The Fifth Season

The Fifth Season

by

N. K. Jemisin

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

Runny-sack Term Analysis

A runny-sack is a bag containing necessities for surviving an emergency or the beginning of a Fifth Season. Most people in the Stillness keep a runny-sack hidden in their homes, so it’s ready to be grabbed at any moment.
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Runny-sack Term Timeline in The Fifth Season

The timeline below shows where the term Runny-sack appears in The Fifth Season. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3: you’re on your way
Disaster, Violence, and Survival Theme Icon
Power and Control Theme Icon
...resolves to leave town immediately; she makes herself eat something and then gets the family’s “runny-sack” from a cache beneath the floor. It contains extra clothes, some money, and a knife.... (full context)
Chapter 10: you walk beside the beast
Disaster, Violence, and Survival Theme Icon
...when they are awakened by the sounds of fighting and screaming. Essun immediately grabs her runny-sack and Hoa and turns to run, along with seemingly everyone else around them. After running... (full context)