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
Polly wakes when she hears Mr. Derby tell Dr. Hoskins that Mrs. Derby will quickly recover from the stillbirth. He says he’ll keep a close eye on his wife. Polly wakes Amari and Teenie continues to ask Tidbit, who looks confused, if he remembers all her mother’s stories about the Ashanti, the drums, and the copper sun. She asks if he remembers how her mother took a piece of cloth from her own mother and then watches Teenie tie a leather pouch around Tidbit’s neck. She pushes the piece of kente cloth into the pouch. Teenie tells Tidbit he’s going to go be a free man, but Tidbit says he just wants to be her little boy. Polly remembers her mother’s final words and knows that Teenie is dying right now. Teenie lies to Tidbit and says she’ll follow soon. Tidbit doesn’t seem convinced.
For Mr. Derby, insisting Mrs. Derby’s baby was stillborn is a convenient way to take control of his wife and the narrative of what happened. Meanwhile, Teenie must take this time to pass on as much as she can to Tidbit, as this is likely the last time she’ll ever see him—lying to him about following later is an attempt to make the parting easier on Tidbit. Sending him with the kente cloth allows Teenie to symbolically send her entire history with him and keep him connected to Africa, even though he’s two generations removed.
Themes
Mr. Derby pulls the door of the smokehouse open, orders everyone outside, and tells Dr. Hoskins that Clay is sick—so Dr. Hoskins will have to deal with the sales himself. Dr. Hoskins promises to send the money and the wagon back with a courier. Mr. Derby yells to Polly, Amari, and Tidbit to get in the wagon and to Teenie to have breakfast ready in a half an hour. The girls get in, and Mr. Derby tosses Tidbit in after them. Teenie wails and pleads with Mr. Derby not to take Tidbit as Hushpuppy barks madly. Mr. Derby whips Hushpuppy and then whips and shoves Teenie. Dr. Hoskins starts the horse, and Tidbit begins to shriek. Mr. Derby continues to whip Teenie and throws her into the kitchen. Polly knows there’s nothing she and Amari can do to comfort Tidbit.
Seeing Teenie and Tidbit separated drives home yet again the inhumanity of slavery. Slavery destroys families by allowing slave owners to sell slaves, thereby eroding family ties among Black people in the colonies. Further, this makes it clear that Mr. Derby knows full well how important family ties are to slaves and knows that they won’t forget their sold family members either. Rather, he chooses to use it to his advantage, a mark of his cruelty and his power.
Themes
