The Fifth Season

The Fifth Season

by

N. K. Jemisin

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Fifth Season makes teaching easy.

Kirkhusa Term Analysis

Kirkhusas are dog-like creatures that resemble large otters, usually kept as pets or guard animals throughout the Stillness. While they are generally herbivorous and friendly, during a Fifth Season they undergo a change that makes them carnivorous and sometimes violent towards humans.
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Kirkhusa Term Timeline in The Fifth Season

The timeline below shows where the term Kirkhusa appears in The Fifth Season. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 10: you walk beside the beast
Disaster, Violence, and Survival Theme Icon
...the woman freezes as she steps out the door. In front of her is a kirkhusa, a large dog-like creature that people keep as pets. Kirkhusas are usually friendly, easily-trainable, and... (full context)
Disaster, Violence, and Survival Theme Icon
Power and Control Theme Icon
This kirkhusa clearly used to be a pet, and it paces back and forth as if fighting... (full context)
Power and Control Theme Icon
...did do, but he refuses to explain. Meanwhile, his arm is still stuck inside the kirkhusa’s mouth and dripping with blood. Essun offers to help him get it free, but Hoa... (full context)
Chapter 13: you’re on the trail
Disaster, Violence, and Survival Theme Icon
...a geomest at the most prestigious university in the Stillness. The first afternoon after the kirkhusa attack, Tonkee leads Essun and Hoa to her home, which is a cave inside of... (full context)
Disaster, Violence, and Survival Theme Icon
Identity and Naming Theme Icon
...be human (although orogenes aren’t technically considered human either). When she asks him about the kirkhusa he refuses to explain, saying only that he wants Essun to still like him. As... (full context)