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Chapter 38
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 feels anxious with anticipation in the morning. She and Polly decide to travel by day, but Amari can’t ignore her hunger. She tries to walk a few steps but stumbles. Polly helps her into the wagon and Amari offers Tidbit a pouch of berries. Later, they come across an apple grove and gorge themselves. They reach the St. Mary’s River by evening. Tidbit is terrified of alligators. They decide it’s too wide to swim across and decide to ride the horse. Amari mounts and then pulls Polly and Tidbit up behind her. The horse loves being in the water and swims happily, Hushpuppy at his side. Tidbit cries out with joy, and Amari holds her breath, too excited to speak.
Just as when Amari, Polly, and Tidbit hid in the swamp, the possibility of coming face to face with dangerous animals like alligators aren’t nearly as frightening as the prospect of being returned to a life of slavery. Especially now that they know Fort Mose is real, that it sounds like a utopia, and that it’s so close, the hope that they feel far outweighs any fears they might have of dying along the way.
Themes
When the horse reaches the shore, Tidbit leaps off first and the girls follow. Hushpuppy begins to whimper and growl and Amari leads Tidbit away. She looks back and sees a ten-foot-long alligator chasing Polly, but Polly is fast enough to escape. When they’re clear of the river, the travelers laugh.
It’s telling that Amari goes first to try to save Tidbit—she’s fully stepping into her new role as Tidbit’s adoptive mother. It’s now her sole responsibility to protect him so that he can carry Teenie’s stories forward.
Themes
