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Chapter 22
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 is becoming more and more ostracized at school and is close to flunking out. He can’t wait for summer vacation, even though it will just mean more time working at the trash pile at Golly’s. The McCobbs are also dealing with some serious trouble of their own: their car gets repossessed, and they’re debating moving in with Mrs. McCobb’s parents in Ohio. When Demon starts working full-time at the trash pile, Swap-Out generously shares weed with him, which makes the work a little more enjoyable. Demon also spends time with Mr. Ghali, the owner of Golly’s market, who tells him stories of growing up in a dump in India.
Notably, Demon seems to prefer the exploitation he experiences at the hands of the McCobbs to the social ostracization at school. With that in mind, the novel argues that, for Demon at least, social exclusion may be worse than economic exploitation. The ostracization he faces at school has also led him to almost entirely give up. The novel underlines the point that social exclusion based on socioeconomic status has material in addition to the emotional impacts in the sense that if Demon were to drop out of school, his economic prospects would suffer.
Themes
The McCobbs fight almost constantly. Their landlord threatens to evict them unless they pay back rent. They end up paying it with money Demon earns at Golly’s. They don’t even tell him—Haillie does. Demon storms upstairs to tell them if they want his help, they can ask. He takes his money and puts it in a jar. Eventually, the McCobbs decide they’ll have to live with Mrs. McCobb’s parents, which means DSS will have to find Demon a new foster family.
The novel shows that while the McCobbs are exploitative and treat Demon poorly, they have reasons for doing so. Those reasons may not excuse their behavior, but they do contextualize it. With that in mind, the novel shows that the McCobbs exploit Demon not because they enjoy seeing him suffer but because they are facing their own difficulties. They are simultaneously victims and perpetrators of a larger system of oppression.
Themes
Demon hatches a plan. He tells his new caseworker, whom he calls Baggy Eyes, that he’ll stay with the Peggots until she finds him a new placement. Then, after work on the day the McCobbs leave for Ohio, he hitchhikes on Route 23. When the person who picks him up asks where he’s going, he says Murder Valley, Tennessee, where his dad is supposed to be buried.
Since Mom died, Demon has had two horrible foster placements and has felt increasingly isolated as a result. Facing the possibility of another placement that could be as bad as the past two, Demon decides to try and find the last remaining family that he is aware of, hoping that he might overcome those feelings of isolation if he finds familial support.
Themes
