49 pages • 1 hour read
N. K. JemisinThe World We Make
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Tendrils
Content Warning: This section references xenophobia and racism.
R’lyeh’s tendrils appear throughout the narrative. Described as white and living, they vary in shape and size as well as functionality, latching to the back of people’s necks to control them, attempting to attack the avatars directly, or sprouting up and infecting local wildlife. The tendrils are R’lyeh’s way of exercising power over any individual’s faculties and serve as a symbol of control; although R’lyeh calls them guidelines, Aislyn comes to think of them as leashes, suggesting a striking imbalance of power (as between a pet and its owner). Those whom R’lyeh manipulates can become aggressive and violent or void and apathetic as she sees fit. While these tendrils are derived from the tentacles of Lovecraftian horror, Jemisin makes them her own by imbuing them with connotations of white nationalism. Their color is symbolic, and their effects—transforming individuals into unthinking agents of hate—mirror those of cultish xenophobia and racism.
Proud Men
The Proud Men are a clear-cut reference to the Proud Boys, a far-right and exclusively male organization rooted in white nationalism; its followers position themselves as advocates of justice but promote violence. Jemisin uses the Proud Men to satirize and critique such real-world extremism. The Proud Men are avid supporters of Panfilo, and despite the chaos and violence they’re enacting, he never calls them out, paralleling former president Donald Trump’s failure to denounce the Proud Boys. Thus, the Proud Men not only symbolize the violence of white nationalism but also explore Xenophobia as a Political Tool—i.e., how corrupt politicians indulge extremist factions who show them support. The Proud Men show up on several occasions and always make threats or incite violence, suggesting they do not truly care about law and order but simply want to terrorize anyone who does not completely support their agenda. That they have been placed on trial for sedition shows the hollowness of their claims of patriotism.
Metaversal Tree
The metaversal tree is a motif that Jemisin uses to demonstrate the mechanisms of this universe. This tree appears to be made of white light and illustrates how each new universe branches from another, continuing into infinite new varieties of existence. Jemisin makes it clear that the expansion of the universe, which generates endless variety and variation, is to be celebrated rather than feared. The Ur’s fear of variety parallels the xenophobia that threatens New York City, and both threaten the city’s very existence.
Padmini is the first avatar to see the metaversal tree, which her borough reveals to her during her macrostepping travels. When Padmini discovers that New York City is potentially plummeting toward a kugelplex, she learns that a universe’s position depends on the stories and beliefs that surround it. Other characters also experience the metaversal tree; when being ejected from Atlantis they see the place’s inverse, a forest of metaversal trees that the Ur have annihilated. The existence of this place lends a new gravity to their situation, as Padmini realizes that the Ur have employed their destructive tactics repeatedly with no successful results.
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By N. K. Jemisin
