(Im)Possibilities

The elements of stratification, racism, and oppression at every level are vital parts of N.K. Jemisin’s trilogy, The Broken Earth. Throughout the novel, Jemisin works strategically to racialize characters and institutions, and this effort goes hand in hand with creating a parallel between her novel series and real life. An essential part of my Lithosphere Essay was the Fulcrum and how young Orogenes are raised to think about themselves. Most are taken from their birth homes immediately, and raised alongside other orogenes with Guardians leading them and ensuring they do no harm. They are taught to believe they’re dangerous, not human, terrible things and they are fully aware most people want them dead. Rather than knowing this is a flaw of the stills, they believe they are at fault for the way people hate them in the Stillness. While I still believe that is an essential part of the process of racialization in the novel, after reading the whole trilogy I realize that Syl Anagist has a lot to do with the way the world turned out at the end of the series.

The Fulcrum is in place to keep Orogenes oppressed, however, it was not the original institution. In fact, The Fulcrum came from an even bigger institution of oppression- Syl Anagist. In this civilization, rather than Orogenes, Tuners are the target of the systemic hatred we see in the first two books. They seem to face an even more harsh lifestyle than the one we read about before. One example is when Houwha, a tuner, goes on a field-trip outside of his usual living quarters with the rest of his tuner friends. Then they get a chance to see Kelenli’s home, in comparison to their own. “Nothing is hard and nothing is bare and I have never thought before that the chamber I live in is a prison cell, but now for the first time I do.” (Jemisin, 202.) Houwha has Kelenli to thank for his realization that he’s having in this chapter, for it is her resistance that is allowing her to share this information with the other tuners. Without this sneaky revolt that takes place during the Syl Anagist chapters, the Tuners might have never learned that information on their own- and that’s how Syl Anagist wanted it.

A parallel between present-Stillness and the past-Syl Anagist are the node maintainers and the briar patch. In The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate, a vital component of these novels are the node maintainers. Nodes are defined as “The network of Imperially maintained stations placed throughout the Stillness in order to reduce or quell seismic events. Due to the relative rarity of Fulcrum-trained orogenes, nodes are primarily clustered in the Equatorials.” (Jemisin, 410) This official definition, however, leaves out the living, prisoner orogene part of the nodes. In each node, there is a 4-10 ringer orogene who is only able to quell earthquakes, nothing else. This is slavery and a terrible practice, but what is shocking is that it didn’t start in the Stillness. 

It started before the Stillness, and before the Shattering (the event that resulted in the Stillness.) In Syl Anagist, we learn about the Niess, the original users of magic, and how they were conquered and treated by those of Syl Anagist. “So when Niess magic proved more efficient than Sylanagistine, even though the Niess did not use it as a weapon… This is what Kelenli told us.” (Jemisin, 210) Here, what Syl Anagist did to the Niess is hard even for Houwha to recount. The discriminatory behavior and oppression of this group of people resulted in the creation of tuners, which Houwha describes as “the carefully engineered and denatured remnants of the Niess, have sessapinae far more complex than those of ordinary people.” (Jemisin, 211) Sound familiar? Orogenes! Jemisin’s display of history repeating itself through this flashback strengthens the core of her trilogy, which is showing the parallels between the treatment of orogenes/tuners to the treatment of underrepresented communities in real life, specifically the black community. 

During Essun’s lifetime in The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate, orogenes at this point are one of the few things keeping stills alive. They quell shakes and minimize damage done to comms, yet when an orogene is found, most comm members want to kill them rather than send them to the Fulcrum where they can be trained for their benefit. This treatment of orogenes is normalized due to the fact that Tuners in Syl Anagist were considered not human. “This was what made them not the same kind of human as everyone else. Eventually: not as human as everyone else. Finally: not human at all.” (Jemisin, 210) This dehumanization of Tuners translates to the time represented in The Fifth Season, where Orogenes do not believe they are human, period. There is not a single thought in their brain that says maybe I am human, because of the years and years of oppression and forcing Orogenes to grow up in the Fulcrum. There is a parallel here to real life in regards to slavery in America before 1865. Slaves were treated inhumanely and suffered oppression, injustice, and torture at the systemic level and everything under it. This was normalized at the time, as white people claimed themselves to be “elite,” similarly to how the people of Syl Anagist claimed to be “elite” as opposed to the Niess. 

We can see similar after effects of these instances of slavery and injustice on both sides. In the case of the Broken Earth Trilogy, the end of the series does not bring equality and peace to the Stillness. Orogenes will have to fight to be seen as human, (if they don’t choose to annihilate all the stills with the absence of Guardians…) and there will always be stubborn, ignorant people to call them slurs and remind them of a time when it was okay to do so. Even to this day in 2024, minorities still experience racism, oppression, and injustice in their everyday life. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy really puts into perspective what it was and still is like for these groups of people who have been enslaved or exploited in the past.

       In the context of our course, racialization refers to the process of imbuing individuals or entities with racial characteristics by categorizing and marginalizing people based on race. Racialization highlights the role of shaping different power dynamics and perpetuating inequalities within a society, all of which can be connected to the real world as well as The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. In this Trilogy, a world full of racial and hierarchical/political tensions is depicted in many instances. Racialization is a very real concept that warrants careful attention and analysis in the context of this course and its teachings. My opinion from the start of this course up until now has not changed in all honesty, however for the purpose of this essay I will elaborate more as my Lithosphere essay was geared towards more factual ideologies in relation to contemporary events as opposed to how I personally feel about the topic. 

         When the concept of racialization was first presented in class I certainly could agree with the importance in “talking about it” for educational purposes and ensuring proper understanding of a topic that plays an influential role in the U.S. As a conservative thinker, dominantly based on my religious beliefs and the words of God in the bible, I believe that the emphasis on racialization not only undermines merit-based principles but also feeds resentment among people who believe themselves to be unfairly targeted. Excessive attention to racialization overly intensifies divisions in society as well as fostering a victim mentality among certain groups which is why minority groups often struggle so much to make societal gains. One example of this can be seen in the treatment of orogenes, who are marginalized and discriminated against due to their inherent abilities. Throughout the trilogy, orogenes are subjected to prejudice and fear from non-oregene society members, leading to their ostracization and mistreatment. This continuous formation perpetuates a victim mentality among orogenes, who struggle to make societal gains due to the barriers imposed upon them. Circulating back to the first book at the very beginning, there was a quote that really stood out and even in this essay still speaks to me, “This is what you must remember: the ending of one story is just the beginning of another. This has happened before, after all, People die. Old orders pass. New societies are born. When we say, ‘the world has ended’, it’s usually a lie, because the planet is just fine” (The Fifth Season, pg. 14). This goes to show how history always repeats itself, continuously, and as I mentioned in my Lithosphere essay, nothing changes unless something changes, unfortunately this is not the case and the barriers keep coming back because the society cannot seem to keep moving forward, instead the characters in the novel live in the past, common to how real-life society works. We take two steps forward and five steps back until changes are made that set the pace to perpetuate society forward enough to make a long-lasting difference.

In the real world, just as characters in the trilogy suffer due to racialization, real-world individuals face prejudice based on their race or ethnicity especially in regard to the workforce and employment. Treating people differently based on race is unjust; as a society we have made monumental gains so that all humans, both male, female, as well as any race have equal opportunity for employment. Recognizing the value of every individual regardless of their background and promoting empathy towards all is crucial in dismantling oppressive systems and fostering a more equitable society. The bible says, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free” (Galatians 3:26-28). This verse emphasizes the unity in all believers regardless of their social or cultural distinctions, which particularly speaks well to me. Suggesting that excessive focus on difference can lead to division rather than unity. 

