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
Amari, Polly, and Tidbit race through the woods. After miles, they stop to rest. Amari vomits from the exertion. They wonder whether the snake bit Clay, and Tidbit asks if Clay is going to take him to Teenie. Polly is shocked and sad to hear Tidbit ask this and carefully tells Tidbit that Clay will hurt them if he finds them again. Tidbit insists he doesn’t care if Clay beats him; he just wants his mother. The girls sit to comfort Tidbit and wonder if they did the right thing leaving Clay. Polly finds food in Clay’s knapsack and gives Tidbit a biscuit from it, but the biscuit just makes Tidbit cry—Teenie made it. Amari says that they’re not going back, since she’s never going to be a slave again. Amari picks up Tidbit, and they resume their journey.
Tidbit is, importantly, a child born into and raised in a traumatic situation—and to him, his abusers don’t look nearly as scary as they do to Amari and Polly. This illustrates another way in which slavery harms young people in particular. Tidbit has no conception of the fact that Clay might take him home to Teenie—but he’ll certainly hurt or murder him or Teenie if he does. Polly’s sick feeling about Tidbit’s question shows that she now understands how harmful slavery is, and possibly that she shouldn’t aspire to being a fine lady if it means owning slaves.
Themes
They walk for two days straight; the girls have to carry and cajole Tidbit into moving. One evening, when they stop to look for crayfish in a river, Polly notices a white boy about her age fishing. Amari, Tidbit, and Hushpuppy disappear into the woods as the boy notices Polly. They stare each other down, and Polly immediately regrets telling him her real name. He laughs at her, introduces himself as Nathan, and says he’s out in the middle of the night because his father drinks and his mother is dead. He compliments Polly’s looks and asks if she knows where she is. He tells her that she’s near Savannah, Georgia and asks if she’s where she wants to be. Nathan asks about the others—he’s been following the group for a day.
As a young white man, Nathan represents danger to Amari and Tidbit in particular. He has the power—and possibly, the motivation of reward money—to turn them in, thereby dashing any of their dreams of freedom. In this situation, it’s important to note that Polly is also in danger of being turned in and punished harshly, so it’s in her best interest to be cautious and concerned here. However, her punishment will still likely be nothing like what Amari and Tidbit will face, a mark of her privilege as a white person.
Themes
Polly nervously asks Nathan if he works for Clay, but Nathan says he’s certain Polly is an indentured servant and the others are runaway slaves. He stares at Polly and says he’s sure there’s reward money for turning the group in. Polly begs Nathan to not turn them in, but Nathan says to bring the others out and he might help. He calls her Polly-girl, but this time, Polly finds that she likes it. Amari and Tidbit step out and Nathan asks if they’re hungry. Nathan warns them that his father would cash in on the reward money and drink it away immediately, but Nathan doesn’t believe in slavery—he thinks the country is big enough for everyone, even Indians and Black people. Polly’s heart flutters, and she blushes.
Despite Polly’s immediate crush on Nathan, he’s clearly not above abusing his power as a free white man to intimidate those who have less power than he does. His behavior is still cruel, even if he does insist he doesn’t believe in slavery, and he’s still part of the problem. It’s also worth considering, given how Nathan described his family earlier, that he might not believe in slavery simply because his family doesn’t profit off the back of slaves. He may simply have less to gain from slavery.
Themes
Nathan leads them to a barn near a small house and goes to fetch food. Amari teases Polly about liking Nathan, and Nathan soon returns with food. Tidbit even eats apple cores and then falls asleep. The girls tell Nathan they’re headed south and Polly asks if he knows about Fort Mose. Nathan is surprised but says that it’s way south in Spanish territory. He’s amazed that they’re heading someplace they’re not sure is real and says that a while ago, a Spanish priest from Fort Mose tried to convert his father. Amari asks if Fort Mose has streets of gold, but Nathan says that the streets are probably mud. He says the Spanish soldiers and priests run it and welcome runaways who swear allegiance to the Spanish king. Amari asks if there are whippings there, and Nathan sympathetically says no.
As flawed as Nathan may be, he still gives Polly and Amari valuable information about Fort Mose and what they’ll find there. By giving them this information, he’s able to help them gain a bit more power—the knowledge of what’s ahead is its own kind of power. His sympathetic behavior toward Amari suggests that he may be more genuinely interested in helping them than he previously seemed. By doing this, he can resist the system of slavery—though he’ll need to rethink his controlling behavior if he really wants to make a difference on a bigger scale.
Themes
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Nathan is impressed when he learns the girls have come all the way from Charles Town. He says he knows the woods around here, and Polly decides she likes him—he reminds her of her father. Nathan warns the girls that his father is mean and leaves them to sleep. In the morning, they wake to an angry, red-faced man with a pitchfork. Nathan enters the barn and shoots a scared and apologetic look at Polly, but Polly isn’t sure she believes it. She musters up a tear and tells Nathan’s father that she’s taking the slaves to Savannah; her mother is sick and they need the reward money. She begs for help, but Nathan’s father insists that Polly is lying. He tells Nathan to lock the barn and strides away.
Because Polly is white, it’s possible for her to spin this as a plausible story to Nathan’s father, but it’s also significant that she seems to see no issue with women existing in positions of power (as evidenced by her earlier desires to keep Mr. Derby’s books and sneak into his study). Nathan’s father may be less inclined to believe her simply because she’s female.
Themes
Nathan assures the girls that he didn’t betray them. He tells them to run west to the swamp, hide for a few days, and then head south. He then tells Polly to hit him with the pitchfork. Polly refuses, so Amari picks it up and says she’s hitting Nathan with gratitude. Polly asks if they’ll ever see Nathan again. With a smile, Nathan asks Polly to remember him. Amari hits him, and then they race for the swamp. Polly and Tidbit are afraid of snakes and alligators, but Amari leads them into the deep mud. They hide under a mimosa tree that shields them from view.
With this, Nathan is able to truly demonstrate to Amari and Polly that he’s on their side. Allowing them to hit him means giving up his power as a white man and putting it briefly in the hands of those who have far less. When the runaways wade into the swamp that may very well be teeming with dangerous animals, it speaks to how intent they are on freedom—death by alligator is preferable to capture.
Themes
