History Literature / SeaOfPoppies

* ButNotTooBlack: Zachary Reid's situation plays with this trope so thoroughly as to be a case study in itself. Being an octoroon (one-eighth black, seven-eights white) in pre-Civil War America means that Zachary is legally classified as black, thus barring him from social opportunities at home. His paperwork to join the Ibis also lists him as black. Purely by appearances, however, he can easily pass for white... which makes him invaluable in doing business with the British later on, as the ''Ibis''' lascar crew cannot ingratiate themselves with racist white society due to their foreign appearances.

** Deeti becomes more outspoken after [[spoiler:she and Kalua flee their village together and join the ''Ibis
'' as migrants]].

Published in 2008 (and on the shortlist for that year's Man Booker Prize awards), Amitov Ghosh's ''Sea of Poppies'' is the first novel of his Ibis trilogy. In the postcolonial literary tradition, it celebrates a diverse cast of characters from and around the Indian subcontinent in the year 1838- just before the first Opium War- as their lives are all drawn together aboard the schooner ''The Ibis'', an British ex-slave ship now transporting workers and prisoners from Calcutta to Mauritius. The principle cast includes Deeti, an Indian housewife whose husband dies at the beginning of the novel; Zachary Reid, an affable octoroon (eighth-black) sailor from Baltimore who finds himself promoted to second mate of the Ibis and dealing among British Indian high society; the rajah Neel Rattan Halder, who in short order loses his fortune, estate, and status to the British and is made a prisoner; and Paulette, daughter of a deceased French rebel botanist who was raised along the native aspiring laskar, Jodu, and has been taken in by the wealthy British tradesman Benjamin Burnham... the same man who owns the Ibis and orchestrated Neel's trial.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: [[spoiler: The haughty Justice Kendalbushe to Paulette. This is one of the reasons she leaves Burnham's estate for the Maritius isles.]]
* AudienceSurrogate: To American readers especially, Zachary Reid is this. He is relatively plain-spoken, and his variable position on the Ibis lets him ingratiate himself among the ship's crew and its British management. Also much like readers, he often has no idea what's been said in conversations... but is usually willing to ask for clarification, letting the audience learn through his eyes.

* ButNotTooBlack: Zachary Reid's situation plays with this trope so thoroughly as to be a case study in itself. Being an octoroon (one-eighth black, seven-eights white) in pre-Civil war America meant Zachary was legally classified as black, thus barring him from social opportunities at home. His paperwork to join the Ibis also lists him as black. Purely by appearances, however, he can easily pass for white... which makes him invaluable in doing business with the British later on, as the Ibis' lascar crew cannot ingratiate themselves with racist white society due to their foreign appearances.
* CharacterDevelopment: Deeti becomes more outspoken after [[spoiler: she and Kalua flee their village together and join the Ibis as migrants.]] [[BreakTheHaughty Neel's plight]]- including his loss of caste and imprisonment-- sees him overcome his revulsion to dirt, gain more of an interest in the lives of common people, and proves him to be more resilient than ever he expected.

** [[spoiler: Deeti's daughter Kabutri was actually fathered by her uncle, Deeti's brother-in-law. A strong draft from her husband's opium-pipe made Deeti essentially lose consciousness of the event.]]
** [[spoiler: Zachary's mother was his father's slave whom he brought to a cabin in the woods to have his way with. She was freed after revealing to her master that she was pregnant, as Zachary's father did not want his son to be born a slave (which Zachary almost considers a PetTheDog moment in-universe).]]
* DumbMuscle: Averted with Kalua (though the presumption of his stupidity may have as much to do with his low caste as his stature).[[spoiler: He proves himself to be at least reasonably good at strategizing when he formulates and executes a plan to save Deeti from her [[SelfImmolation sati]] pyre within a few minutes of learning she's to be burned.]]
* EnsembleCast: The novel has no clear protagonist, but a rotation of four characters- Deeti, Zachary, Neel, Paulette- receives the most narrative focus; to a lesser extent, Jodu, Kalua, and Baboo Nob Kissin also receive their own focus sections.
* GoingNative: Among British society in India, this idea is discussed and scorned; the pilot Mr Doughty even cautions Zachary against it in an early chapter. Arguably even inverted with Neel, a rajah whose excellent English-language education makes him better-spoken and better-versed in Western politics than characters like Mr Burnham or Mr Doughty... for which they hold him in even considerable disdain.

* LanguageEqualsThought: Played with.

** Serang Ali calls Zachary "Zikri"- which means "the one who remembers".
** Two NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: the Ibis captain's surname is Chillingsworth. His first mate is Crawle (pronounced more like "cruel" in a British accent). Neither are especially pleasant people.

* [[OccultBlueEyes Occult Grey Eyes]]/ProphetEyes: In her village, Deeti has often been likened to a witch for her natural light grey eyes. She has no magic powers- but as she does have a vision of the Ibis months before seeing it in person, the supernatural connection is still there.

* SpiritedYoungLady: Paulette might well qualify; raised by a French botanist with progressive ideals for the time, she is considerably intelligent and scornful of notions that women have no place on the crew of a ship like the Ibis.
* TypeCaste: As the novel begins in India, this trope is a given.

