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Chapter 23
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
Clay strolls into the kitchen one afternoon while Teenie, Amari, and Polly work on an apple pie and Tidbit and Hushpuppy sit under the table. Amari shrinks away, but Clay spits that Hushpuppy needs to be out of the kitchen. Teenie sends Tidbit and Hushpuppy out, but Clay snatches Tidbit and kicks the dog into the yard. Teenie looks afraid, but she sooths screaming Tidbit. Clay announces that he has friends visiting, and they need bait for an alligator hunt. Teenie tries to argue, but Clay invites Amari to come along and watch. He wants to show her off to his friends. Amari has no idea what’s happening, but Teenie’s terror scares Amari. Clay announces that Amari will return either with a whole Tidbit or parts to bury, and he marches away.
Clay knows exactly what he’s doing as he snags Tidbit. In addition to terrorizing Tidbit himself, this abuse will also terrorize Teenie, Amari, and all the other slaves who work together to keep their children safe. In this way, hurting Tidbit hurts the entire enslaved population on Derbyshire Farms. This also makes it clear that no slaves—no matter their age, sex, or any other factor—are safe from abuse. And for children, abuse can be especially lethal.
Themes
Amari follows behind. Tidbit sees that Hushpuppy is okay and then fixes his eyes on Amari. They head for the river, where three other young men Clay’s age wait. They all exude power and superiority. The four young men laugh uproariously as Clay puts Tidbit down. One man nudges Tidbit with his toe while another pats Amari’s bottom and asks who she is. Clay fiercely jumps between Amari and his friend and says that Amari is his. Amari is shocked and feels like an animal on display. Clay tells her to tie Tidbit with the rope. As Amari does, she whispers to Tidbit to be brave. Clay tells Tidbit to swim and then tosses him into the river.
Everything Clay does here allows him to assert his power and his dominance over Amari and Tidbit. Forcing Amari to tie Tidbit herself makes her complicit in the abuse—and if the knots come undone, Clay will no doubt insist that Tidbit’s certain death would be Amari’s fault, not his own for torturing Tidbit in the first place. But because Amari is a slave, she has no power to stand up to Clay. All she can do is hope that her knots are good enough and that Clay might show some mercy.
Themes
Tidbit paddles as hard as he can, terrified. Clay and his friends laugh. Amari feels angry enough to kill and begs Clay to bring Tidbit back to shore. Clay’s friends stare, astonished, and Clay calmly tells Amari to shut up. She doesn’t understand how these men can torture a child like this. An alligator approaches, and one of Clay’s friends shoots it. Amari can’t tell if Tidbit is still alive. Clay orders his friend to pull Tidbit 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 in English before Clay tosses Tidbit back in. Amari wants to scream, but she understands that Tidbit is in more danger if she distracts the hunters.
Even though Amari wonders how Clay can do this to a child, it’s worth noting that because Clay has so much power over Tidbit, Tidbit isn’t a child in Clay’s eyes—he’s a mere plaything, albeit a living one. For that matter, the same goes for Amari, and this is why Clay is able to justify raping her whenever he feels like it. This horrific experience impresses on readers once again that slavery is so hard to topple because victims have so few ways to effectively resist. To survive something like this, they have to comply.
Themes
The young men throw Tidbit in several more times. By the time they call it a day, Tidbit seems to be in shock. Amari picks him up as Clay’s friends all laugh and mount their horses. Clay asks Amari if she had fun and warns her to never contradict him again. They gallop back to the house, and Amari carries Tidbit slowly. Hushpuppy meets them halfway, and Tidbit buries his face in Hushpuppy’s fur.
Holding Tidbit on the walk back to the kitchen allows Amari to help Tidbit feel alive, loved, and supported after his horrific experience. Showing him love like this is one small way in which she can resist Clay’s dehumanizing actions—and hopefully, help Tidbit hang onto his will to live.
Themes
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