Unfortunately, where efforts have been made to equalize opportunities for individuals of all races, a paradoxical situation has emerged where being white can now pose challenges in securing employment. While the intention behind implementing diversity quotas is to address historical inequalities and promote inclusivity, the unintended consequence is that hiring decisions are increasingly influenced by race rather than the quality of work. From firsthand experience, aiding my own friends and family in joining the workforce, as well as learning a wealth of information from my mother who migrated to the United States from Honduras and her perspective on the way things work in the world,  it has been made abundantly clear the shift towards prioritizing diversity quotas over meritocracy in the workplace. This approach undermines the principle of fairness and equal opportunity, as individuals should be evaluated based on their qualifications and capabilities rather than their racial background. Although, of course acknowledging the importance of fostering diversity and inclusivity is imperative, ensuring that those efforts do not come at the expense of merit-based hiring practices is also essential for maintaining a competitive and productive workforce and society as a whole. 

In N.K. Jemisin’s the Broken Earth Trilogy, a sanctuary named Found Moon, run by Schaffa formerly Essun’s Guardian, I believe serves as a good parallel for the current border control issue in the United States. Found Moon shelters young orogenes and prioritizes protection and control over its boundaries in order to ensure safety. The community’s strict control over its boundaries mirrors the emphasis on border security in addressing contemporary immigration concerns as well as highlighting the issues concerning balancing security with humanitarian concerns. The oregenes are a racialized group and feared because of their unwarranted powers, the people in the Stillness do not entirely understand the positive function they serve only the negative side of things. That being said the orgenes do create a lot of turmoil for the stillness as well as do unfortunately cause substantial amounts of deaths. Like the border control issue in the United States, the two sides to this draw parallels to the oregenes. A considerable number of immigrants entering the United States may include individuals with criminal intentions, while others seek sanctuary from various hardships. However, this diversity of intentions can understandably lead to some apprehension among some U.S. citizens in particular, as unfamiliarity with diverse cultures and customs can evoke feelings of uncertainty and concern, such as those members of society who were afraid of the oregenes. Granted the fear of the oregenes was warranted by the potential dangers and destruction they can cause, such as the possible dangers undocumented immigrants and immigrants in general can pose. In contemporary society an example of this which was widely spread on the news was the murder of Laken Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University in Athens, Georgia who was murdered by a migrant who “allegedly beat her so brutally with an unidentified object that he disfigured her skull” (nypost.com).

However, even more applicable is when the wall was being built at the edge of the Rio Grande. This was the United States way of protecting the country and controlling who was entering and leaving which is similar to Found Moon. A closer comparison can be drawn between Found Moon and the construction of the wall along Rio Grande; as a sanctuary run by Schaffa, prioritizes the protection and control of its boundaries to ensure safety for its inhabitants, particularly orogenes. Similarly, the construction of the border wall along the Rio Grande represents the United States’ attempt to safeguard its borders and regulate the flow of people entering and leaving the country. Both Found Moon and the border wall reflect efforts to assert control and security within their respective territories, within of course different contexts.

         Throughout the course, I have explored the concept of racialization and its manifestations in both functional narratives and real-world contexts. My opinions on racialization have remained unchanged since the beginning of the course. However, the course has sparked a heightened curiosity in me regarding racialization, prompting me to dig deeper into the subject and conduct further research independently. It is essential for others to also engage in independent research on racialization, exploring perspectives from both sides of the argument to foster a deeper understanding and informed discussions/interpretations.

         The themes of racialization, discrimination, and societal divisions permeate the entirety of N.K. Jemisin’s the Broken Earth Trilogy. Throughout the trilogy, the treatment of orogenes serves as a plausible example of how racialization leads to marginalization and discrimination. Much like Essun’s journey of self-discovery and growth throughout the trilogy, my engagement in the class has led to a deepening understanding of complex societal issues as well as fostering a greater appreciation for diverse perspectives. Essun, from an early age was forced to conceal her orogenic abilities out of fear and necessity by her own family, she lived a life of secrecy and isolation. Throughout the trilogy she had to navigate the complexities of her world, assuming various different names and identities, each reflecting a new “chapter” in her life. Essun also embodies the goal of many oppressed individuals in real-life by transcending the confines of society’s expectations and emerging as a force to be reckoned with when she becomes a stone eater, which shows her true strength and resilience of those who have endured and persevered against all odds.

Orogenes, due to their innate abilities, face isolation and mistreatment from non-orogene society members, mirroring real-world dynamics of oppression and prejudice experienced by marginalized groups, as seen various times in the novel. This portrayal underscores the broader themes discussed in the claims, illustrating how excessive attention to racial categorization intensifies societal divisions and perpetuates a victim mentality among marginalized communities. Overall, my experience in this course has allowed me to dive deeper into the real circumstances of the current world we live in by reading the trilogy. The connections I made helped formulate innovative ideas and perspectives that have had a positive impact on my academic and personal wealth of knowledge. I feel as though I was able to hone my analytical skills by applying abstract themes from the trilogy for instance to real-life contexts, while sharpening my ability to recognize and interpret metaphors and parallels that are being drawn. All of these factors helped me to create writing with more “flow”, complete thoughts, and statements that can be backed up. Class was geared in a direction that aided all of these aspects and I appreciate all that I learned this semester all the more for it as it will help me in the future.

Citations:

Archive, View Author, et al. Migrant Charged with Laken Riley Murder Disfigured Her Skull: Affidavit. 27 Feb. 2024, nypost.com/2024/02/27/us-news/migrant-charged-with-laken-riley-murder-disfigured-her-skull-affidavit/.

Jemisin, N K. Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season, the Obelisk Gate, the Stone Sky. New York, Orbit, 2018.

King James Version. The Holy Bible. BookRix, 9 Jan. 2019.

At the beginning of this semester, I was tasked with exploring race and oppression as it pertains to the work of N.K. Jemisin. In my initial exploration (Lithosphere Essay), I asserted that Jemisin’s novel, The Fifth Season, serves as a powerful tool for exploring and understanding structural inequalities in society. By weaving themes of oppression, power, and racial hierarchy into her narrative, Jemisin prompts readers to confront uncomfortable truths about discrimination and injustice. The essay argues that while the novel is fictional, its parallels to real-world events and experiences make it a valuable lens through which to examine systemic inequalities. I also suggested that Jemisin strategically utilizes her platform as a writer to provoke critical reflection and awareness of societal issues among readers, particularly those in positions of power. As opposed to immediately unpacking my own thoughts, it was first important to lay the foundation on which any following argument could be made. It was impossible to discuss my own experiences without proving that The Broken Earth trilogy is an appropriate vehicle for such examination. Ultimately, the purpose of my “Lithosphere Essay” was to highlight the potential of literature in challenging and addressing structural inequalities so as to now analyze my thoughts that have emerged.