* UnusualEuphemism: Assuming Paulette's resistance to [[spoiler: Kendalbushe's pursuit of her]] is due to a TeenPregnancy, Mrs. Burnham asks Paulette if she has a "rootie in the choolah"- i.e. a bun in the oven.

---

* IllBoy: Within his family, Neel was reputedly this; apparently he had a weak constitution from childhood, and became somewhat of a germaphobe in his adulthood due to this.[[spoiler: His time in prison makes him realize he is an aversion as he fares well enough on low-caste food- in fact, it actually improves his appetite.]]

* TheBigGuy: The ox-cart driver Kalua's impressive size draws remark from everyone he encounters, and he proves a skilled physical laborer. Most character also assume him to be DumbMuscle, which is disproven fairly quickly in his first viewpoint section (see below).

* TheCharmer: Downplayed as we only see it in one case, but Jodu's flirting with the migrant girl Munia proves him suprisingly smooth with women (at least, Paulette is certainly surprised to hear it).

** [[spoiler: Zachary's mother was his father's slave whom he brought to a cabin in the woods to have his way with. She was freed after revealing to her master that she was pregnant, as Zachary's father did not want his son to be born a slave (wbich Zachary almost considers a PetTheDog moment in-universe).]]

* UnusualEuphemism: Assuming Paulette's resistance to [[spoiler: Kendalbushe's pursuit of her]] is due to a[[TeenPregnancy]], Mrs. Burnham asks Paulette if she has a "rootie in the choolah"- i.e. a bun in the oven.

* HangingJudge: Justice Kendalbrushe is a nasty example... [[DoubleStandard at least when he's trying ''Indians'' in court]]. During Neel's forgery sentencing, he makes clear early on that he considers Neel guilty but still spends nearly four pages moralizing that it is his duty as a Britishman to bring the rule of law to "a society in its infancy". He even ignores the jurymen who had appealed to him in Neel's favor.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: [spoiler: The haughty Justice Kendalbushe to Paulette. This is one of the reasons she leaves Burnham's estate for the Maritius isles.]

* DumbMuscle: Averted with Kalua (though the presumption of his stupidity may have as much to do with his low caste as his stature).[spoiler: He proves himself to be at least reasonably good at strategy when he formulates and executes a plan to save Deeti from [[SelfImmolation sati]] within a few minutes of learning she's to be burned.]

* IllBoy: Within his family, Neel was reputedly this; apparently he had a weak constitution from childhood, and became somewhat of a germaphobe in his adulthood due to this.[spoiler: His time in prison makes him realize he is an aversion as he fares well enough on low-caste food- in fact, it actually improves his appetite-

* UnusualEuphemism: Assuming Paulette's resistance to [spoiler: Kendalbushe's pursuit of her] is due to a[[TeenPregnancy]], Mrs. Burnham asks Paulette if she has a "rootie in the choolah"- i.e. a bun in the oven.

!![Sea of Poppies] contains examples of:

* [[OccultBlueEyes OccultGreyEyes]]/ProphetEyes: Deeti has often been likened to a witch for her natural light grey eyes. She has no magic powers- but as she does have a vision of the Ibis months before seeing it in person, the supernatural connection is still there.
* Omniglot: Several characters count as multilingual, but Paulette in particular stands out in this respect. She has working knowledge of at least five languages, including French, English, Bengali, Sanskrit, and Latin.

* OccultGreyEyes/ProphetEyes: Deeti has often been likened to a witch for her natural light grey eyes. She has no magic powers- but as she does have a vision of the Ibis months before seeing it in person, the supernatural connection is still there.

* HangingJudge: Justice Kendalbrushe is a nasty example... [[DoubleStandard at least when he's trying ''Indians'' in court]]. During Neel's forgery sentencing, he makes clear early on that he considers Neel guilty but still spends nearly four pages moralizing that it is his duty as a Britishman to bring the rule of law to "a society in its infancy". He even ignores the jurymen who had appealed to him in Neel's favor.

* EnsembleCast: The novel has no clear protagonist, but a rotation of five characters- Deeti, Zachary, Neel, Paulette, and Jodu- receives the most narrative focus.
* GoingNative: The idea of this is discussed and scorned among the British characters.
* RichesToRags: The crux of Neel's arc early on; as both his family and Burnham are hard-up on cash, Burnham frames the rajah for forgery. He is obviously found guilty, his property is ceased, and he is imprisoned.
* SpiritedYoungLady: Paulette might well qualify.

* EnsembleCast: The novel has no clear protagonist, but a rotation of five characters- Deeti, Zachary, Neel, Paulette, and Jodu- receives the most narrative focus.
* GoingNative: The idea of this is discussed and scorned among the British characters.
* RichesToRags: The crux of Neel's arc early on; as both his family and Burnham are hard-up on cash, Burnham frames the rajah for forgery. He is obviously found guilty, his property is ceased, and he is imprisoned.
* SpiritedYoungLady: Paulette might well qualify.