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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Demon Copperhead, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Exploitation
Class, Social Hierarchy, and Stereotypes
Pain and Addiction
Toxic Masculinity
Community and Belonging
Summary
Analysis
Demon has one last supervised visit with Stoner. It’s unclear what role, if any, Stoner will play in Demon’s life going forward. They meet for lunch with Miss Barks present, and the conversation quickly loses steam. Demon keeps trying to get Stoner to respond in any way he can, but Stoner is silent and completely disinterested in Demon or anything Demon has to say. Demon says he’s going out for JV football and has been doing well in school. But Stoner continues to ignore Demon. Demon feels caught between wanting Stoner to care about him and wanting Stoner to disappear from the Earth. In a last-ditch effort to get a response, Demon says he’ll be going to Knoxville with Maggot and the Peggots for Christmas. Stoner just says, “You all have a nice time.”
Demon’s efforts to make Stoner care about him or what he says can be seen as a last-ditch attempt to prove, if only to himself, that his Mom’s life impacted someone besides himself. If Stoner showed care or concern for Demon after Mom’s death, that would be evidence that Mom left a mark on Stoner. Instead, though, Stoner ignores Demon while waiting for the meeting to end.
Themes
