War with the Newts

The titular newts, or giant talking salamanders, are the main focus of the novel. Scientists argue if the modern newts are the same as the fossil “Andrias Scheuchzeri” (108). Newts are compared to “seals” (47, 83) and “beavers” (56) in their appearance and their natural building ability, respectively. Another important biological detail is that the male newts do not directly create offspring: “[T]he male is not the father of the tadpoles, but only the producer of a certain quite impersonal chemical agent bringing about the sexual milieu which is the true means of fertilization” (156). Not knowing who their father is changes the social structure of the newts. The males have a collective identity that is not fractured by paternity, nationality, or other factors that divide humans. In other words, the newts have a “single, huge, and homogeneous unity” (286). The problem that the newts face is not conflict within their species, like humans, but the rapid increase in their numbers once they learn to kill their main predators with weapons.

Captain van Toch, the first human who brings newts into the human world, says they are “very nice and good animals, those lizards” (46). From him, newts on the island Tanah Masa learn how to collect

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now