Poppy

Questions of fear and how one reacts to it are at the heart of the novel. Poppy’s primary arc in the narrative centers her struggle to overcome fear and find her courage. Through the juxtaposition between protagonist and antagonist, the novel examines how fear is an integral part of forming both tyrants and heroes—it is one’s reactions to it that determine one’s role as either the former or the latter. 

The novel opens with a stark depiction of fear on both sides: Mr. Ocax, the inflictor, and Poppy, the victim. During the course of the novel, however, these roles invert themselves, as Mr. Ocax’s fears are revealed and Poppy learns to move through fear to see past Mr. Ocax’s lies. Fear becomes the central motif through which this theme is conveyed, with each character’s experiences and confrontations with fear informing their roles and personal development in the story, making up the development of this theme in turn. 

The theme of tyranny and heroism is established from Chapters 1 and 2, when Avi offers exposition on the oppressive rules the mice abide by under Mr. Ocax. Mr. Ocax is the quintessential dictator: He revels in others’ fear (2) and controls them through manipulation and intimidation. Mr. Ocax’s tyranny is made clear to the reader via dramatic irony: Mr. Ocax projects a self-aggrandizing image of himself as the benevolent protector of the mice, insisting the restrictive rules are in place for their own safety, while the reader is privy to his internal monologues that expose the fact he sees the mice as his food source. The owl also purports to be the mice’s protector against porcupines, which he claims are the biggest threat to the mice. However, the reader knows through both Mr. Ocax’s perspective (and likely their own outside knowledge) that owls are the primary predator of mice. Although it is not clear to the mice characters, the irony of Mr. Ocax’s statements reveals his tyranny to the reader. 

The nature of tyranny and the illusions it thrives on are established in Chapters 4 and 5 through the reactions Poppy’s family has to Ragweed’s death. Many of them blame Ragweed. Poppy notices that “while everyone expressed sorrow, Poppy suspected that few grieved” (34). It is clear that the other mice have been brainwashed via fear of Mr. Ocax into accepting his lies—a further method of control. The mice do not want to challenge the owl out of fear of him, establishing the idea that fear is a method of control tyrants use to maintain their power.

This is reinforced by Mr. Ocax’s perspective. Avi uses Mr. Ocax’s perspective to develop one of the character’s primary internal conflicts, which also develops the theme on the nature of tyranny. Mr. Ocax’s perspective in Chapter 10 reveals that he is afraid of seeming fearful, because that would mean losing his control over the mice: “That he, Ocax, the great horned owl, should feel fear made him livid. It was for others to be fearful, not him [...] No matter what, his fearfulness must never be known!” (78). While to the mice Mr. Ocax seems a vicious, invincible ruler, his perspective reveals that he is as ruled by fear as the mice are. The nature of his tyranny, then, is that he reacts to his own fear by inflicting fear on others to keep them under his control. 

While Poppy likewise struggles with fearfulness, in contrast to Mr. Ocax she chooses courage and acts for the good of others. A pivotal moment in this theme that demonstrates the difference between heroism and tyranny is in Chapter 17, after Poppy has discovered the truth about the fake owl at New House. She is tempted to taunt Mr. Ocax with this information, as the thought “brought a feeling of power” (126). This reflects on the motivations for tyranny—reacting to fear by inflicting it on another to give one a feeling of power and greater security from their own fear. However, Poppy chooses negotiations instead, reinforcing her heroism. She makes a distinct choice that sets her apart from Mr. Ocax, suggesting that to be a hero means overcoming fear instead of displacing it.