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Chapter 21
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
Teenie has already heard about Hildy when Polly and Amari return to the kitchen. She asks if Cato also scared them about Amari’s future in the rice field. Polly thinks that last year, she thought that slaves were just supposed to work in rice fields. But she knows Amari and maybe cares about her, and it troubles her that Amari’s fate is so grim. Teenie says she has an idea and sends the girls to wash up. She hands them maid outfits and explains that one of the house slaves is Hildy’s daughter, and since she’s with Hildy, Amari and Polly will take her place.
Now that Polly has put faces, names, and histories to slaves, the thought of them performing dangerous labor and dying is suddenly horrific to her. This speaks to the power of friendship: even if Polly isn’t entirely ready to call Amari a friend yet, knowing more about her means that Polly is beginning to humanize Amari. Now, Amari is a fellow human being in Polly’s eyes, not just a faceless slave.
Themes
Polly is thrilled and helps Amari tie her apron. She asks if Amari has seen Mr. Derby since they arrived and if Amari has been in the house. She gasps when she remembers that Amari is there most nights. Polly asks if Mrs. Derby knows what Clay is doing and suggests that she could help Amari. Amari sharply says that Mrs. Derby also needs help. Polly doesn’t understand why Amari is so upset. Slave women are just expected to serve in their masters’ bedrooms, and she thinks that Amari should be used to it.
Even if Polly has come a long way in the last few months, she still has a long way to go—in her mind, Clay’s constant raping of Amari is normal and expected, not something to get upset about. She still isn’t able to understand that rape—and more broadly, the dehumanization of Black people through slavery—is horrific and unacceptable.
Themes
The girls each take a platter of food and head for the house. Lena rolls her eyes but sends Polly and Amari back for the rest of supper. Polly studies the lavish dining room and peeks into the next room, Mr. Derby’s study. There are lots of books, and she knows that if she were employed in the house, she’d sneak in and read every chance she got. Lena formally introduces Polly to Noah, who acts as the coachman, butler, and Mrs. Derby’s bodyguard. Lena whispers that it’s rumored he knows how to read, but she cuts herself off as Mr. Derby escorts the heavily pregnant Mrs. Derby into the room. Clay comes in behind them, gives his stepmother a disgusted look, and tries to catch Amari’s eye. Amari refuses to look up.
Polly’s naïveté shines through yet again. If she were employed in the house, the idea that she’d be able to get away with sneaking into Mr. Derby’s study is wildly misguided. To Mr. Derby, she’s still just help, and female help at that—which to him means that Polly has few or no rights. However, as a white woman, it’s still far more likely that Polly will end up working in the house at some point, which is a mark of her privilege. Amari doesn’t have that to look forward to.
Themes
Lena explains the change in staff to Mr. Derby. He grumbles that he hates when his workers are injured and tells Mrs. Derby not to go check on the injured slave. His only concern is Mrs. Derby’s health and that of their baby. Mr. Derby asks Clay to pull a slave from the fishing crew tomorrow to work in the rice, but Clay lazily suggests sending Noah to the rice field. Mrs. Derby looks alarmed and turns to her husband, but Mr. Derby assures her that she can keep Noah at the house. He asks Clay to be nicer, but Clay rolls his eyes. Amari looks nervous, so Polly does everything she can to help. Throughout the dinner, Mrs. Derby eats little unless prompted, and Polly notices that Mr. Derby treats her more like a possession than a person.
The way that Mr. Derby talks about Hildy’s snakebite is significant: it’s an inconvenience for him rather than a tragedy. He doesn’t seem to recognize that Hildy is going to die and that this is a direct result of the inhumane conditions in which he forces his slaves to work. Meanwhile, seeing how cruel Clay is to Mrs. Derby impresses upon Amari that though Mrs. Derby may be the lady of the house, she still is at the mercy of the men—even her own stepson—when it comes to her choices in life. Clay is free to harass her, threaten to take Noah away, and disobey his father—all because he’s a white male.
Themes
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Mr. Derby and Clay discuss purchasing more slaves to increase rice production next year. Mr. Derby says he’ll keep his eyes open and they’ll “break them in” before planting time. Polly is disturbed by how they talk about slaves, and she wonders if she could talk about purchasing people like they do. Clay asks if they need to sell slaves to buy supplies, but Mr. Derby insists they’ll make a profit without selling “property.” Slaves, Polly realizes, are property. She’s upset about the thought of selling them. Clay says that he has friends in the North talking about ending slavery, but Mr. Derby insists that this won’t happen. Both men insist the slaves are better with them than they are in the jungle, but Polly isn’t sure anymore if Mr. Derby is right about this.
In this moment, Polly finally understands that becoming a fine lady might not be all she imagined it would be. For one, it would likely entail owning slaves, something that suddenly seems far less normal and reasonable than it once did to her. Essentially, as Polly becomes increasingly empathetic and understanding of the struggles that Black slaves face in the colonies, reaching the upper echelons of colonial society seems less and less appealing to her. She also now recognizes that slaves are people—they’re not “property” that needs to be “broken in.”
Themes
As Polly watches Mrs. Derby, she notices how unhappy the woman is. She realizes that being a fine lady doesn’t mean being happy—Mrs. Derby is clearly miserable. Finally, Polly and Amari clear the last of the dishes. Polly vows to talk to Mrs. Derby about serving her personally as Mr. Derby lights his pipe. He sticks a leg out as Amari walks past with the last of the pie. She trips, spilling berries all over the light carpet. Amari cowers as Mr. Derby sends Lena for his whip. The lash is laced with wire.
Here, Polly begins to realize not only that being a fine lady isn’t all that fun—it also won’t guarantee her any power. Mrs. Derby is, by all accounts, a fine lady, but she’s miserable because she has little or no power over her life. Thus, Polly begins to see that even if she does become a lady someday, it may not improve her situation much or at all.
Themes
Mr. Derby lashes Amari’s back as Lena prays and Polly clenches her fists. Polly feels furious at how helpless she is—and she knows this ruins her chances of working in the house. Mrs. Derby finally stops her husband. Mr. Derby tells Polly that she failed to civilize Amari, so Amari will replace Hildy in the rice fields. He tells Polly to clean the floor and escorts Mrs. Derby from the room. Polly is terrified and doesn’t know what to do. Amari is unconscious. Noah whispers that vinegar will get the stains out of the carpet.
Mr. Derby’s seeming loss of control suggests that on some level, he’s simply a cruel man—and with slaves around, he doesn’t see the need to temper himself. This speaks to how he sees the slaves as subhuman and not worthy of compassion. Though Mrs. Derby stopping her husband is a way to push back against his cruelty, she has no standing to do anything more—as a woman, she’s powerless to advocate for anything else.
Themes