Originally aimed at proving the validity of its basis—that being the Broken Earth trilogy—The “Lithosphere Essay” serves as a precursor to this thought-analysis/work. Months ago, we studied legal terminology for the purpose of understanding, generally and concretely, the circumstances under which one may operate in “good faith.” In that discussion, good faith was said to require a “belief or purpose, faithful performance of duties, observance of fair dealing standards, or an absence of fraudulent intent” (Cornell Law, 2023). In essence, one who operates in good faith truly and wholeheartedly believes that their thoughts/actions are noble and good. This concept stuck with me throughout the semester, and I imagine that it will continue to follow me beyond SUNY Geneseo. I have personally implemented this thinking into my own life, evaluating my actions, thoughts, and emotions. I have concretely achieved the most rudimentary outcome of this course. It is time, however, to move beyond my own interests and understand how this concept applies to broader sociological contexts. This essay will discuss good/bad faith decision-making such that the reasoning and impact of my own personal beliefs and actions are examined, broadly, in the contexts of race, oppression, and power.

When the question was posed, I didn’t quite grasp its complexities. What is good faith? The answer seemed simple and conclusive. Law journals, educational institutions, and even blogs each have similarly fixed definitions. Based on these sources, the class settled on a good amalgamation. From this, another question arose: in Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy, what are some good/bad faith examples? There were obvious depictions of bad faith in The Fifth Season; within the first chapter, the audience learns that Jija has murdered his son for being an orogene—a powerful, minority race in the Broken Earth Trilogy. In agreement, we nodded our heads. But was he really making a bad faith decision? The definition that we had so meticulously created didn’t include a list of “right” and “wrong;” good faith action only required one to believe that their intentions were just. Jija truly believed that orogenes were too powerful, creating destruction and chaos. The outcome was undoubtedly appalling, but the act, according to Cornell Law, was in good faith. I became infatuated with this discussion, searching for other misleading examples in Jemisin’s work(s). I would eventually come to find that the Broken Earth trilogy has more examples of this phenomenon than non-examples.

N.K. Jemisin works diligently to fabricate a world in which race, power, and oppression are poignant topics. Although the addition of orogenic powers make for a fantastical story, the Broken Earth trilogy does well to mimic real-life issues. She also portrays several instances in which characters may or may not have been acting in good faith. Exploration of these are pertinent in understanding how the concepts of race, power, and oppression are carried out in either good or bad faith. One of the most interesting paradigms that Jemisin creates occurs in her second novel, The Obelisk Gate, however, the results of this event are not revealed until The Stone Sky. Essun, the main character, possesses orogenic powers, meaning that she can manipulate, understand, and feel the earth around her. She is now living in a community (Castrima), located inside of a geode, that accepts people like herself—orogenes. Armed with their own division of orogenes, the Renannis military attacks Castrima. Essun realizes that they are in “serious danger of being murdered” (Jemisin 2017). Orogeny on her side, Essun takes a stand, deciding, perhaps nobly, to protect Castrima. She accesses an additional source of power, an obelisk, allowing Essun to “ensnare the attackers” within the crystals of Castrima’s geode (Jemisin 2017). Now, The Stone Sky opens on Castrima’s residents travelling away from their uninhabitable geode. Essun has “saved the community of Castrima at the cost of Castrima itself” (Jemisin 2017). At the time of our good/bad faith discussion, we hadn’t yet reached this portion of the trilogy. However, as I approached this reading on my own, the discussion reemerged. Had Essun acted righteously? Sure, the blood of her community members aren’t on her hands, but now they are alive and displaced. Is this a faith worse than death? For the orogenes living within the walls of Castrima, perhaps this is still a death sentence; they are no longer a protected community member and must find new acceptance. Just as Jemisin portrays it, throughout US history, it is reckless “good faith” decision-making that has displaced and killed so many.

Post WWII, the US government searched for ways to strengthen political, social, and economic growth. Legislators first looked to major cities, deciding to rectify urban issues. These issues of course, included clearing out inner-city families, primarily those of color. In order to stop the “disease” of economic stagnation, urban centers were allowed to abolish “slums” or “ghettos.” Local municipalities would apply for federal grants that funded the acquisition of property from poor families and the land’s redevelopment. Exercising imminent domain, families were now displaced from their homes, just as those in Castrima. Although they may not have seen such sums of money, redlining and other institutional practices disallowed relocation.

This class’ exploration of good faith, through literature and history, reveals an interconnectedness that is significant in shaping human experiences. At its core, the question of what constitutes good faith serves as a lens through which we examine morality. From the fixed definitions found in law journals to the nuanced portrayals in fiction like N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy, we engage with the ambiguity of intentions and outcomes. The narrative of Essun’s choices in defending Castrima mirrors the real-world consequences of well-intentioned actions, prompting us to confront institutionalized injustices. Through the lens of post-WWII America, we witness how the pursuit of progress can often come at the expense of marginalized communities, echoing the themes of power, race, and oppression woven into Jemisin’s storytelling. I will certainly continue to examine and criticize my own thinking while bearing in mind the core of this class and Jemisin’s work.

By: Stella Kahnis

When returning to my previous essay written on The Broken Earth trilogy, I focused my writing on a claim surrounding the concept of societal power and the origin of its influence. I was considering how N.K. Jemisin uses the process of racialization in The Fifth Season in order to create a fictional society with an immense power imbalance. I concluded my previous essay on the Fifth Season by quoting 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 made this statement in order to rationalize the observation that orogenes continue to participate in a society that discriminates against them, despite their extreme advantage in power. I recognized that without the power of orogenes, society would be too fragile to continue to thrive. This realization may have caused the Fulcrum to need power over the orogenes, but I still did not understand why the orogenes succumb to this discriminatory system when they have the power in this situation. After reading the entirety of this trilogy, I believe I have more clarity on where my original claim came from and how it differs from my thinking now. It is easy to make a claim that people condemn themselves to systems of power, but not as easy to understand why or if that is necessarily true. In this essay, I aim to discuss the unanswered questions that sparked my original claims. I will revisit and reevaluate my past claims and develop my thesis in order to understand why and how society in the stillness is able to keep control of orogenes.

Jemisin builds a detailed fictional world throughout the Broken Earth trilogy full of supernatural abilities, extreme natural disasters, and a prejudiced and discriminatory society. In the first book of the series, The Fifth Season, we meet a woman named Essun. A main character throughout the trilogy, Essun quickly becomes a prime example of an orogene who willingly lives in a society that discriminates against her. When contemplating why orogenes were staying in this society, I looked to Essun in order to understand why she followed the Fulcrum’s orders as a young woman, and later on lived in the town of Tirimo with her family. By the end of the Fifth Season, it is revealed that the three perspectives in the book, Damaya, Syenite, and Essun, are all the same person at different stages of her life. Syenite is a rebellious young woman who lives in the Fulcrum and is sent on a mission with a highly esteemed orogene, Alabaster. On top of their assignment, they are tasked with having a child. By the end of their journey, they have threatened the Fulcrum by discovering an immense power source. As the Fulcrum aims to find and control them, they hide with their child in Meov. In my first essay, it was difficult to understand why Essun might choose to live in Tirimo among the people who treat orogenes with judgment and cruelty, but after piecing together Damaya and Syenite’s stories as the entirety of Essun’s past, it is easier to understand where her priorities lie as Syenite, and how that coincides with how she lives her life as Essun. Syenite and Alabaster are attacked by Guardians, another supernatural race tasked with controlling orogenes. Alabaster is killed in this fight, and Syenite is left to defend herself and their child, Corundum. When she is cornered, she panics as she contemplates the plight of not having the power to protect him while also refusing to accept the fate that the guardians would put upon him. “Everyone she loves is dead. Everyone except Coru. And if they take him— sometimes, even we…crack. Better that a child never have lived at all than live as a slave. Better that he die” (pg. 441). Syenite makes the heartbreaking decision that the death of her baby is better than the torture and control he would be under if she had let him go. 

