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Opioid Painkillers
The ocean symbolizes the peace and tranquility that Demon hopes to cultivate in his own mind. Perhaps paradoxically, Demon finds that tranquility when he stops envisioning it as a specific destination and starts embracing his own journey. Demon describes the ocean as a place that is free from the chaos that characterizes his day-to-day life, and this is why he’s so drawn to it. Throughout the novel, he makes various attempts to reach the ocean and, by extension, to find peace. However, he repeatedly encounters obstacles along the way.
In particular, his childhood trauma and ongoing struggles with addiction continue to plague him, standing in the way of his goal to make his mind resemble the tranquility of the ocean. The ocean can also be understood, then, as a symbol of the tranquility and peace that eludes Demon when he turns to destructive outlets to find instant relief. At various points, Demon uses drugs to find respite from the disorder of his life. While those drugs give Demon a temporary feeling of the peace he’s looking for, they ultimately lead to addiction and more “hectic nonsense.” At this point in his life, Demon’s suffering is so great that he is more concerned with dulling his pain than working through it. In other words, he wants to reach the peace and tranquility of this ocean but cannot yet undertake (or even acknowledge) the long and arduous journey it will take to get there.
After he becomes sober, Demon begins to find ways to make his own mind take on the tranquility of the ocean. At the end of the novel, Demon and Angus make one last trip to try and reach the sea. Demon says, “The trip itself, just getting there, possibly the best part of my life so far.” Instead of thinking of the ocean as the ultimate destination, Demon chooses to embrace the journey it takes to get to the ocean rather than that destination itself, a change in mentality that has allowed Demon to find the peace and tranquility he has searched for all along.
The Ocean Quotes in Demon Copperhead
The Demon Copperhead quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Ocean. 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 36
Quotes
I was born to wish for more than I can have. No little fishing hole for Demon, he wants the whole ocean. And on from there, as regards man-overboard. I came late to getting my brain around to the problem of me, and still yet might not have. The telling of this tale is supposed to make it come clear. It’s a disease, a lot of people will tell you that now, be they crushed souls under repair at NA meetings or the doctors in buttoned-up sweaters. Fair enough. But where did it come from, this wanting disease? From how I was born, or the ones that made me, or the crowd I ran with later? Everybody warns about bad influences, but it’s these things already inside you that are going to take you down.
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Chapter 64
Quotes
The trip itself, just getting there, possibly the best part of my life so far.
That’s where we are. Well past the Christiansburg exit. Past Richmond, and still pointed east. Headed for the one big thing I know is not going to swallow me alive.
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The Ocean Symbol Timeline in Demon Copperhead
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Ocean appears in Demon Copperhead. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 45
...following through on what he says he’s going to do, Demon plans a trip for the ocean . He needs a ride, so he calls Fast Forward. He invites Maggot next. When...
(full context)
Chapter 64
...It’s almost Christmas, and Angus says she has a present for him. “I’m giving you the ocean ,” she says. They decide to take Demon’s car. On the drive, Demon realizes what...
(full context)
