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
In the kitchen, Polly asks Teenie what to do. Teenie points out that as a white girl, Polly is the only one who can be on the road to try to turn Noah and the doctor around. Polly jogs down the road until she hears the wagon. She ignores Noah and instead addresses Dr. Hoskins. She tells him that Mrs. Derby and the baby are fine, so he can turn around. Noah seems to understand immediately and offers to drive Dr. Hoskins back to Charles Town, but Dr. Hoskins insist that he’ll check on his patients anyway and go home in the morning. He pulls Polly into the wagon. Polly introduces herself but won’t answer when Dr. Hoskins asks if Mr. Derby sent her to send him back.
The plan, with as many holes as it has, is nevertheless a valiant attempt on the part of the slaves to save the life of an innocent baby whose only crime is being Black. And the plan is only as poor as it is because Teenie, Amari, Polly, and Mrs. Derby really have no other options given how powerless they all are. Next to Mr. Derby and a white doctor, the women conspiring to save the baby have little more than luck and the ability to cause distractions on their side.
Themes
At the house, Mr. Derby is out front. He thanks Dr. Hoskins for coming and says that the baby was stillborn. Dr. Hoskins, confused, says that Polly said the baby was fine. Mr. Derby grabs Polly but before he can force her to explain, they hear Lena yelling from upstairs that Mrs. Derby fainted. Mr. Derby and the doctor rush inside. Amari emerges from the kitchen and tells Noah the baby girl is Black. Polly is surprised when Noah looks genuinely anguished. Teenie says that everyone is alive now, but Mr. Derby will figure it out soon. She sends Tidbit to hide. Noah explains that he and Mrs. Derby grew up together and have loved each other since they were kids. When her father married her off, he allowed Noah to come too. They figured that the baby was Mr. Derby’s.
Again, Polly’s surprise at seeing such emotion from Noah reveals her own racist convictions that Black people don’t experience emotions the same way that she does as a white person. Teenie’s choice to hide Tidbit shows that she’s well aware that Mr. Derby can punish her for her involvement via Tidbit if he so chooses. This speaks again to the vulnerability of Black children and babies. They are easy targets when powerful white men wish to punish those parents—and hurting or killing them means that the children cannot pass on their parents’ stories of resistance.
Themes
Polly didn’t know it was possible for a slave and a master to fall in love. Noah says that if it’s happened before, no one has lived to tell the tale. Teenie tells Noah to run, but Noah refuses—he loves Mrs. Derby. Mr. Derby stalks out of the house, dragging Mrs. Derby with him. He has a gun. Dr. Hoskins remains inside. Noah stands with dignity and looks at Mrs. Derby with love. She reaches for him, but Mr. Derby slaps her arm. Clay arrives with the infant in his arms. He looks like he’s enjoying this as he lays the baby on the ground. Mr. Derby accuses his wife of betraying him and says that he won’t kill her—he just won’t let her die. He makes sure she’s watching and shoots Noah in the chest. Then, as Mrs. Derby crawls toward her baby, he shoots the infant.
For Clay and Mr. Derby, the most important thing to them is to assert their power over everyone under them, from the Black slaves to Mrs. Derby. Murdering Noah and the baby in front of an audience sends a clear message that any resistance from his wife—especially when that resistance means falling in love with a Black man—will result in the deaths of anyone who gets involved. With this, Mr. Derby ensures his wife’s compliance and that his slaves will be unwilling to help her in the future for fear of their own lives. Additionally, murdering the baby symbolically destroys any hope for the future.
Themes
