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Noah is Mrs. Derby’s personal slave and bodyguard. Amari sees little of him throughout the novel, since he serves primarily at the house, but several of the other slaves resent him. It’s rumored that he’s literate and will be freed upon Mrs. Derby’s death, and his superior treatment and duties don’t sit well with the other slaves either. In Polly and Amari’s experience, however, Noah is kind and supportive of the other slaves on the plantation. When Mrs. Derby gives birth to a Black baby, Teenie correctly infers that Noah is the father. Noah explains that he and Mrs. Derby grew up together and have been friends and lovers for a long time. His love for Mrs. Derby means that he’s unwilling to try to run away and save himself. Mr. Derby murders Noah and the baby in front of Mrs. Derby to punish them.
Noah Quotes in Copper Sun
The Copper Sun quotes below are all either spoken by Noah or refer to Noah. 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:
).
Chapter 15
Quotes
The young Master Derby carried a small whip, and he used it liberally to make Noah work faster. Polly noticed that the slave breathed slowly and loudly, as if he was tense, but he made no attempt to stop the young man from hitting him. She was always amazed at how much abuse slaves took without it seeming to bother them.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26
Quotes
“My beautiful baby,” she murmured over and over. Finally calmer, she looked up at Teenie and the girls. “I must explain,” she whispered, “before I die.”
“You ain’t gonna die, Miz Isabelle,” Teenie assured her. “You is fit and fine. Everybody feels a little poorly after havin’ a baby.”
Tenderly, Mrs. Derby touched the infant’s velvety brown face. “You don’t understand. My husband will kill me,” she said with certainty.
[...]
“He would never do such a thing!” But Teenie knew that Mr. Derby was probably quite capable of murder and would be within the limits of social acceptability to do so for this impropriety.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Copper Sun LitChart as a printable PDF.
Noah Quotes in Copper Sun
The Copper Sun quotes below are all either spoken by Noah or refer to Noah. 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:
).
Chapter 15
Quotes
The young Master Derby carried a small whip, and he used it liberally to make Noah work faster. Polly noticed that the slave breathed slowly and loudly, as if he was tense, but he made no attempt to stop the young man from hitting him. She was always amazed at how much abuse slaves took without it seeming to bother them.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26
Quotes
“My beautiful baby,” she murmured over and over. Finally calmer, she looked up at Teenie and the girls. “I must explain,” she whispered, “before I die.”
“You ain’t gonna die, Miz Isabelle,” Teenie assured her. “You is fit and fine. Everybody feels a little poorly after havin’ a baby.”
Tenderly, Mrs. Derby touched the infant’s velvety brown face. “You don’t understand. My husband will kill me,” she said with certainty.
[...]
“He would never do such a thing!” But Teenie knew that Mr. Derby was probably quite capable of murder and would be within the limits of social acceptability to do so for this impropriety.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
