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Chapter 19
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
Rin finds Chaghan watching civilians hurry out of Khurdalain. He takes in Altan’s handprint on Rin’s face, and Rin spits that Altan isn’t human. Chaghan notes that Altan “was never allowed to be human”; he’s always been a military asset who was fed opium by his superiors and “trained like a dog for this war.” She asks Chaghan for help: she needs him to help her access the gods and get rid of the woman “blocking” her, so she can be like Altan. He agrees, so he pulls out a psychedelic powder and puts some on Rin’s tongue. Chaghan takes some too, and then he takes Rin’s face in his hands and presses their foreheads together. As Rin stares into his eyes, they rush into the sky. Chaghan remains solid and human, while Rin feels untethered. Now, she understands that Qara keeps her “anchor twin” anchored to the mortal world.
As frustrating as Chaghan is as a person, Rin also knows that he’s the only person who can help her due to both his close relationship to Altan and his integration with the spirit world. He begins to illuminate some of the abuse Altan experienced, including that he was forced to take opium. This reiterates the idea that drugs can be used to control others—Altan’s “superiors” used opium to control him and “train[] [him] like a dog.” Chaghan’s word choice, meanwhile, speaks to how few people see Altan and the Speerlies as fully human.
Themes
The Woman appears at the Pantheon’s gate, but now she looks like a burnt corpse. The Woman argues with Rin and Chaghan, insisting that she’s protecting Rin so the fire doesn’t “consume her” and so Rin can one day find salvation. She resents Chaghan’s insistence that she belongs in the Chuluu Korikh, and she warns Rin that calling the Phoenix will “bring hell down on earth.” Rin is enraged—she’s seen hell on earth already—especially when the Woman continues that Altan is “broken” beyond repair. Rin shrieks that she wants to be powerful so she can save everyone, but the Woman warns that Rin won’t get what she wants: Rin will defeat her enemies while also destroying everything and everyone she loves. Chaghan begins speaking in a guttural language and causes the Woman to burst into flame.
This passage will take on heartbreaking significance later. It highlights Rin’s youth and naivety: she cares less about long-term consequences (like the question of her salvation) and more about what’s happening in the here and now. She also insists that she’s already seen “hell [] on earth.” Given that the war has only just begun, her claim seems potentially misguided. Rin also wants to save everyone, highlighting her connection to Jiang and his teachings. But the Woman suggests Rin can’t have it both ways: the only way to save anyone, she implies, is to leave the Phoenix alone.
Themes
Chaghan drags Rin on, but not to the Pantheon—to a Divinatory, where they can ask questions about the Woman. Rin is confused about their location and wants to know if it’s “real,” but Chaghan scoffs to stop being so literal—there is no spirit-real world binary. The room looks the way it does because that’s what Rin’s brain needs to see in order for this to make sense. Just then, a creature that Chaghan calls the Talwu steps forward. She has a woman’s head and a body with various animals’ body parts. The Talwu, Chaghan explains, can use the Hexagrams written on the altar to answer a question for Rin. It isn’t really telling the future, because the future depends on choices, but the Talwu can “read the currents.”
What the Talwu is capable of (or not) highlights the novel’s general insistence that destiny doesn’t really exist—what matters more, and influences how events play out, are people’s choices. This encourages readers to see Rin as fully in control of her actions, good and bad. Again, Rin exposes her youth and inexperience with her questions about the Divinatory to Chaghan. He essentially encourages her to stop getting so hung up on semantics and making everything fit neatly into her preconceived notions of the world. The world, he insists, is too messy for that to work.
Themes
Thinking of her lessons with Jiang, Rin asks, “What does the Phoenix want me to know?” The Talwu asks Rin to cast three coins six times. The Talwu will read the results, and Chaghan will interpret them. Rin tosses the coins. She and Chaghan grow increasingly concerned: there will be a trap of some sort, and a “ruler begins a campaign” and enjoys “decapitating enemies,” which “signifies evil.” When it’s over, Rin understands little of what just happened, but she doesn’t feel like the Talwu answered her question. Chaghan thanks the Talwu and drags Rin away; they come to back in Khurdalain.
As the narration follows Rin’s perspective, this passage is meant to be confusing for readers. It’s telling, though, that though Rin calls on Jiang’s lessons to construct her question, she still doesn’t get the answers she wants or expects. This could suggest that even Jiang’s methodology isn’t as useful in the real world as it could be, or it could simply highlight Rin’s inexperience—perhaps she just doesn’t understand the answer and thus doesn’t see its application to her life yet.
Themes
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Chaghan drags Rin into Altan’s office and says they need to leave Khurdalain: Rin’s Hexagram “spoke of a great victory, and great destruction.” Chaghan believes that Mugen has already attacked Golyn Niis. Altan leads Chaghan and Rin down to the basement, to the Federation prisoner. Altan pokes the man’s wounds to wake him up, and then asks what Mugen’s real target is. The prisoner scoffs, and Altan hits him until Rin asks him to stop—they don’t have time to hurt him too badly. Altan threatens the man with fire, threatening to burn him bit by bit if he doesn’t talk. The soldier finally shrieks that they never wanted Khurdalain—they just wanted to draw Nikan’s best units away from Golyn Niis. The Federation has been sending ships and units south to the other route to Golyn Niis. Altan kills the prisoner and tells Chaghan he was right. Rin can’t breathe.
Chaghan, with his years of experience that Rin doesn’t have, is able to quickly (and successfully) interpret Rin’s hexagram. What he reveals about the Hexagram helps Rin and readers understand how the Hexagrams (and that type of knowledge) work: they refer to wider-scale events and not necessarily to the individual person who asked the question. That is, Rin certainly has a part to play in all of this given her post in the Cike, but essentially, it’s not all about her. Altan’s cruelty is notable, as it once again shows how soldiers are taught to dehumanize their enemies to achieve their own aims.
Themes
