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Chapter 15
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Poppy War, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Dehumanization and the Horrors of War
Identity, Cultural Trauma, and Coming of Age
The Purpose of Education
Addiction, Drugs, and Control
History
Summary
Analysis
When Rin leaves the medical center to rest, she runs into Unegen and Baji. They discuss the high death toll and argue whether they should “strike back.” Just as they reach the Cike’s headquarters, Qara comes out of Altan’s office smelling of smoke. Everyone but Rin seems to know what’s going on, and Qara says Altan is “indisposed.” Over the next few days, the Federation continues to hit Khurdalain, first by collecting stray animals and setting them loose in a nearby town with lit kindling tied to their tails. The fire burns thousands of homes, and Khurdalain fills with refugees. The Warlords blame Altan for everything, and Altan throws himself into planning attacks that will sow mayhem in Federation camps, some of which Baji flatly refuses to carry out on the grounds that they’re “delusions.” Rin suspects that their activities are merely annoying rather than actually detrimental to the Federation.
The smoke in Altan’s office is disturbing, particularly given that Rin seems to be the only one in the dark about whatever’s happening. This adds more intrigue to Altan’s character and suggests he’s not as upstanding as Rin thinks he is. Similarly, Altan seems to be grasping at straws as he draws up “delusion[al]” plans, suggesting he really has no idea how to proceed. The Federation’s fighting methods are crass and cruel, but they’re effective. This continues to suggest that Sinegard Academy hasn’t done a great job of training successful commanders, in part because it focuses so much on pure military theory.
Themes
Rin is exhausted, because when she isn’t patrolling or on an operation, she’s training with Altan. She’s now skilled with a sword, but to Altan’s frustration, Rin can’t call the Phoenix. Rin knows that this is because she’s afraid: she remembers all of Jiang’s warnings, and every time Rin meditates, she sees the Speerly Woman warning her not to give in to “what it’s planned.” Though Rin argues that gods are just forces and don’t plan or want things, the Woman insists this god is greedy and always wants more.
On some level, Rin seems to understand that Jiang and the Speerly Woman were and are right to try to protect her. The “it” the Woman mentions here is presumably the Phoenix, but that’s somewhat unclear. Regardless, the Woman’s message is clear: Rin is trying to follow Altan down a path that people with more knowledge and experience insist is dangerous.
Themes
As the weeks pass, life in Khurdalain becomes grim. Civilians are hanged for spying, and civilians carry out their own vigilante justice. Altan barely sleeps. One night, Rin finds him asleep at his desk, smelling of smoke. She touches him, waking him up with a start—and with fear in his eyes. He admits he doesn’t know what he’s doing just as someone rings the gong, alerting everyone that someone is at the gates. Altan and Rin rush to the city’s wall, and Rin catches the eye of one of the approaching soldiers, Nezha. It’s the Dragon Warlord and the Seventh Division.
Altan is clearly struggling, which humanizes him to some degree. His former status as a star student hasn’t had that much bearing on his role as the commander of the Cike. Nezha’s reentry into the narrative—and into Rin’s life—suggests that Rin may now be able to address and make sense of things that happened in her past. Doing this will hopefully help her move forward.
Themes
