Posted by Zach Laengert on October 19, 2023
My Promise:
The promise of my blog is to share socially significant themes in the media I consume, and critically engage with them through my own experiences and other relevant works.
When a reader opens my newsletter/blog, they will find: a) A new perspective on a social issue – perhaps one they were unaware of b) A new great piece of media recommended to them – or analysis that brings back fond memories if they’ve already engaged with it c) Tools with which they can more critically engage with the media they consume.
“War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who remains.”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War [i]
I am terrified as I witness from afar the gut-wrenching conflict that has been raging between Israel and Palestine for the past twelve days – and 75 years.[ii] I’ve spent most of my life ignorant of many serious issues in the world, hiding out beneath the emotional shelter of fiction. Only in the last few years have I begun peeking out at and trying to understand social injustices, their origins and how they are being approached and discussed. It’s no coincidence that in the same period I have greatly expanded the quantity and variety of media I consume - including Rebecca F. Kuang’s debut fantasy novel, The Poppy War.
“We are not madmen. But how can we convince anyone of this, when the rest of the world believes it so?”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War [iii]
Kuang’s novel depicts a nation shaped by violence, drawing on 20th-century Chinese history and politics including the brutality of the Second Sino-Japanese War.[iv] The novel’s protagonist Fang Runin – often shortened to Rin – is one of the last two survivors of a racial and cultural genocide.[v] This trauma becomes inherent to her existence, leading her to anger and addiction before she ends the book by single-handedly destroying the nation who annihilated her people.[vi] It is this intensity of emotion and violence that helped prepare me, just a bit, to learn about the Israel-Palestine conflict over the past week.
“How could she compare the lives lost? One genocide against another—how did they balance on the scale of justice? And who was she, to imagine that she could make that comparison?”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War [vii]
On October 7th, the militant group Hamas launched an unexpected assault against Israel. By the 15th, over 1,400 Israelis had been killed and over 120 had been abducted.[viii] Uncondoned by the Palestinian people, Hamas’ attack was decided by the continually worsening state of Palestinian living conditions and access to human rights in what has become an “open air prison”.[ix] Attempts at negotiation with Israel – seen as responsible for the oppression of Palestinians – have consistently failed, and the world’s attention had moved on from the desperate conditions being faced there.[x]
“If you were the victim, what could you say to make your tormentor recognize you as human? How did you get your enemy to recognize you at all?”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War [xi]
More than 3,758 Palestinians have been murdered in the past twelve days, and over 13,000 have been wounded.[xii] Despite being victims of the October 7th attack, Israel has more than defense or even retribution in mind. Far-right Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has stated, “We will obliterate Hamas. We will triumph. It might take time, but we will end this war stronger than ever.”[xiii]
“It’s easy to be brave. Harder to know when not to fight.”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War [xiv]
In the final pages of The Poppy War, Rin channels a destructive god of fire and wrath to destroy the entire island nation of Mugen. She does so after learning of their military’s genocide against her people, and witnessing horrific war crimes – Kuang adapts the brutality of the Nanking Massacre[xv] in a nightmare inducing sequence – committed against the nation where she grew up. Israel increasingly appears to be intent on taking the same path forward, pursuing utter genocide against Palestine in response to the actions of Hamas.[xvi] Why and how is this apparently being allowed?
“Power dictates acceptability.”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War [xvii]
Empress Su Daji from The Poppy War
Speculative fiction frequently explores the relationship between power and morality. In the above quote, Kuang rephrases ‘might makes right’ to fit the voice of a sophisticated, scholarly character.[xviii] Cliché or no, the idea seems to explain the world’s reaction to continued Israeli aggression. A long-time political and military partnership with the United States among many other nations has placed Israel in a position of social power and influence.[xix] They have leveraged that international standing in order to evade condemnation for current actions against Palestine. Katherine Gallagher of the Center for Constitutional rights stated: “U.S. officials can be held responsible for their failure to prevent Israel’s unfolding genocide, as well as for their complicity, by encouraging it and materially supporting it.”[xx]
“I am a mortal who has woken up, and there is power in awareness.” ― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War [xxi]
I’ve found a lot of similarities and connections between the current conflict and The Poppy War, but it is also essential to note the differences. Rin’s fiery genocide is made possible for her by a primal force of rage and destruction, which would consume her and burn the entire world if it had its way. Israel on the other hand, is relying on the people and nations of the world to stand by and do nothing as they systematically eradicate a people and culture.
“They were monsters!" Rin shrieked. "They were not human!"
"Have you ever considered," he said slowly, "that that was exactly what they thought of us?”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War [xxii]
The Poppy War explores a lot of deeply important issues, as evidenced by the harrowing quotes I have included throughout. Central to both the novel and the current atrocity is a disregard for the humanity of one’s enemies. This dehumanization “is viewed as a central component to intergroup violence … groups are placed outside the boundary in which moral values, rules, and considerations of fairness apply.”[xxiii] The first book in a trilogy which continues to explore these issues, The Poppy War doesn’t ultimately offer a solution to this issue. Certainly 75 years of conflict between Israel and Palestine – immediately following the atrocities of the Second World War – don’t seem to signify an impending solution either.
“They’ll make you an outsider, because you’re not like them. That’s okay. Don’t let any of that discourage you. No matter what they say, you deserve to be here.”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War [xxiv]
I firmly believe that fiction can help us to comprehend and organize our thoughts about real world issues. Kuang’s writing certainly gave me new insights into East Asian history, and I think it can also illuminate the core aspects of incredibly complex situations like that currently playing out in the Middle East. In our world, there is no malevolent Phoenix god willing us all to burn and destroy. We have only ourselves, and I hope we can find our lost humanity before it is too late.
Notes [i] Kuang, R.F. The Poppy War. HarperCollins, 2018. p. 233. [ii] Morris, Benny. 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War. Yale University Press, 2008. p. 79. [iii] Kuang, 196. [iv] https://web.archive.org/web/20180513080849/https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/cover-story-poppy-war-epic-debut-inspired-20th-century-china/ [v] Kuang, 99. [vi] Kuang, 502-3. [vii] Kuang, 520. [viii]https://www.barrons.com/news/over-1-400-killed-in-hamas-attacks-on-israel-pm-office-787d2b0f?refsec=topics_afp-news [ix] https://www.wionews.com/world/explained-how-gaza-strip-became-the-worlds-largest-open-air-prison-646668 [x] https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/09/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza-war-explained-mime-intl/index.html [xi] Kuang, 432. [xii] https://english.palinfo.com/news/2023/10/19/Gaza-Death-toll-surges-to-over-3-785-as-Israel-s-carnage-persists [xiii]https://www.economist.com/international/2023/10/16/israel-needs-to-resist-irrational-retaliation [xiv] Kuang, 458. [xv] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjing_Massacre [xvi] https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2023/10/19/this-is-genocide-not-war-gaza-destruction-sparks-protests-across-world [xvii]Kuang, 68. [xviii]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Might_makes_right [xix] https://www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-israel-2/ [xx] https://theintercept.com/2023/10/19/israel-gaza-biden-genocide-war-crimes/ [xxi] Kuang, 185. [xxii] Kuang, 515. [xxiii]https://web.stanford.edu/~eberhard/downloads/2008-NotYetHuman.pdf [xxiv] Kuang, 40.
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