N. K. Jemisin's The Killing Moon

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“‘Dreamblood,’ the Superior said. ‘In the end it all comes down to that’” (Jemisin 235). The main plot of N. K. Jemisin’s novel The Killing Moon revolves around the subject of dreamblood, a dream-humor that that is collected by Gatherers during the final dream that a person has. Throughout the novel, Jemisin often relates dreamblood with power. The two highest forms of power in Guhaareh are the Hetawa and the Prince; the Hetawa is responsible for the dreamblood, both gathering it and utilizing it, while the Prince uses the dreamblood, which he initially gets by means of exploitation of the Hetawa, as a source of power. The Hetawa is supposed to be the model of purity for the Gujaaren citizens, but Jemisin proves to us throughout the novel that there is an ample amount of corruption within it.…show more content…
There are two types of power demonstrated by Jemisin in The Killing Moon. There is the power over others, and the power over oneself. In the realm of society, those who hold the power are mainly the Hetawa and the Prince, but the highcastes and the military also have some advantages because of their rank. The Hetawa is responsible for the collection of dreamblood, while the Prince and the high ranking members of society take advantage of their privilege and use dreamblood for their personal use. Then there are the lowcaste citizens of Gujaareh who do not have any privilege as far as receiving dreamblood unless they receive it from the Hetawa for their health, who I believe are the least corrupt of all, possibly because of their lack of power. When it comes to the Gatherers, the dreamblood gives them the power of control. There is a range where the Gatherer is in control; if one has too little dreamblood he loses control of their thoughts, and the same if one has too much dreamblood in their system. Overall, the access to dreamblood may come from power, but it results in

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