The Poppy War

by

R. F. Kuang

Nezha Character Analysis

Nezha is the wealthiest, most powerful, and most attractive boy in Rin’s class at Sinegard Academy. The two become enemies after Rin punches him in retaliation for insulting Tutor Feyrik on their first day on campus, and they continue to take any chance they can to fight each other during their time at school. Nezha is stuck-up and believes fully in his superiority, so Rin finds him insufferable. It’s not until Rin and Nezha end up fighting with each other against the Federation that their relationship begins to improve: they’ve spent so much time fighting against each other, they’re intimately acquainted with each other and make exceptional fighting partners. They reconnect later in Khurdalain and become friends; Nezha even apologizes outright for mistreating Rin at school. However, their relationship remains somewhat fraught, as Enki believes Nezha is a shaman and is spying for Jun (Nezha’s military commander), and Nezha believes Altan is mistreating Rin. Rin attempts to rescue Nezha from toxic gas, but Altan forces her to leave him behind, insisting that Nezha isn’t one of their men.

Nezha Quotes in The Poppy War

The The Poppy War quotes below are all either spoken by Nezha or refer to Nezha. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Dehumanization and the Horrors of War Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

“The Keju doesn’t mean anything,” Rin said scathingly. “The Keju is a ruse to keep uneducated peasants right where they’ve always been. You slip past the Keju, they’ll find a way to expel you anyway. The Keju keeps the lower classes sedated. It keeps us dreaming. It’s not a ladder for mobility; it’s a way to keep people like me exactly where they were born. The Keju is a drug.”

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), Kitay, Nezha, Master Jun
Related Symbols: Opium
Page Number: 86
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

That felt stupid now. So, so stupid. War was not a game, where one fought for honor and admiration, where masters would keep her from sustaining any real harm.

War was a nightmare.

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin), Kitay, Nezha
Page Number: 238
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

She had just killed Altan.

What was that supposed to mean? What did it say that the chimei had thought she wouldn’t be able to kill Altan, and that she had killed him anyway?

If she could do this, what couldn’t she do?

Who couldn’t she kill?

Maybe that was the kind of anger it took to call the Phoenix easily and regularly the way Altan did. Not just rage, not just fear, but a deep, burning resentment, fanned by a particularly cruel kind of abuse.

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin), Altan Trengsin, Nezha, The Phoenix
Related Symbols: Opium
Page Number: 368
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

“He’s not human,” she said, recalling the horrible anger behind Altan’s power. She’d thought she understood Altan. She’d thought she had reached the man behind the command title. But she realized now that she didn’t know him at all. The Altan she’d known—at least, the Altan in her mind—would have done anything for his troops. He wouldn’t have left someone in the gas to die. “He—I don’t know what he is.”

“But Altan was never allowed to be human,” Chaghan said, and his voice was uncharacteristically gentle. “Since childhood, he’s been regarded as a militia asset. Your masters at the Academy fed him opium for attacking his classmates and trained him like a dog for this war.”

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), Chaghan (speaker), Altan Trengsin, Nezha, Master Irjah
Related Symbols: Opium
Page Number: 390
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Poppy War LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Poppy War PDF

Nezha Quotes in The Poppy War

The The Poppy War quotes below are all either spoken by Nezha or refer to Nezha. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Dehumanization and the Horrors of War Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

“The Keju doesn’t mean anything,” Rin said scathingly. “The Keju is a ruse to keep uneducated peasants right where they’ve always been. You slip past the Keju, they’ll find a way to expel you anyway. The Keju keeps the lower classes sedated. It keeps us dreaming. It’s not a ladder for mobility; it’s a way to keep people like me exactly where they were born. The Keju is a drug.”

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), Kitay, Nezha, Master Jun
Related Symbols: Opium
Page Number: 86
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

That felt stupid now. So, so stupid. War was not a game, where one fought for honor and admiration, where masters would keep her from sustaining any real harm.

War was a nightmare.

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin), Kitay, Nezha
Page Number: 238
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

She had just killed Altan.

What was that supposed to mean? What did it say that the chimei had thought she wouldn’t be able to kill Altan, and that she had killed him anyway?

If she could do this, what couldn’t she do?

Who couldn’t she kill?

Maybe that was the kind of anger it took to call the Phoenix easily and regularly the way Altan did. Not just rage, not just fear, but a deep, burning resentment, fanned by a particularly cruel kind of abuse.

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin), Altan Trengsin, Nezha, The Phoenix
Related Symbols: Opium
Page Number: 368
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

“He’s not human,” she said, recalling the horrible anger behind Altan’s power. She’d thought she understood Altan. She’d thought she had reached the man behind the command title. But she realized now that she didn’t know him at all. The Altan she’d known—at least, the Altan in her mind—would have done anything for his troops. He wouldn’t have left someone in the gas to die. “He—I don’t know what he is.”

“But Altan was never allowed to be human,” Chaghan said, and his voice was uncharacteristically gentle. “Since childhood, he’s been regarded as a militia asset. Your masters at the Academy fed him opium for attacking his classmates and trained him like a dog for this war.”

Related Characters: Rin (Fang Runin) (speaker), Chaghan (speaker), Altan Trengsin, Nezha, Master Irjah
Related Symbols: Opium
Page Number: 390
Explanation and Analysis: