Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Copper Sun, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Slavery, Dehumanization, and Resistance
Horror vs. Beauty
Friendship
Memory and Storytelling
Gender, Race, and Power
Summary
Analysis
As Amari carefully cleans the infant, she says that a Black baby born to a white mother is trouble. Polly wonders if Mrs. Derby was raped and feels disgusted that a white woman gave birth to a Black baby, but she knows that Mr. Derby will be enraged. Amari sends Polly to ask Teenie for help. When Teenie gets to the bedroom, she sucks her teeth and says that Noah is certainly the father. Mrs. Derby wakes up and asks for her baby. Amari places the infant in her arms, and Mrs. Derby cries. She brushes off Teenie’s insistence that she’ll be fine and insists that Mr. Derby will kill her, in addition to Noah and the baby.
In Polly’s mind, it’s inconceivable that a white woman could have consensual sex with a Black man. This reflects her own racism, which is still alive and well, as it suggests that she doesn’t believe Black people are worthy of romantic love from white people. Teenie attempts to convince Mrs. Derby that her skin color will protect her—but, significantly, she makes no guarantees about the safety of Noah or the baby. As Black individuals, they’re at a much higher risk of violence.
Themes
Mrs. Derby suggests they tell Mr. Derby that the baby died or was horribly deformed and then take the baby to safety. Teenie insists that Mr. Derby will want to see the baby’s body, but Mrs. Derby won’t listen. Polly, Amari, and Teenie get Mrs. Derby cleaned up while the baby nurses, and then Mrs. Derby hands Amari the baby and asks Amari to protect her. As they creep down the stairs, Teenie says that Sarah Jane just had a baby, so they’ll take the baby to her for now. They sneak past Clay, and then Tidbit takes Amari and Polly down to Sarah Jane’s. Teenie tells Polly that she should only say that the baby’s mother is dead—though she’s certain Sarah Jane will know where the infant came from. Sarah Jane, however, lovingly takes the baby without question.
It’s telling that Mrs. Derby believes that her baby can find safety anywhere—if the baby survives, she’ll grow up a slave, which the novel makes clear is a life that’s fundamentally unsafe. Mrs. Derby’s optimism about her baby’s outlook suggests that while she might sympathize with the slaves and be compassionate, she doesn’t fully understand the danger and the horrors they encounter every day. Meanwhile, Sarah Jane’s unquestioning acceptance of the baby affirms that the baby represents hope that life and love can persist, even in such horrifying circumstances.
Themes
Back at the kitchen, Teenie sends Polly to sit with Mrs. Derby and tells Amari to help her with dinner. Polly brushes Mrs. Derby’s hair and then hears Mr. Derby coming up the stairs. Mrs. Derby is asleep, and Polly pretends to sob. Polly says that the baby was stillborn. His voice breaking, Mr. Derby asks to see the baby, but Polly says she was deformed. Mrs. Derby wakes up, apologizes, and echoes the lie that the baby was deformed. At this, Mr. Derby becomes suspicious. Mrs. Derby whispered that she prayed for this baby as Mr. Derby mutters that he couldn’t have “fathered an imperfect child.” He demands again to see her and says that he wants the doctor to examine the body. When he leaves, Polly assures Mrs. Derby that the baby is safe and runs to confer with Teenie. She doesn’t know what to do.
Even before Mr. Derby is truly aware that Mrs. Derby and Polly are hiding something, he’s already beginning to blame Mrs. Derby for what supposedly happened. The idea that he couldn’t father an “imperfect” baby betrays a belief that if there are any problems with his children, those problems can be attributed to their mothers, not to him. This is another way that women are victimized in the colonial system. Men are able to absolve themselves of any responsibility when it comes to their children, while women are forced to shoulder the blame for anything bad.
Themes