Knowing that this traumatic experience is a part of Essun’s past makes it easier to rationalize the fact that Syenite’s rebellion seems to directly conflict with Essun’s original desire to stay put and raise her children. Syenite was known throughout her story to rebel against the Fulcrum and its rules. In the Fifth Season, Essun is found by someone she knew as Damaya, and explains to them how she escaped the Fulcrum, “I died. That was the only way to hide from the Fulcrum. I died to get away from them, and yet I didn’t shake you.” (pg. 392). This quote shows how trapped orogenes are in this system. The only way that Essun could have children and live a life without discrimination was by faking her death and living under a new name. Syenite’s behavior translates to Essun’s life as we realize that Essun is in fact defying the Fulcrum by living in Tirimo under the alias of Essun. Further, we see that Essun’s rebellious attitude is still present in The Fifth Season, as she escapes Tirimo after her son, Uche, is killed and her daughter, Nassun, is taken. “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” (59). This quote not only proves that orogenes have the ability to leave this prejudiced society, but it is also a direct parallel to the death of Corundum which was a consequence of her rebellion and of Corundum’s power. The relation between her rebellious behavior and her compliance with the Fulcrum supports the realization that there is a reason why orogenes stay in this society when they have the power to leave. Living in the society that once controlled and hated her is the only way for her and her children to survive and live a comfortable life. 

Essun not only represents an orogene that complies with the Fulcrum, but she also shows us the consequence of living free from this society. When asking the question, why are orogenes continuing to live in this society? It is important to theorize as to what might happen if they were to leave. After Essun leaves Tirimo, we see these consequences- no safety, no technology, no food, and no community. Their standard of living is horrible and they constantly live on the verge of survival. Although Essun had the power to escape, she is still discriminated against in multiple encounters along her journey. We then begin to realize that without this system of power, orogenes may be free from this societal structure, but the preconceived judgements against orogenes remain for the most part. Even when Essun finds a comm that is run by orogenes, Castrima, she finds that people would rather leave the safety of a comm and risk death than coexist peacefully with orogenes. The consequences of leaving Tirimo are greatly amplified at the end of the trilogy, when she is finally reunited with her daughter, Nassun. Once Essun finally reunites with Nassun in The Stone Sky, she realizes that the trauma Nassum has gone through in her upbringing and her travels outside of Tirimo have not only completely damaged their relationship, but have irreversibly damaged Nassun. “So Nassun turns her back on you again and says, ‘Don’t follow me anymore, Mama” (pg. 376). 

These are the consequences that Essun looked to avoid by staying hidden in this society and not attempting to overthrow this power. I can imagine that many orogenes also feared the violence and damage that would be caused by setting off this societal structure. This can be related to our society because many people who have the power to make change may be afraid of the damage that would be caused by refusing to live in an oppressive society. The Fulcrum may have known that because they had a disadvantage in power, they needed to create a codependent society where the orogenes gained something from their comms or society while society gained the benefits of orogenic power. The Fulcrum balances out orogenic power with societal power because they know that they rely on the help of orogenes, but decided the only way to gain the help of orogenes was to discriminate against them so they could not survive without the help of society. Although the stillness was controlled by an oppressive society, everyone had some measure of safety from seasons and quakes. Although orogenes were treated poorly, they still worked with the Fulcrum in order to ensure their own safety and the safety of the stillness. In the Syl Anagist chapters in The Stone Sky, we can see how Hoa and his friends were discriminated against and treated as inhuman as well. This codependent society is the reason Essun stays for so long. She wants to protect her children and she knows that the only way powerful orogenes will be safe is by following the Fulcrum’s orders or disguising their identities. What I failed to realize in my Lithosphere essay is that powerful people are not always condemned simply by society, but by the consequences of refusing to participate in that societal structure. I think this trilogy was meant to show what happens when an oppressive society gets to a point where the consequences of dismantling it are less detrimental than the consequences of staying. The Fifth Season works to reverse the false assumption that societal power is an inherently dominant force by enforcing the idea that systems of power create codependent societies through prejudice and discrimination, thus confining beings otherwise capable of leaving.

Citations

Stella Kahnis, Lithosphere Essay, Lithosphere Essay- Stella Kahnis – Google Docs

English 111, Mini-Collaboration 1, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ehBvrciNLrDhTUtEBtkfAYBJaV5CChKSa-p7PYXHUow/edit?usp=sharing

N.K Jemisin, The Fifth Season

N.K Jemisin, The Obelisk Gate

N.K Jemisin, The Stone Sky

Earlier this semester I was shown “The Fifth Season” by N.K. Jemisin, whom I have never heard of before. This is the first book of the “Broken Earth Trilogy” and in my opinion the most confusing of all. The more you go down the ladder of this trilogy the more it ties in with each other. These books slowly unravel real-world concepts, such as racism, discrimination, and catastrophic seismic events. “The Fifth Season” has a true definition to it “an extended winter—lasting at least six months, per Imperial designation—triggered by seismic activity or other large-scale environmental alteration” (Jemisin. 332) Similar to our harsh winters in New York, it feels as though our winters last six months, maybe not as much snow as there once was but the temperature has relevantly stayed cold. In the first book of the trilogy, we are evidently shown there is a hierarchy system diminishing certain groups’ freedom, “freedom means we get to control what we do now. No one else.” (Jemisin. 305). You are not technically free if a higher-up in power controls what you do and how you do it. I like to think Sir Little Baby has a great perspective on the real-world racism as he states, “It’s bigger than black and white, it’s a problem with the whole way of life, it can’t change overnight, but we gotta start somewhere” (The Bigger Picture). This quote points out that the issues at hand are deeply ingrained in the entire way of life and the structures of society. It’s not something that can be easily fixed overnight, but it’s crucial to start somewhere.

This trilogy takes place on a supercontinent called the stillness and in the first lithosphere essay, I expanded my thoughts on past and present America. The marginalization that happened to Japanese Americans during the time of WWII and the present with Muslim Americans and the wars in the Middle East. The main point of my first essay was to show that race is a structural relationship between real-world views to views from the book, as highlighted by the course epigraph from Geraldine Heng. Race is not about how a person acts or speaks but it is rather about how society as a whole views them. In the Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin orogenes get coined “roggas” by the stills which is a discriminatory word. “No one will demote him for anything so trivial as perversion or abuse. Not if his victim is just another orogene.” (Jemisin. 57) This quote from “The Fifth Season” suggests that in the world of the “Broken Earth” trilogy, the mistreatment or abuse of orogenes by others, even in cases of corruption or abuse, is often overlooked or dismissed. It implies that the value and rights of orogenes are diminished, and they are not given the same protections or considerations as others. The quote highlights the systemic discrimination and dehumanization that orogenes face within the society portrayed in the trilogy. I also thought about the idea of needing thick skin to not be affected by these racists. Racism will always be prevalent no matter where you go no matter how you act, and no matter how you look.

