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Mrs. Isabelle Derby
Afi is an older woman whom Amari befriends in the slave factories at Cape Coast and remains close with up until they’re sold at the slave auction in Charles Town. Afi is large and motherly, and she does everything she can to keep Amari alive. She insists to Amari that dying is allowing the white men to win, and she coaches Amari through how to handle each increasingly dehumanizing assault. Afi lost her children and husband several years ago, and so Amari suspects that Afi needs her as much as she needs Afi. One of Afi’s constant refrains is that Amari needs to stay alive so that she’s able to pass along her story and her history to future generations. Afi suggests that this is one of the only ways that slaves will be able to hold onto their humanity and their history as they’re transported to the English colonies. Upon arriving in the colonies, Afi and Amari’s separation in Charles Town is traumatic, as Amari can’t bear to leave her mentor and her only friend. Once Amari is on her own, she thinks often about Afi’s advice and occasionally believes that Afi was wrong to insist that they must survive. However, once Amari reaches Fort Mose and discovers she’s pregnant, she begins to see that Afi was onto something when she insisted that Amari had to keep going for the sake of future generations. Though Amari never finds out what happens to Afi in the colonies, she decides to name her baby Afi if it’s a girl to honor her friend and mentor—and to keep her memory alive.
Afi Quotes in Copper Sun
The Copper Sun quotes below are all either spoken by Afi or refer to Afi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 6 Quotes
“You know, certain people are chosen to survive. I don’t know why, but you are one of those who must remember the past and tell those yet unborn. You must live.”
“But why?”
“Because your mother would want you to. Because the sun continues to shine. I don’t know, but you must.”
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Chapter 8 Quotes
“Perhaps it is better to die,” Amari told her sharply.
Afi sighed. “If you die, they win. We cannot let that happen.”
“They have already taken everyone I loved,” Amari replied, ashamed to look Afi in the face. “And tonight they take the only thing I have left that is truly mine. Death would be a relief.”
“You will live because you must,” Afi said sternly.
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Chapter 12 Quotes
“Afi,” she whispered, “the land is lovely. I thought it must surely be an ugly place.”
“Yes, it is beautiful to look at. Remember that when the ugliness overtakes you,” Afi told her. “Find beauty wherever you can, child. It will keep you alive.”
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Chapter 14 Quotes
“Will you be wantin’ her mama, sir?” the auctioneer said to Mr. Derby. “I offer her to you first, out of respect, you see.”
Polly watched as Mr. Derby, who had walked up to the stage to claim his property, glanced at the older woman standing next to the slave girl, then said, “No, Horace, but thanks for the offer. Family ties only confuse the poor creatures. They’ll forget each other as soon as the sun sets. Trust me.”
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Polly wondered if Negroes from Africa had feelings and intelligent thoughts or if that gibberish they spoke was more like the scream of monkeys or the barking of dogs.
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Chapter 40 Quotes
“What did your mama keep a-tellin’ you while you be with her?”
“She tell me stories about Africa and about her own mother, and she tell me, ‘Long as you remember, ain’t nothin’ really gone.’”
Amari, blinking away tears, hugged him. “You gonna always remember?”
“I ain’t never gonna forget nothin’ she done tell me,” the boy said with great seriousness. He squeezed the leather pouch.
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Chapter 42 Quotes
She inhaled sharply as she thought of Mrs. Derby, of the infant who had been given no chance to live, and of all the other women, both black and white, who continued to suffer as property of others.
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Afi Character Timeline in Copper Sun
The timeline below shows where the character Afi appears in Copper Sun. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5. The Door of No Return
...on them, and the soldiers like to rip the women’s tops to expose their breasts. Afi, the woman who befriended Amari, helps Amari get food and shows her how to look...
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...upper lip, but she jerks away. He slaps her so hard that she almost falls. Afi hisses for Amari to open her mouth; terrified, Amari does. The white man pokes around...
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...Someone smears a salve on her wound and throws her into a different holding pen. Afi follows not long after, though she doesn’t cry when they brand her. Afi doesn’t know...
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Amari figures the white men have to have come from somewhere, and Afi agrees—whatever is on the other side of the ocean is a horrific place if the...
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...it sinks. After dark, the captors prepare food and give generous portions to the prisoners. Afi explains that this is probably to prepare them for the journey. She hesitates before saying...
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Chapter 6. From Sand to Ship
In the morning, Amari wakes up cold. She remembers everything from the night before, and Afi ominously says that this is the day. After another generous meal, guards kick the men,...
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...for the women next. They shackle the women together in pairs, and fortunately, Amari and Afi are together. They then march down to the shore. Amari is terrified of the churning...
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Chapter 7. Ship of Death
...listens to the white men laugh far above, and then things begin to slow down. Afi begins to sing an old Ewe funerary song, and most of the other women join...
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Chapter 8. Toward the Edge of the World
Hours pass. Amari, hungry, nudges Afi, who tells her to feel the motion of the ship. She explains that they’re floating...
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Afi whispers to Amari that the men will come for them tonight. She counsels Amari to...
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Chapter 9. Lessons—Painful and Otherwise
...the women. They untie and drag the women away to secluded corners of the ship. Afi goes without a fight, while Amari tries to make herself look like a child. The...
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...gives Amari more water, lets her relieve herself, and then gently ties her back up. Afi joins Amari not long after, bruised and bleeding. Amari is almost ashamed that she wasn’t...
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...journey will be; she’s never heard of journeys lasting more than a few days. Laughing, Afi says that this is just the beginning. Many will die, and they’ll all change. Afi...
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Chapter 11. Land Ho
...damage done to the ship. She also learns that they’re headed someplace called Carolina, and Afi says that’s where Amari’s destiny is. Amari questioningly says that Afi’s destiny is there too,...
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Chapter 12. Welcome to Sullivan’s Island
...edge of the ship and sees a surprisingly beautiful landscape before her. She marvels to Afi that it’s lovely, and Afi counsels Amari to remember the beauty “when the ugliness overtakes...
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The official examines Afi first, checking her mouth and her genitals. He smacks Afi’s buttocks and says, “Good breeder,”...
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Chapter 13. The Slave Auction
...Charles Town. Amari is in awe—there are no trees, but tall buildings instead. Amari and Afi decide that they’re in a backward world when they realize that all the Black and...
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Chapter 23. Fiery Pain and Healing Hands
...doesn’t know why she has such a strong spirit—she’s just surviving. She thinks of how Afi told her the same thing, but she tells Teenie that spirits sometimes die.
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Chapter 24. Gator Bait
...out to let him catch his breath. Amari grasps Tidbit when he’s onshore and whispers Afi’s words to him: that he’s strong and that he’ll endure. She tells him the same...
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Chapter 31. The Doctor’s Choice
...be sold like a cow for the rest of her life. She remembers how convinced Afi was of Amari’s spirit and her future, but Amari feels weak. After an hour, Dr....
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Chapter 42. Copper Sun
...of her ancestors. She notices that the sun is about to set and thinks of Afi. Amari thinks that Afi’s insistence that Amari’s life lay beyond the horrors of slavery is...
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...him Freeman and teach him her native language. If it’s a girl, she’ll name her Afi. No matter what, she’ll tell her child about her ancestors and she’ll pass on her...
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