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The Copper Sun
Babies—and, sometimes, older children—are symbols of hope and innocence. The many babies and children who are murdered or who otherwise die during the journey to the colonies, including Esi’s unborn first child and Amari’s brother Kwasi, represent the lost innocence of people abducted in Africa and enslaved in the American colonies. However, the children and infants whom Amari encounters in the colonies suggest there’s still hope. Tidbit, though a slave, is bright and happy, and he shows Amari that there’s something worth fighting for: his future, his right to life, and ultimately his ability to carry on the story of his ancestors and maintain the ties to African culture. This is ultimately what helps Amari accept and find peace when she realizes she’s pregnant with a baby that Clay Derby fathered through rape. Despite the horrific circumstances surrounding the baby’s conception, Inez encourages Amari to focus on the fact that her baby will, like Tidbit, offer Amari an opportunity to pass along her optimism, tenacity, and strength—especially in the face of such horrors.
The fate of Mrs. Derby’s own biracial infant daughter, however—Mr. Derby shoots her and her father, Noah, a slave, when the baby is only hours old—makes it clear that the hope that Black babies represent is especially tenuous. All Black slaves, whether children or adults, are in constant danger of being killed, raped, or otherwise harmed in some way, either directly by their masters or as a result of neglect. And the birth of Black babies may be hopeful for other Black people, but for white masters intent on keeping control of their slaves, those babies represent humanity, choice, and agency on the part of the Black slaves that directly threatens the control of those white masters.
Babies / Children Quotes in Copper Sun
The Copper Sun quotes below all refer to the symbol of Babies / Children. 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 21
Quotes
“And that’s just the first part. Then you gotta tend to the plants and flood the fields and cut the stacks and thresh the seeds—seem like it go on forever. That’s what be in your future, Miz Africa. And when he get old enough, this here boy’s future too.”
Polly looked at Cato in disbelief. “They’d put Tidbit out there?” she asked, horrified. The thought of little Tidbit sweating and working in the dangerous swampy water made Polly feel ill.
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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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Chapter 31
Quotes
He took a deep breath, then said quietly, “I am ashamed to be a human being this morning. I witnessed not just murder last night, but violence and cruelty and vicious hatred. By saying nothing, I feel I am as responsible as my so-called friend who pulled the trigger.”
Amari and Polly exchanged stunned looks.
Dr. Hoskins continued. “I am just one man. I don’t know how to fight everything that is happening around me. I don’t understand how one man can own another. And I don’t know how to stop it.” He looked around at the deep woods and the darkness within them. “But I can help the three of you.”
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Chapter 42
Quotes
What shall I do? Amari thought helplessly. She willed herself to imagine her mother who would know what to say and how to comfort her. All of her mother’s dreams of growing old and watching her grandchildren play had been brutally dashed into the dust. This child carries the spirit of my mother, Amari realized suddenly, as well as the essence of her father, little Kwasi, the murdered people of her village, and the spirits of all her ancestors.
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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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Get the entire Copper Sun LitChart as a printable PDF.
Babies / Children Symbol Timeline in Copper Sun
The timeline below shows where the symbol Babies / Children appears in Copper Sun. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2. Strangers and Death
...As soon as the drumming starts, the villagers begin to dance. Kwasi dances with the children and tries to pull Amari into the dance, but she’d rather peek at Besa.
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...to scream in terror and confusion. An Ashanti warrior clubs down a woman and her baby as the woman tries to flee. Amari knows she should run, but she feels stuck....
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Chapter 3. Sorrow and Shackles
...her husband. Amari remembers how just yesterday, Esi announced that she’s pregnant with her first baby. Finally, Amari notices Besa at the other end of the group. His eyes are glazed,...
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Chapter 4. Death March to Cape Coast
...bloody. Several captives die along the journey, including Esi, not long after she miscarries her baby. On occasion, other groups of slaves join Amari’s group. The path grows wider and more...
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...killed these women’s families too. As she looks around, she notices a woman rocking a baby that isn’t there. Amari is grateful when guards toss bread into the room, but by...
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Chapter 7. Ship of Death
...a separate location, but the women aren’t stacked and have fresher air. There are some children. Amari discovers that the people on the ship came from all over Africa. She briefly...
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Chapter 8. Toward the Edge of the World
...over, the soldiers tie the women to the sides of the deck and allow the children to run free. Though Amari is thirsty and hot, it’s more pleasant on deck.
