The Fifth Season

The Fifth Season

by

N. K. Jemisin

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Fifth Season makes teaching easy.
Safe is a drink made from a plant that reacts in response to any foreign substance. The drink is thus traditionally served at diplomatic meetings, as a formal way of signifying that neither party is trying to poison the other.
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Safe Term Timeline in The Fifth Season

The timeline below shows where the term Safe appears in The Fifth Season. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: Syenite, cut and polished
Hierarchy, Oppression, and Prejudice Theme Icon
Power and Control Theme Icon
A young woman named Syenite sits drinking safe at a meeting with her “assigned senior,” an older woman named Feldspar. Syenite has just... (full context)
Hierarchy, Oppression, and Prejudice Theme Icon
Freedom Theme Icon
Power and Control Theme Icon
...she gets up, Feldspar tells her that she herself has six children. Syen finishes her safe and leaves. (full context)
Chapter 10: you walk beside the beast
Hierarchy, Oppression, and Prejudice Theme Icon
Disaster, Violence, and Survival Theme Icon
History, Storytelling, and Knowledge Theme Icon
...something to test for contaminants in the water. It’s made from the same plant as safe, but it works better. Essun argues that safe catches everything, but the woman argues back,... (full context)