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Chapter 4
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 leaves Jun’s class and sits down to cry. Now, she has no way to earn her place at Sinegard, as she needs Jun’s class to pass the Trials at the end of the year. She’s as good as expelled, and worst of all, Nezha was the one who tried to kill her. The class files out, and Kitay hangs back to help Rin up. He assures her that Jun will let her back in, but Rin knows this isn’t true: Nezha’s father is politically important, and she’s nothing. She insists passing the Keju meant nothing, but she says she won’t let them get rid of her. She’s shouting now, and Kitay asks if she’s okay—she’s sweating. Rin shrieks that she’s fine as her vision turns black and her stomach cramps. She shoves Kitay away.
Rin focuses on the injustice of her situation, seeing it as a result of her provincial roots and a reflection of the school’s desire to keep power among the upper classes. Rin, however, vows to get an education from Sinegard in any way she can. Her unpleasant physical symptoms at the end of this passage hint at something possibly frightening to come—possibly something that’s linked to Rin’s anger, given her vision changes.
Themes
That night, Rin wakes up in a puddle of blood. Afraid that something is seriously wrong, she hurries to the infirmary. There, an assistant explains the menstrual cycle and gives Rin a girdle and a heating pad. The cramps are so bad in the morning that Rin can’t attend class. She spends the day worrying that this is going to happen every month and wondering how Venka deals with it. Eventually, she asks Kureel, who tells her to track her cycle and assures her that she’ll get used to it. Rin asks how to stop it forever, and Arda, a Medicine apprentice, says there actually is a procedure the infirmary offers, which will destroy Rin’s womb. Rin doesn’t care that the procedure would render her unable to have children—it’s a way for her to stay at Sinegard. A few days later, she takes the physician’s medicine and spends four days in excruciating pain.
Here, readers learn that Rin wasn’t actually experiencing anything out of the ordinary earlier when she experienced cramps: she simply started her period. But this is a frightening event for her because she doesn’t understand that this is a normal process for her body. She takes control of her identity by then going through with the procedure to destroy her uterus. In her estimation, this will make her a more reliable soldier, in part because it makes her seem more androgynous or even masculine. Rejecting something she characterizes as wholly feminine shows her rejecting a part of her she believes is weak.
Themes
When Rin returns to class, she’s severely behind. But she doesn’t let this discourage her. Rather, she realizes that she has to fight to stay at Sinegard, and she remembers now that she can’t possibly return to Tikany. So, Rin begins studying every moment she isn’t in class, burning herself to stay awake. She’s miserable, but she’s okay with it because she chose to be miserable. A month later, Rin earns the top score on a test in Jima’s class. Jima praises her, and Rin discovers that she craves her masters’ praise. She realizes her need for praise is much like opium addiction, and she’ll do whatever it takes to get praise. Rin becomes a top student over the next few weeks.
Just as when Rin studied for the Keju, studying at Sinegard—and the success she then achieves as a result—becomes something of a drug for Rin. She craves the “high” she gets when her masters praise her, and even she recognizes that she’s addicted to the praise. This, however, also makes her vulnerable, the same as with opium addicts. That is, because Rin’s only goal is to receive praise, she may be less critical of what she’s learning—and thus, more susceptible to internalizing whatever her masters want her to learn, rather than interrogating the worth of that knowledge.
Themes
Rin comes to value the Strategy master, Irjah’s, praise above anyone else’s. Irjah often poses hypothetical military situations and asks them to come up with plans. Once, he proposes that the students are trapped in a valley which is mostly evacuated of civilians, but an untrustworthy Federation general is holding a school full of children hostage. Everyone seems stumped—and horrified when Rin suggests breaking a nearby dam and flooding the valley, killing everyone (even the children and Nikara troops). Rin explains her reasoning: this would take out a huge number of Federation forces and not as many Nikara, giving them advantages later in the war. Venka argues that this would lead to famine, dysentery, and years of problems. Irjah declares that nobody wins this exercise and asks Rin to come to his office.
To get praise, Rin seems to turn to increasingly outlandish—and frankly horrifying—responses to her masters’ questions. Her desire for praise seems to blind her to the major humanitarian atrocity she proposes committing here. And even if this is simply a school exercise, Rin’s willingness to suggest such a solution speaks to how she’s learning to prioritize military victories over anything else, from saving innocent human life to preserving her own humanity. Even Venka, who’s wealthy and sheltered, exhibits more care and compassion for the poor people Rin thoughtlessly condemns here.
Themes
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In his office, Irjah asks Rin to explain her reasoning behind her most recent essay response, in which Rin proposed responding to losing popular support for a war by burning down an island village. Rin explains that she was inspired by the Speerly Massacre, and Irjah asks if she genuinely believes that Nikan allowed the massacre on Speer to happen. She elaborates that the massacre spurred Hesperia to get involved, and the Speerlies are so dehumanized in Nikara imagination that they would’ve been easy to justify sacrificing. Irjah looks very uncomfortable, but he shifts the subject: Rin’s solutions in the essay and in class earlier work, but in practice, her solution would only spur a civil war. Irjah compliments Rin and suggests she’d do well to apprentice to him, but Rin explains that Jun kicked her out of class, so she probably won’t pass.
Irjah as much as confirms that Rin is right (and Nikan greenlit the Speerly Massacre) based on his obvious discomfort as she follows the logic. This suggests, first, that Rin’s increasing heartlessness is likely exactly what her tutors want her to learn to at least consider—they themselves have carried out heartless acts and had those acts lead to military success. But it also implies that there’s been a massive PR campaign to control the narrative surrounding the massacre, as civilians would be disturbed if they knew their government had approved genocide.
Themes
Rin hasn’t given up on studying martial arts, but now she does so by researching it at the library. She loves the history of martial arts forms, but practicing the techniques is extremely difficult. She sneaks out a book with detailed illustrations and begins practicing the footwork and hand techniques. Rin also attends the basement fights often so she can learn by watching. As a bonus, she gets to watch Altan fight—in addition to being handsome, his form is perfect.
This scene reminds readers how driven Rin is to succeed. In addition to sneaking books that will allow her to study, she comes up with as many ways as possible to further her combat education. Whether she’s ultimately successful or not, she demonstrates that she believes she’s fully in control of the person she’s becoming—she doesn’t have to rely on a tutor.
Themes