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Chapter 9. Lessons—Painful and Otherwise
...ship. Afi goes without a fight, while Amari tries to make herself look like a child. The red-haired sailor grabs her, though, and pulls Amari to a small room. She’s shocked...
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...pouch around his neck and offers it to Amari: it’s a small carving of a child. The man points from the carving to himself, then takes it back, kisses it, and...
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Chapter 14. The Slave Sale
...Polly wonders if African people have feelings and actual thoughts. She remembers playing with slave children when she was little, though her father discouraged her from doing so. Her mother insisted...
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Chapter 17. Amari and Adjustments
At least twice a week, Clay summons Amari to his bedroom. Amari thinks of her childhood while she’s with him, but it’s hard to do this on nights when he wants...
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Chapter 20. Isabelle Derby
...listens to Lena, a house slave, gossip with Teenie. They argue about whether Mrs. Derby’s baby is a boy or a girl. Teenie hopes it’s a girl so that Mrs. Derby...
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...Clay’s bed and feels bad for the other slaves, who have their own gardens and children to attend to when they’re done with their work. The slaves sing late into the...
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Chapter 21. Rice and Snakes
...and must contend with mosquitos, flies, malaria, pneumonia, and snakes. Women have stillbirths, or their babies die young. Cato scolds Tidbit, who got too close to the water, and says that...
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Chapter 22. Lashed With a Whip
...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...
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Chapter 23. Fiery Pain and Healing Hands
...remarks that the woman looks sad, but Amari insists that she’ll be happy when the baby comes.
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Chapter 24. Gator Bait
...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...
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Chapter 25. Birth of the Baby
...in the rice fields. Amari says nothing. Then, he asks Polly what she knows about childbirth and explains that he sent Noah for the doctor, but they won’t return for hours....
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Chapter 26. Facing Mr. Derby
As Amari carefully cleans the infant, she says that a Black baby born to a white mother is trouble. Polly wonders if Mrs. Derby was raped and...
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Mrs. Derby suggests they tell Mr. Derby that the baby died or was horribly deformed and then take the baby to safety. Teenie insists that...
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...the stairs. Mrs. Derby is asleep, and Polly pretends to sob. Polly says that the baby was stillborn. His voice breaking, Mr. Derby asks to see the baby, but Polly says...
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Chapter 27. Death in the Dust
...ignores Noah and instead addresses Dr. Hoskins. She tells him that Mrs. Derby and the baby are fine, so he can turn around. Noah seems to understand immediately and offers to...
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...Mr. Derby is out front. He thanks Dr. Hoskins for coming and says that the baby was stillborn. Dr. Hoskins, confused, says that Polly said the baby was fine. Mr. Derby...
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...the infant in his arms. He looks like he’s enjoying this as he lays the baby on the ground. Mr. Derby accuses his wife of betraying him and says that he...
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Chapter 29. Locked in the Smokehouse
Polly feels powerless and tries to erase the bloody images of Mrs. Derby’s baby from her mind. Amari falls asleep and Teenie whispers to Tidbit that as long as...
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Chapter 38. The Spanish Soldier
...a strong mother. Amari points out that in her village, the women mother all the children—so maybe Tidbit belongs to both her and Polly. Tidbit opens his eyes and says he...
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...parents, but if she’s ever in Fort Mose, she’d find churches, shops, and lots of children. Polly insists they must get home, and the soldier tells them to go with God....
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Chapter 41. Fort Mose
...Mr. Derby must be crazy. Polly shares that Mr. Derby killed a slave and a baby before they left. Captain Menendez promises the girls protection and asks about their skills. Amari...
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Chapter 42. Copper Sun
...the revolting memories of Clay’s bedroom. She tells Inez she can’t do this since the baby makes her think of being a slave, but Inez says that babies know nothing but...
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...and Amari won’t be the first. Inez had a daughter who was definitely her master’s child, but her master’s wife forced him to sell the girl when she was about Tidbit’s...
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...and thinks of Mother, who would know what to do. She realizes suddenly that this baby carries her mother’s spirit—as well as her father’s, Kwasi’s, her other neighbors, and the spirits...
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Amari vows to never think of Clay again. He can’t change her love for her baby. She decides that if the baby is a boy, she’ll name him Freeman and teach...
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