As I delved deeper into the trilogy, my thinking somewhat shifted but overall remained similar. The powerful storytelling and thought-provoking themes in the “Broken Earth” trilogy have challenged my perspectives and expanded my understanding of these issues. I’ve gained a greater appreciation for the complexity of these topics and how they intersect with one another. I did not go into detail about seismic events in my “Lithosphere essay”. I was majorly focused on the racial discrimination that was prevalent throughout the entire trilogy. Now that I had some time to think and indulge deeper in the trilogy, I find more real-life connections such as Hurricane Katrina. It has been nineteen years since Hurricane Katrina hit the city of New Orleans but yet the damages are still very prevalent today. From Sarah Gibbens from the National Geographic, the damage affected “tended to be low income and African American in disproportionate numbers”. Even former President Barrack Obama stated, “What started out as a natural disaster became a man-made disaster—a failure of government to look out for its own citizens.” I am not stating that natural disasters are discriminatory but rather it is the social construct of society that has failed these people of New Orleans, and America.

The trilogy has forced me to confront the ways in which these systems of oppression are deeply ingrained in our society and how they impact individuals at their very core. The core to me is the very end of all, the core is what puts everything into place. It has made me more aware of the subtle ways in which these systems operate and the profound effects they have on people’s lives. The sameness and difference in my thinking do matter. While there may be some continuity in my understanding, the evolution of my thinking signifies growth and a deeper engagement with the themes presented in the trilogy. It shows that I am actively learning and questioning the world around me. Whether it be a fictional world or the world we live in today, I currently see myself diving deeper in the bigger matter of it all. To support my claims and insights, I can provide specific examples from the text. For instance, the character of Essun in “The Fifth Season” undergoes a transformative journey that challenges societal norms and explores the complexities of identity and power. Her experiences shed light on how racialization and class distinctions shape her world. “I don’t want you to fix it,” Alabaster says. “It was collateral damage, but Yumenes got what it deserved. No, what I want you to do, my Damaya, my Syenite, my Essun, is make it worse.” (Jemisin. 324) Alabaster expresses a desire for Essun, whom he refers to as Damaya and Syenite as well, to amplify the situation and make it even more severe. This quote showcases Alabaster’s anger and frustration with the injustices of the world they inhabit. It also reflects his belief in the power of causing disruption and chaos as a means of bringing attention to and challenging the oppressive systems in place. Overall, my journey of understanding has been shaped by the powerful storytelling and thought-provoking themes of the “Broken Earth” trilogy. It has prompted me to critically examine the systems of oppression in our own world and strive for a more inclusive and equitable society.

Hurricane Katrina facts and information (nationalgeographic.com)

“The Bigger Picture” by Lil Baby

Sean Anglim 

When looking back through the course epigraph along with the work I completed throughout this course, it is clear to me that my thinkING has totally been reformed. As I first became involved with the English 111 curriculum, I was honestly not prepared for the various ways my mind and ideals would be reshaped; this caused me to discover a more complex understanding through our course work. When first diving into N.K Jemisin’s work, I will admit that at many times I was struggling through the means of confusion and understanding; it was difficult at first for me to interpret and soak in so much. As we ran through the beautiful and complex Broken Earth Trilogy, all the elements and ideologies used by Jemisin profoundly embellished the themes she focused on within this collection of novels, and it had such a monumental impact on my thinking as I reached the end. 

While examining my reflection throughout my Lithosphere Essay I wrote earlier this semester, I mainly touched on how Jemisin’s combines real world societal constructs such as racialization and oppression with science and myth to create such an impactful first novel. The way Jemisin combines all these themes gives the reader a unique perspective of the real world societal issues Jemisin portrays with this fictional world. In turn, this further develops and changes the reader’s views and ideologies of what racism and oppression look like within a society; this society Jemisin creates on paper basically masking ours(on a structural standpoint at least). She deeply ingrains racialization and inequality into the world of the Stillness through the use of “orogenes”, who are long discriminated against because of the seismic powers they are born with. Staying on the topic of my Lithosphere Essay, I kept on pointing back to the idea of the Fulcrum, a sort of jail or camp where these orogene peoples would be sent at an early age if their powers were discovered. I mainly focused on this idea of the Fulcrum because it was such a large reason that racialization and oppression were so deeply rooted within this society Jemisin creates for us. I referred back to what these orogenes would be forcibly taught and convinced by higher ups in the Fulcrum throughout their upbringing; how what they learned in the Fulcrum followed them for the rest of their lives. “Friends do not exist. The Fulcrum is not a school. Grits are not children. Orogenes are not people. Weapons have no need for friends (Jemisin, pg 297).” Being told this about you and your people is detrimental to a young mind. When you are convinced by society at such a young age that you are a “weapon” and a “tool” only, you have no choice but to believe it.  

When I put together my Lithosphere Essay, I was honestly a little confused with the overall plot and storyline of The Fifth Season. Jemisin left so many open ended questions and lingering mysteries that caused my mind to not fully interpret certain themes that would come to be essential later on as the course moved along. As I progressed through these three books, I no longer was in this state of subtle confusion; everything and every character Jemisin includes in this series has a reason. I was able to look back to the course epigraph, having a much clearer understanding of Jemisin’s use of theme. Her emphatic use of racialization throughout the next two novels gave me a new interpretation and viewpoint on the meaning and definition of this construct. I started to slow down my reading after I finished the Fifth Season, and this caused me to grasp and catch so much of what Jemisin underlyingly slips in throughout this series. While in reflection, I went back to the course epigraph and realized that I did not fully conceptualize what I believed racialization looked like while writing this earlier in the course. When looking back to how I was thinkING, the term “race” was something I believe I fully understood, which in result caused me to kind of overlook the course epigraph. The course epigraph states “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, in order to distribute positions and powers differentially to human groups”(Heng 27). The strategic and hierarchical concepts of racism were ideas I realize I couldn’t grasp on a wide scale before this trilogy, as I only had the viewpoint of being a majoritarian white male in society.Now, after reading the trilogy, I see how this term is much deeper and more complex than I once thought. From my perspective in our society, it is hard to grasp and interpret racialization as I have never experienced it. Putting myself in someone else’s shoes does not exemplify what this term truly means on a deeper level. With the perspectives Jemisin gives us throughout these books, I now have more of an understanding of what it is like to be racialized and oppressed; to be kept down by all of society in every way, to be hated and even killed simply because you’re being yourself. Hiding who you truly are so you aren’t hunted down and killed is real, and is something that I really could not grasp previously. I really found my thinkING adapting and evolving as we progressed through N.K Jemisins work. The more we delved into Jemisins work, the more developed my idea of racialization got. The course description states that this class is meant to provide us with a better understanding through “the ways in which systems of power lead to different outcomes for members of diverse groups “, and I would definitely say that has held true to my epistemology on this matter. Seeing racial inequality through alternative perspectives made me much better conceptualize discrimination as a whole, and the underlying themes N.K Jemisin focuses on; such excruciating and deeply ingrained inequality that many in our society have not experienced first hand(myself included), but is ever-so prevalent.

