Bias/Racism Toward Orogenes

Fear and lack of knowledge spur the racism felt by orogenes. The orogenes are hated even though they provide valuable services to those around them. Orogenes have the ability to protect people and land from shakes and blows. In the one example given in the novel, Alabaster and Syen have been hired by a coastal village to clear their harbor of the coral that is keeping ships from entering easily. Despite their abilities, however, orogenes are hated, treated rudely, and often killed.

One of the first examples of hate against the orogenes is the murder of three-year-old Uche by his father Jija. Essun assumes something happened that caused Jija to realize that Uche was an orogene, prompting Jija to beat the baby to death. While Essun knows that it was Jija individually who killed their son but blames the death on the collective...