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Chapter 41
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
Four weeks into his recovery, Coach starts letting Demon play. But he’s still taking a regimen of painkillers, and he plays like someone on drugs, a second or two behind each play. He tries to cut down on oxy, but then he starts going through withdrawal, so he goes back to a higher dose. Homecoming is coming up, and Demon thinks he’ll still be crowned homecoming king. To try and get him to take them as his date, girls start leaving food, underwear, and nude photos in his locker. But Demon only wants to go with Dori.
The novel traces Demon’s slow descent into addiction, implicitly linking that descent with certain traits commonly associated with toxic masculinity. Instead of listening to and acknowledging his pain, Demon tries to push through it to play football again. Notably, Coach is in control of the situation and allows Demon to play while he’s still on painkillers. The novel shows, then, the profound mistakes that well-intentioned people like Coach might make. The ramifications for Demon eventually become severe, and it’s telling that again, the people who are supposed to care for Demon end up letting him down.
Themes
Dori comes to Demon’s house on a Monday with a gift. It’s a baby chicken, which Demon said he liked the first time they met in the feed store. Demon strokes the baby chicken’s head to try and calm it down. After that, Demon buys Dori flowers and buys himself a new suit jacket. Dori comes to the house every day that week. She tells Demon that after her dad had his heart attack, the doctors found cancer. One day, she lies in bed with him and cries.
Demon and Dori become closer and seem to emotionally support each other in a healthy way. Dori also reveals more of her own struggles, like her father’s illness.
Themes
Demon and Dori go to homecoming together. After the game, there’s a party behind the gym. When they leave the party, they stop at Dori’s house to check on her dad before going to park somewhere. Demon is surprised when Dori pulls out a fentanyl painkiller patch. He’s even more surprised when she takes a kit from her purse with a spoon, lighter, cotton ball, and syringe. She says she’s been saving it because when you do it for the first time with someone, it’s supposed to be “the best you’ll ever feel in your life.” Demon is afraid of needles, so Dori puts a drop of the liquid on his tongue before shooting herself up. They then have sex in the backseat of the car. The next morning, Demon is sorry he can’t remember everything. But he reassures himself that since Dori is “[his] girl” now, everything will be OK.
The novel continues to chart Demon’s path to full-fledged addiction. First, he is prescribed opioids by a doctor who has ulterior motives (namely, his own greed). Next, he begins abusing those drugs in an attempt to treat the symptoms of his injury (like pain) without treating the injury itself. Notably, medical professional also facilitate that step in the process. Finally, someone close to Demon (Dori) introduces him to fentanyl, another highly addictive opioid. Demon’s thought that “everything will be OK” now that he is with Dori is darkly ironic, as that night also seems to mark a pivotal step in Demon’s struggle with addiction.
Themes