The more I traveled through Jemisins work, the more I was able to appreciate her use of various themes. Her use of racial constructs along with such meaningful dialogue between characters absolutely shot over my expectations before diving into this course. When we were introduced to the Broken Earth Trilogy, I was honestly confused through the means of how a science fiction trilogy could change the way I thought about and conceptualized real world ideologies and problems. This is like no other set of novels that I have ever read, as the combination of science, myth, and important real world issues are what reeled me in as I read. The dialogue between characters was just so impactful, and Jemisins work has such deeper meaning than what I expected before starting The Fifth Season. “…being useful to others is not the same thing as being equal”(The Stone Sky). The way Jemisin constructed the society of the Stillness to resonate so closely with ours just makes this so much more eye-opening, with 

. What resonated with me the most throughout these writings was the beautiful dialogue from character to character, and the relationships between certain characters. These relationships were so meaningful and relatable in our society, it honestly changed my view on relationships in my own life. Seeing Nassun and Jija’s relationship unfold is what impacted me monumentally; doing everything in your power to change who your own daughter really is would before seem unimaginable to me, but Jemisin really opened my eyes and made me think deeper. Nassun could have done anything, but the only thing that would make her father accept her was to change what really made her Nassun. Reflecting for the final time over our course epigraph, my understanding of societal systems of power has really been reevaluated from Jemisins work. Seeing the imbalance of power throughout the world Jemisin creates made me think about our systematic structure, and truly how neglectful it is towards so many marginalized groups. All my life I have had a broad view of what society is really like, as I come from a small town and now live on a close-knit college campus; it was always difficult for me to grasp  how the systematic structure of our society causes so many people to be scrutinized and see little to no opportunity for success. Jemisin has given me a clearer idea of how structural inequality can affect a person, and a whole group of people; and how devastatingly cruel the world can be. 

Now that this course is behind me, I have really gone through such a considerable amount of growth in so many areas from our past assignments. I have developed such a better understanding through a variety of concepts, and have seen my communication skills vastly improve from our group collaborations. I hate to say it, but I initially came into English 111 for credit purposes, but I am so grateful that I was able to participate in this course and improve my skills through this curriculum with my classmates. N.K Jemisins work has given me such a deeper understanding of complex themes and relationships, and I can say without a doubt that through this trilogy and coursework I have learned so much.

At the beginning of the course, we were instructed that everything we learn and do in class has a purpose. I never understood how this could be possible, but my learning development has allowed me to deepen my thinking and understanding of societal issues and racialization. Geraldine Heng defines race as follows; “…race is a structural relationship for the articulation and management of human differences, rather than a substantive content”. This definition and understanding of race have deep roots in the Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, the course, and our society.

The lithosphere essay investigated the trilogy’s first book, The Fifth Season. The lithosphere is the outer part of the Earth (National Geographic) which can relate to the surface level. At this point, our understanding of the connection between Heng’s definition and the trilogy was surface-level. I understood the definition and the connection it had to the book, but I didn’t go any further with how it connected to a bigger picture. Within my lithosphere essay, I addressed how orogenes were racialized due to their possession of powers to cause seismic events. Orogenes possess the powers but are seen as unworthy and dangerous which causes them to be discriminated against. Stills, who are people without these powers are superior in their society. A character named Uche was an orogene; “these people killed Uche. Their hate, their fear, their unprovoked violence. They. (He.) Killed your son. (Jija killed your son.)” (The Fifth Season, 58). His death was a causational effect of predetermined notions about orogenes that were crafted through racialization. This process of racialization has correlations with the process that occurs in our world. However, in ours, it is based on the color of one’s skin. Specifically, black people are victims of this process and continuously are pressured by society to feel less than other groups of people. Structural racism allows society to be structured strategically, where there are groups of superior people and groups that are inferior. Within the earlier part of the semester, I viewed racialization as only involving the color of one’s skin. My previous educational experiences taught me racialization and how this has structured society to separate people based on race. However, throughout the semester, this understanding has broadened and deepened. Heng’s definition of race identifies that human differences are managed but not substantive content. Race is based upon viewing the lithosphere of a person and not their core. In our society, race is determined by the color of one’s skin, but not the characteristics that an individual possesses. We see people on the outside but fail to acknowledge the characteristics on the inside. Going deeper into the class, we traveled deeper into the core and found connections between the trilogy and the racialization that occurs in our world. 

As previously stated, race is a way for society to structure the differences among humans and determine who is seen as powerful and powerless. To understand this further, we discussed as a class what it means to have excellence and be hated for it. The second book in the trilogy, The Stone Sky, described a fictitious world called “Syl Anagist”, a highly advanced and urban nation known to be dominant. Sylanagistines, members of this nation, built a plutonic engine that was known to be highly developed and powerful. This threatened others and led to people becoming jealous which grew into hatred. These feelings of hatred and jealousy caused the failure of this nation. The people of this nation possessed the craft and skill to produce something so powerful, and this threatened people. Individuals in a society may feel threatened because of jealousy and fear that the inferior will become the superior. This idea is connected to the hatred of Jews. Throughout history, there has been a consistent hatred of Jews. Jews are known to be successful and intelligent, which as seen in Syl Anagist, threatens people. This jealousy fuels the hatred people have towards a specific group of people. Race allows society to pinpoint certain characteristics of a group of humans and use that against them, for one group to be seen as superior to the other. In the trilogy, orogenes and sylanagistines have power and intelligence but are seen as less than the others. They are seen this way because racialization has structured society to pick out groups who are superior and inferior. This concept allowed me to think deeply about racialization and what goes into this process. It is not just about the color of one’s skin, it is about any characteristic that can be seen as different. Society uses this to construct groups of people based on certain characteristics. Furthermore, this can be seen in our society with certain professions. Jobs such as doctors and lawyers are seen as elite and ultimately considered more important than other jobs such as janitors and plumbers. The treatment of these different groups of individuals is consistent with the eliteness of the occupation. In the trilogy, the fulcrum is a place for orogenes to be trained in their powers. Ykka, an orogene is known as “feral” because she is not fulcrum-trained. Essun, another orogene is fulcrum-trained, which means she is seen as higher ranked than non-fulcrum-trained orogenes. Essun says to Ykka, “‘[w]hat, now you want to adopt…’ You shake your head, incredulous. ‘Violent bandit ferals?’”(The Stone Sky, 71). The language used by Essun clearly shows how society feels about ferals. Fulcrum-trained are seen as superior compared to non-fulcrum-trained. Essun is stating that she doesn’t trust ferals to do the needed job because they were not trained in a valued institution. This shows a difference in the treatment of people based on their training and profession. If you possess a profession that is seen as elite in society, you are treated as superior. This day in society, everyone is expected to attend college and receive a well-respected occupation. There is a different level of treatment based on your salary and occupation. This concept of our society connects to racialization on a deeper level, and this process goes beyond the color of one’s skin. Racialization infiltrates every sector of society from skin color to occupation. This deeper level of thinking allowed me to open my eyes to the many factors that go into racialization and how society can orient itself to idolize one group over the other.

The collaborative essay with my peers discussed how small events can lead to a catastrophe. This was connected to earthquakes and how small seismic events such as fault movements can create something big and impact many. This allowed me to go deeper with my understanding of racialization and the parallels between the trilogy and our society. The primary concept of how many small events can lead to bigger ones led me to connect to the layers of the earth. As you go down deeper into the core, you are passing through many layers. This can represent the levels of thinking I endured throughout the semester. At first, I viewed Heng’s definition as just that, structuring society based on skin color. However, this transformed into thinking about the many sectors in society and how racialization can influence more than skin color. Furthermore, once you reach the core, there is a great amount of intense heat and pressure (Core). Beginning of the semester, I never realized the impact of these small occurrences and how they can add up to an enormous amount of pressure on a group of people. The class discussions of the trilogy and other societal connections allowed me to view the world critically. This brought me to the conclusion that as a society, we are feeling the pressures of the small injustices that lead to racialization. Understanding the injustices that have been crafted and executed by society due to uncontrollable characteristics. Furthermore, I have reached the core of my understanding because I have learned that thinking deeply and carefully has allowed me to change my way of thinking. Before I entered this semester, everything I learned was very prominent and evident. My previous educational experiences taught me to think about what is right in front of me. My thinking strategies were very cut and dry and my thinking was done in a manner to get the job done and make a conclusion. However, this has changed heavily. Now, I think about the implications of everything and think about the connection to a larger meaning. I have broadened my understanding of society and the process of racialization. I have learned that racialization doesn’t always occur with skin color, but it also occurs in educational institutions and job occupations. 

