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
The wagon allows Amari, Polly, and Tidbit to make great time. Polly laughs to herself as she remembers her father and misses him. She asks Amari what Amari misses about her mother. Amari says that Mother always had the right answer. Polly nods and says that her mother deeply loved her father and was worried about others to the very end. Amari shares that her mother fought bravely to the end. Polly insists that Amari is brave too, but Amari admits that she’s always scared. Tidbit asks about Teenie and says he wants to go home, but the girls hug him and tell him he needs to remember that Teenie loves him, even if she’s not here.
Through talking about their families, Amari and Polly are able to continue to get to know each other and recognize that they both grew up in loving families, no matter how different their upbringings may have been. And particularly when they talk about their mothers, Polly is able to encourage Amari to embody her mother’s bravery—which, in turn, will help Amari honor her mother. Polly, too, can honor her mother by caring for others, as she now tries to care for Amari and Tidbit.
Themes
Polly notices that Amari seems to have trouble sleeping. One afternoon, Polly offers her condolences about Besa to Amari. Amari suggests that it may have been better had she not seen him, but Polly says that it might give Amari the strength to go on. Amari says it just makes her feel sick and angry. Polly notes that she didn’t know Black people before coming to Mr. Derby’s, and she never had a Black friend. Amari admits that sometimes, she hates white people—and she didn’t feel hatred before becoming a slave. It’s hard, she says, to hate and love at the same time. Shyly, Amari says that she has a pale-skinned friend. Polly agrees.
In this moment, Polly and Amari are able to acknowledge that though they come from wildly different upbringings and circumstances, they can still be friends—and they can both continue to learn more about each other and develop their senses of empathy. Especially since they both experienced the horrors on Mr. Derby’s plantation, this gives them shared ground to start from as they develop their relationship.
Themes
Amari asks Polly if she’ll stay with them in Fort Mose. Polly hasn’t thought about it, and Amari points out that this is the white man’s land—Polly should be able to find a place for herself. Amari puts her head in her hands and wonders if Besa is right and they’ll be caught. Polly insists they’ll make it and reminds Amari that Tidbit is hers now, and he needs a strong mother. Amari points out that in her village, the women mother all the children—so maybe Tidbit belongs to both her and Polly. Tidbit opens his eyes and says he belongs to himself. They laugh.
Even in Spanish Florida, Amari is well aware that Polly is part of the powerful majority because of the color of her skin. Amari may still face fewer opportunities for advancement in Fort Mose, simply because she’s Black and will never fully be able to escape the fact that she was once a slave. Polly also makes the point again that it’s important to go on for the sake of young people, as they need to grow up and carry previous generations’ stories forward.
Themes
In Southern Georgia, there are fewer settlements—but there are soldiers. Polly and Amari try to travel silently, but this is impossible with such a noisy old wagon. After several hours, a man steps out and stops them with a shaky voice. Polly wonders if it’s Clay, but the voice speaks in English and Spanish and says that if the girls are ghosts, they should go away. Amari whispers that they should run, but Tidbit won’t cooperate. The man roars and snatches Tidbit. Tidbit bites the man, and he drops Tidbit. Everyone stands still. Polly asks the man if he’s drunk. The man says he isn’t, but he’s afraid of wolves and bears. Amari realizes he’s a soldier, and the man confirms this. He introduces himself as Domingo Salvador, a Spanish soldier from Madrid.
This soldier will test whether or not Polly can really pass as a fine lady (or at least appear affluent enough to own a cart, a horse, and slaves). When the man lets Tidbit go after only a bite, it suggests that this man really has little interest in tormenting Amari, Polly, and Tidbit—the novel has shown thus far that if he were so inclined, harming children unfortunately isn’t hard. The revelation that Domingo Salvador is a Spanish soldier offers hope that he truly isn’t interested in tormenting them—the Spanish will supposedly free slaves, after all.
Themes
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Polly doesn’t understand Domingo Salvador’s Spanish, and she’s suspicious. The soldier admits he grabbed Tidbit because he was afraid, and Polly asks why he’s out alone in the middle of the night. Domingo Salvador says that he’s patrolling for English troops, but he wishes he were home with his new wife. Polly asks what the Spanish do with runaways. Domingo Salvador says that runaways don’t officially exist until they leave the colonies, but once they cross the St. Mary’s River, the Spanish help them to St. Augustine, as King Philip doesn’t believe in slavery. Amari asks the way to the river, but the soldier asks if they’re runaways. Polly haughtily says that they’re returning from her grandfather’s house. The soldier warns Polly that English soldiers are cruel, and the river isn’t far.
When Polly doesn’t understand Domingo Salvador due to his mixed Spanish and English, she gets a small taste of what Amari has been dealing with from the moment she was captured. Without being able to understand what others are saying, especially those who are in power, it’s very difficult to know what to do and how to act. Domingo Salvador, however, makes it clear that the Spanish make a point to resist the English in everything they do—this is why they free slaves held by Englishmen.
Themes
Domingo Salvador says he knows the girls are looking for Fort Mose. Amari asks what he knows about it, and he says that it’s a small settlement. There, everyone owns their land, and they’re free. Most residents are former slaves, some are Spaniards, and others are Creek, Seminole, or Cherokee. Amari asks if there are white soldiers in charge, which makes the soldier laugh. He says the captain of the fort is Francisco Menendez, a former Black slave. The soldier assures Polly he believes she’s just returning home to her parents, but if she’s ever in Fort Mose, she’d find churches, shops, and lots of children. Polly insists they must get home, and the soldier tells them to go with God. Polly says Cato was wrong about the streets of gold, but Amari says there are “streets of free,” and that’s better.
Francisco Menendez is a real historical figure—and for Amari, it’s shocking and exciting to hear that there’s a Black man in a position of power. He is, in many ways, a symbol of hope for the future, as he shows what’s possible for free Black people in North America. More generally, Fort Mose stands as a place where a person’s skin color or place of origin doesn’t matter as much, suggesting that Amari and Tidbit might find a community that accepts them as they are. For Amari, this is more than she could’ve ever hoped for—and it renews her willingness to believe that Afi and Teenie were right about persevering.
Themes
