, whether it be stills or orogenes, are gaslit by a fake history that ignores the power of great devices that surround them, as well as the great powers within themselves. If the commsfolk had an understanding of the true history of their world, I have no doubt that they would live in respect of each other. They wouldn’t discriminate against orogenes, and they would know how to survive a season much more effectively. This can be equated to our world as well. With a clear understanding of our history, we would be much less likely to give substance to race. But when generations of people are told the British side of the story, and don’t realize that battered people are like that due to racialization, they may be inclined to repeat the pattern.

References

Jemisin, N. K. The Fifth Season. Orbit, 2015.

 “Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers.” Web.archive.org, 26 Aug. 2014, web.archive.org/web/20140826084054/www.kansaspress.ku.edu/righit.html. Accessed 24 Feb. 2024.

O’Connor, Sinead. Famine. John Reynolds, Tim Simenon, 13 Sept. 1994.

⁤In “The Fifth Season,” N.K. ⁤⁤Jemisin carefully integrates racial, scientific, and mythological elements to create a story that speaks about present-day concerns. ⁤⁤There are numerous powerful instances of structural and systemic injustices throughout the book. ⁤⁤”The Fifth Season” provides many instances that highlight systemic inequality.  “The Fifth Season” provides many instances that highlight systemic inequality. This type of inequality is created by a combination of rules, norms, and attitudes within institutions like workplaces, schools, and politics, leading to entrenched patterns of discrimination(Africa, 2021).  The manipulation of myth and science via characters within the book serves as a aid for racializing orogenes, individuals with the ability to manipulate geological forces. 

The myth surrounding orogeny in “The Fifth Season” serves as a foundation for the racialization of orogenes, especially in the context of the Fulcrum’s control over them. The quote by The Fifth Season, “This ability that gets more Orogene children killed than anything else”(Jemisin page 106). This relates to the impact that orogenes’ power has on the society, which can be very difficult for the people with no power who live there. This contains the brutal truth or reality that supports the story’s orogeny myth. Due to the Fulcrum’s control over the orogenes, they are racialized based on the myth.  The Fulcrum claims that they are trying to protect the people or the  society from the dangers of orogeny by presenting it as a heavenly benefit for the selected. Representing the orogeny as a “gift” from gods makes sure that the Fulcrum’s as the only “guardian” of orogene power and knowledge.  The myth of orogeny not only gives orogenes a false sense that they could be considered superior, but it also promotes a myth that an orogene’s value is based solely on their skill and powers they may have. The Fulcrum defends its authoritarian rule over orogenes as necessary for the better welfare of society by portraying orogeny as divinely prescribed. One of the main characters in the book, Damaya is was indoctrinated into the Fulcrum. After that happens she shortly learns the importance of controlling her orogeny and repressing her emotions in order to assist society. The novel uses the Fulcrum to maintain the myth of orogeny in order to support the oppression of orogenes. This myth is also promoting the unequal distribution of power in society. While readers dive into the book they can relate and compare the story’s evidence to oppression and racialization into the real world we live in.

In “The Fifth Season,” scientific explanation is falsely skewed to keep orogenes suppressed. The Fulcrum justifies the subjection of orogenes by reinforcing the idea that they are basically different from the general population by characterizing orogene powers as unnatural. In the book the ability to regulate geological forces, sometimes known as orogeny, is portrayed to be harmful and regulated by rigid limitations. The Fulcrum tries to uphold the idea that orogenes are fundamentally unstable due to their powers and need be closely watched at all times for the safety of society. This false narrative is used to defend orogenes’ exploitation and abuse, portraying their abilities as a threat rather than a natural part of existence. Orogenes are subjected to a variety of experiments and exploitation in the interest of scientific advancement. Often without the orogenes consent, the Fulcrum studies orogene skills in an attempt to better understand and apply their abilities to benefit the Fulcrums benefit. The use of orogenes as tools by powerful individuals and groups to achieve what they want goes beyond the Fulcrum. Science turns into an oppressive tool that enables the powerful to take advantage of orogenes’ skills for their own advantage.

Racialization is a major issue in the book since it looks at the exclusion and discrimination experienced by some groups such as the Orogenes due to their differences. The Orogenes are portrayed as an unique and face discrimination and violence since the society views their abilities as odd and dangerous. The slang used to define orogenes shows how racially discriminated they are. ““You’re a rogga,” Asael snaps, and then has the gall to look surprised at herself.”(Jemisin, page 216). The character speaking, Asael, calls Syenite “rogga” to belittle her.  The slang word “rogga” is a derogatory nick-name for orogenes.  It’s used, like a racial slur, to make fun of and treat those who have powers over others. Asael’s use of this word demonstrates prejudice and hatred against Syenite due to her orogene status. In respond to, Syenite says, “At least that’s out in the open.” (Jemisin, page 216). Syenite’s reaction shows how determined she is in the face of discrimination. Despite being offended, she responds sarcastically and maintains her composure. Her statement implies that, as an orogene, she is used to coping with such discrimination and prejudice.  Syenite acknowledges the hatred directed at her by her reaction, and she advises that it is best to confront such prejudices directly on rather than allowing them to go silent and keep happening. This exchange demonstrates how common discrimination and prejudice against orogenes are in the world of “The Fifth Season.” Syenite’s response reveals her strength and resilience in the face of such adversity.

In “The Fifth Season,” N.K. Jemisin shows myth, science, and racialization to create a narrative that realistically exposes real-world injustices. By examining racialization, diving into systemic inequalities and playing with myth and science, Jemisin effectively conveys the impact of discrimination on society. The mythos surrounding orogeny promotes the racialization of orogenes by spreading the idea that orogenes are naturally harmful by the Fulcrum. Also, incorrect scientific explanations reinforce the misleading narrative of orogene instability, leaving people vulnerable to manipulation by the powerful elite. The key theme, racialization which emphasises the hostility that orogenes face as a result of perceived inequities.  One example such as the interactions like the one between Syenite and Asael, the verbal mistreatment and hatred directed against orogenes indicate how common discrimination is in their society. despite this interaction, characters such as Syenite exhibit resilience and resolve in strongly opposing the prejudice. “The Fifth Season” provides an insightful remark on the complicated concerns of power, inequality, and resilience in society through its delicate analysis of these topics. By encouraging readers to think about and look at similar systems of oppression, Jemisin’s narrative develops compassion and understanding for underprivileged groups in the world we live in. 

Works Cited 

Africa, A. for. (2021, October 15). What are systemic inequalities? – alliances for Africa. AFA. https://alliancesforafrica.org/what-are-systemic-inequalities/

Jemisin, N. K. (2015a). The fifth season: The broken earth, book one. Orbit.