Over the semester, I have grown as a student and as an individual. I have developed the skill of looking at multiple perspectives when learning. This has allowed me to dig deeper into the meaning behind this class, the trilogy, and societal issues. This difference in my thinking matters because it has allowed me to develop as a person and an intellectual. I have learned that taking on multiple perspectives when I am viewing an issue in our society has allowed me to realize how many moving parts play, like tectonic plates. These moving parts can represent small yet significant instances of injustices and how they can construct a society to have superior and inferior groups of people. This adaptive way of thinking has enabled me to slow down when thinking and consider the moving pieces of the topic. Overall, I have developed many skills throughout the semester that have transformed my thinking and way of learning.

At the beginning of my journey through N.K. Jemisin’s “The Broken Earth” trilogy, I discussed how the narrative manipulation of science fiction could be compared to the very real processes of racialization, gender-making, and class differentiation. After rereading my Lithosphere essay from the beginning of this semester I was reminded of how I felt at the end of reading the first novel. There was still so much left unsaid and still such a long way to go in the story, but I had finally started to see the direction in which the story was headed. In my initial analysis, I noted Jemisin’s depiction of societal hierarchies but specifically the stark division among different groups of people such as the orogenes, Guardians, and non-orogenes. I reflected on our course epigraph, quoted from Geraldine Heng, and emphasized how race is a construct imposed upon individuals rather than something that is inherent to someone’s being. I noted that the systematic discrimination faced by orogenes paralleled our real-world racial inequalities, and that this novel could serve as a reflection of our contemporary social issues. I was also intrigued by the multiple names and personalities of Essun and how they portrayed her transformation through various names and roles, but we don’t discover this until the end of the novel. This fluidity of names echoed Heng’s notion that race is only a “primary name” that is assigned to individuals based on societal constructs rather than intrinsic qualities. Through Essun, Damaya, and Syenite, I observed how societal expectations and stereotypes shaped each of their experiences and interactions depending on who they were with.

Now looking back after having finished the trilogy and reflecting on my Lithosphere essay, I can acknowledge that my thinking has shifted, although not that much. I think that Jemisin peeled back more layers that revealed a deeper explanation of the complexities in issues of race, gender, and class. For example, in the third novel when we discover the history of Syl Anagist it plays a crucial role in understanding the Stillness, and the power that Corepoint possesses. The history of Syl Anagist adds depth to making sense of why the Stillness society is the way it is. I think in my initial analysis I had a very surface level understanding of the oppression that occurred in the novel. I narrowed it down to just the oppressor vs the oppressed when there is a much more nuanced exploration of power dynamics and complicity that needs to be discussed. One significant shift in my thinking pertains to the portrayal of bad-faith manipulation. Previously, I focused solely on the clear exploitation of marginalized groups by those in power, but after finishing the trilogy I recognize now that there are subtler ways in which internalized oppression can contribute to systemic injustices.

Characters like Alabaster and Schaffa are examples of people who embody the complexities of moral ambiguity. They challenged my notion of a hero and a villain, and I never truly knew how to feel about them. For example, Schaffa was originally a mentor figure towards Essun when she still went by Damaya and helped her in troubling times, however it became apparent that Schaffa was untrustworthy when he found Essun and essentially forced her to kill her son Corundum. However, when Schaffa is nearly killed by the earth he comes out of his injuries to find Nassun and he helps her. By helping Nassun he shows that he is capable of loyalty. Alabaster, on the other hand, held many secrets, one of them being that he is the one that caused the Rifting. Alabaster is at least a little more trustworthy and leans more toward a “hero” status than Schaffa does due to his relationship and help with Essun.

Despite my original thoughts of the trilogy becoming more advanced my shift in perspective does not change the core principles of what the trilogy offered. The trilogy’s critique of systemic injustice and its call for empathy and solidarity still reigns true with me. This trilogy tugged at my heartstrings and at points made me question which decisions were right and which ones were wrong. It showcased how in-depth systemic issues are and why they are not so easily reversed. This trilogy also emphasized the importance of people in power having the ability to shape the world, or even people who aren’t necessarily in a powerful position but have power, like Nassun. While they may not be able to shape the world exactly the way they want it, they are most definitely able to make changes in it. For example, the world took so much from both Essun and Nassun, and while Nassun wants the world to end she knows that Essun’s last wish is for Nassun to “Open the Gate, pour the Rifting’s power through it, catch the moon. End the Seasons. Fix the world.” (pg. 387) Despite the struggle Nassun has gone through and the hatred she had for her mother at certain moments in the trilogy she chooses to follow her mother’s wishes.

My journey through N.K. Jemisin’s “The Broken Earth” trilogy has been a continual process of reflection and growth. One that has even changed my perspective on certain plot lines as well as left me conflicted in certain parts of the story. One question that I had from the very beginning of the series that was answered very well was why Jemisin starts the series with the line, “You are she. She is you. You are Essun. Remember?” The entirety of this series I was wondering why this story was being retold in that way. That the person, Essun in this case, could not recall any of the events and needed the story to be retold. I think it is a very full circle moment that at the end of the series we discover that Essun has become a stone eater and does not remember anything from her now past life, and this whole series is Hoa retelling it to her. I wonder now what this new Essun will think of the story. Will she find herself coming to the same realizations she had when she experienced the story firsthand, or will she have a different view of how things went now that she is hearing it from an outside perspective. While my thinking may have shifted a bit than what I originally thought, what stands true is the transformative power of storytelling as a constant source of inspiration.

In the early part of the semester, we were introduced to The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K Jemisin, who I have never heard of or read any previous works, so I was quite new to it as many others were as well. I was presented to me as a new reader of bad-faith manipulation of myth and science that Jemisin presents into racialization, gender, and use-caste. Jemisin connects these key ideas into her books to show how real-life issues can also be seen through mythical stories with scientific ideology. I discussed these key ideas in my Lithosphere essay I wrote after reading, The Fifth Season, I was just understanding Jemisin’s writing style when I originally wrote that essay based on only the first book. It was clearly presented that characters were mistreated or misjudged based on their group they identified as such as Orogenes, Guardians, Stone Eaters, and Geomests. Through these characterized groups, I was able to get an understanding of Jemisin’s main idea she was progressively presenting through the use of the groups that allowed real-life issues to peek through. It allowed me to connect better with the book, as I was able to relate real-life scenarios that were being presented throughout all of the trilogy.

In my Lithosphere essay, I had understood that characters had struggles and had faced events that were much like the real world. Events such as family problems, racial discrimination, and struggles that I read, which allowed me to understand that any book can present these situations through different genres. I read articles and conversations of what other people also thought from this first book, The Obelisks Gate, which very well gave me more to think about with the geographical phrases and the storyline. The dislike of earth science made me question if I would like this book, but I began to realize it was much more than just a scientific fiction it was placed under. Soon I realized it was much more than that, it made me think about different connections and have a deeper understanding of what Jemisins point was.

 Jemisin presented racial discrimination that certain groups faced such as the orogenes.Orogenes are individuals that had abilities to manipulate energy, particularly the earth’s energy from the ground that caused earthquakes and unintentional freezing of living things. Orogenes were treated very wrongly, as they were sent to these schools, called the Fulcrum, in which they were sent here due to their abilities and powers that many were afraid of. In the very first book, I got to learn about Damaya and Syens thoughts on the Fulcrum, along with the treatment they received there. Damaya was sent there as a young girl. In The Fifth Season Jemisin writes, “She almost killed a boy at school. We’ve got another child, and neighbors, and…” (Jemisin 32). When these powers arose they had been seen as cursed from their communities, as many would want her gone or killed even because Orogenes were seen as dangerous and as mentioned in the beginning cursed with such powers. The powers to freeze anything in sight and feel earth’s energies, this created fear for ordinary people as they couldn’t protect themselves. So due to this fear,many parents either beat their children to death or were able to sell them to child-buyers, or even send them to the Fulcrum. 

 Guardians would take them to the Fulcrum to be managed, which in my thoughts at this time, I thought connected the real world to how the government tries to control the civilians and their thoughts. Some might also agree to disagree but the Fulcrum is like many countries’ governments, and the people that were controlling it would be the Guardians, who many could say are like the leaders in this government. As the Orogenes are the civilians whose purpose was to follow the Fulcrums leadership, as it was a way of “protecting” the communities. This connects with many governments in different countries as some countries have an autocratic type of leadership which controls every aspect of individuals. Emeritus describes this type of leadership as, “Autocratic leadership, also known as authoritarian leadership, is a leadership style where leaders have absolute control and authority to make decisions and supervise their subordinates with minimum or no input from others” (Shinde). This is similar to the ideology the Fulcrum has, they wanted to restrict the Orogenes individual rights as they felt it was the righter good for society. The Fulcrum was led by Guardians, who are an ancient order of humans that had supernatural powers, with the main task of having to control and manage Orogenes. With the Guardians controlling every aspect of the orgeones life there, such as their day to day and powers. We see a variety of punishments that orogenes face when misbehaved, which consists of cold showers if not properly cleaned,or striking for not having clean beds, not dressing or grooming properly, uncombed hair, unbrushed teeth. In The Fifth Season it says, “You are representatives of us all, the instructors say if any grit dares to  protest this treatment. When you’re dirty, all Orogenes are dirty. When you’re lazy, we’re all lazy. We hurt you so you’ll do the rest of us no harm” (Jemisin 193). The Orogenes had to follow their rules because then they would face punishment, which is clear to me then that Orogens were the bottom of the use-caste. They were not seen as anything else but the bottom, this made it okay for the treatment they received. Realizing now that some governments that use this sort of systematic idea as well, connects with this message Jemisin presents through use-caste and discrimination of certain groups.

At this point in the semester, I think I still agree with my thoughts on Jemisin’s efforts to show discrimination of groups, along with this sort of use-caste system that she demonstrates throughout the next two books. I saw it a little more though other groups actions such as in the second book, The Obelisks Gate, Nassun is traveling with her father Jija. Nassun is the daughter of Essun who also has possessed the extraordinary orogenic abilities, as for Jija her father he’s a normal Still who has no powers but a very strong hatred of Orogenes as he killed his son due to this. In The Obelisk Gate, “When Nassun comes home that afternoon, Uche is already dead. Jija is standing over his cooling corpse in the den, breathing hard. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to beat a toddler to death…” (Jemisin 8). Seeing this strong hatred of a certain group connects with many outside societies in the world. This use-caste system “allows” it to be okay for Stills to feel this fear of them as a sense of power to hurt them, as well as other groups like Guardians who also have a hatred of them. In The Obelisk Gate, “That’s why they have to be drowned as babes” (Jemisin 47). Schaffa and Litz who are guardians both laugh and joke about this, representing the careless feelings they have towards another group such as Orogenes.

I also never fully understood the connection of Essun, Syen, and Damaya as great as I do now. In the beginning I was confused and lost most of the time. Now at the end of the semester I can really connect all three and understand the grief or pain they have gone through. These names that this one character has gained are the different stages she has gone through, demonstrating the parts of her life. This connects with society in the real world, we may not change our names to show the different parts of ourselves but everyone goes through different struggles and pain at different times which develops who we are in the end as we are always evolving and growing. Jemisin gives these characters these three names as it shows her growing and overcoming difficult times. Damaya was the child-like version of her who was sent to the Fulcrum, that went through discrimination and this use-caste system at the Fulcrum. Syenite was the name she chose as this after overcoming her first-ringer test and thinks of herself as a weapon that should be honored. Uniquely enough, this name has a scientific meaning behind it that Jemisin uses, Syenite is an intrusive igneous rock that has different characterization of it and is composed of different looks such as granite and quartz. A brief idea of Syenite gave me a new idea that Syenite is supposed to be characterized by different things as it connects to the Jemisisn point of this is her middle stage in life. Essun was the final name she chose, it was after Meov was attacked and she was forced to kill her son Corundum rather than let him be taken as a slave. After this she creates a new identity for herself as Essun, in which she moves to a different town Tiromo and has another family. These names demonstrate all the things they have gone through such as discrimination, use-caste systems and most importantly the struggles they faced. Each name demonstrates the next chapter in their life. In The Obelisk Gate, “After all, a person is herself, and others. Relationships chisel the final shape of one’s being. I am me, and you. Damaya was herself and the family that rejected her and the people of the Fulcrum who chiseled her to a fine point. Syenite was Alabaster and Innon and the people of poor lost Allia and Meov. Now you are Tirimo and the ash-strewn road’s walkers and your dead children… and also the living one who remains” (Jemisin 1). This quote describes in the best possible way of what each character’s chapter was at that point in time. They have seen and gone through terrible times but continue evolving through it, and I believe that is one of many important messages in this trilogy. 

As I went through my own journey of this trilogy, I also went through my own journey of this class as I was able to gain new knowledge and a different perspective on this genre of literature. It allowed me to be able to learn, gain, and use this new knowledge as a skill and be able to demonstrate it through collaborations or this essay. I was glad to have been able to take this class as I found it immensely interesting, as I would never have thought I could have enjoyed it as much as I did. I was also able to grow as a person just as these characters did, I learned new knowledge but also learned new skills such as collaborating and being able to voice my own thoughts on different small group discussions. I think I was able to get out of a “shell” I have always been in as I’ve always been scared of judgment for my thoughts. But in small groups it was never judgment, it was feedback and praise at times. In The Stone Sky, “‘Because that is how one survives eternity,’ I say, ‘or even a few years.Friends. Family. Moving forward with them. Moving Forward” (Jemisin 397)

Works Cited

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

Jemisin, N. K. The Obelisk Gate. Orbit, 2016.

Jemisin, N. K. The Stone Sky. Orbit, 2017.

Shinde, Siddhesh. “What is Autocratic Leadership? A Comprehensive Guide for You.” Emeritus, https://emeritus.org/blog/leadership-what-is-autocratic-leadership/. Accessed 2 May 2024.