Early American Lit - Copper Sun Chapter Summaries 

[[Part 1: Amari[[

In chapter 1, Amari’s mother decides to prepare celebrations after learning from Amari’s fiance, Besa, that white strangers have been spotted close to their village.  

In chapter 2, Amari finds the comfort she’d developed earlier in the celebration quickly shattered when she watches the deaths of her family at the hands of the white visitors & the Ashanti tribe.

In chapter 3, Amari and the other 24 survivors are chained together in groups of 6 where they are forced to eat, sleep, drink, and use the bathroom as a unit and only unshackled at death. 

In chapter 4, eight more of the survivors, including Kwadzo, Esi, and Makafui are killed while the remainder are taken to an ocean-side city where they are put in cells with people from other tribes, including a large woman who explains what is happening to Amari. 

In chapter 5, Amari and Afi are sold and branded before being fed well to prepare for their long upcoming journey. 

In chapter 6, Amari and Afi are put on a small boat with many other slaves, knowing that they will never be returned to their homelands. 

In chapter 7, Amari and Afi are moved to the crowded and unsanitary hull of  a bigger boat, along with hundreds of other women, men, and children.

In chapter 8, the women on the boat are brought up to the deck to have buckets of ocean water dumped on them, be fed, and be forced to dance in order to entertain the sailors. 

In chapter 9, at night many of the female slaves are taken away by sailors to be sexually assulted, but Amari is taken by the red-haired man back to his cabin, where he teaches her English vocabulary so she can have some power and understanding over what is happening. 

In chapter 10, a huge storm sweeps a young girl into the ocean and forces all of the other slaves to stay in the belly of the ship until the storm calms down, resulting in the deaths of  16 more women and 10 children. 

In chapter 11, the sailors treat the slaves better in the days leading up to them seeing land, including letting a doctor check out each person and feeding them better. 

In chapter 12, the boat lands on Sullivan’s Island, where a man comes on board to inspect and approve the slaves, which he reffers to as “cargo”. 

In chapter 13, the slaves are moved to a building on Sullivan’s Island were they are quarentined for diseases and a man named Tybee explains to them what is happening in their native language before they are moved again to a customhouse on the main land where the bidding begins.  

[[Part 2: Polly[[

In chapter 14, Polly, a young girl who does not like Black people and who is about to start a 14 year indentureship with Mr. Percival Derby of Derbyshire Farms, watches Mr Derby make the winning bid of 60 pounds for Amari. 

In chapter 15, Polly and Amari meet Mr Derby and his son, Clay, who renames Amari to “Myna” and instructs Polly to teach her English and how to be civilized. 

In chapter 16,  Polly tells her life story to Teenie and begins to teach Amari English before Amari is called away to spend the night with Clay.  

[[Part 3: Amari[[ 

In chapter 17, Amari begins to pick up more of the language and adapt to and enjoy her new life, except for the nights where she is forced to talk with and sleep with Clay.

In chapter 18, Amari wants to kill herself instead of dealing with Clay anymore and Teenie comforts her by talking about her own experiances with a man named Willie Badgett. 

In chapter 19, Polly, Amari, and Tidbit discuss what Amari’s life was like in Africa - bright, happy, and good-feeling. 

In chapter 20, Amari runs into Mrs. Derby, the 18 year old, pregnant second wife to Mr Derby, who also feels trapped and saddened, and who apologies to Amari for the actions of her step son, Clay. 

[[Part 4: Polly[[

In chapter 21, Amari, Tidbit, and Polly go down to the rice plantation where they meet an old man named Cato who tells them that soon Amari will be moved to work in the fields and Polly will be put in the house to sew. 

In chapter 22, Amari and Polly work in the dining room serving Mrs and Mr Derby,  but after tripping and spilling a pie everywhere, Amari is whipped and set to go work in the rice fields. 

[[Part 5: Amari[[ 

In chapter 23, Amari recovers from her beating and is sent back to the kitchen, not the rice fields. \n In chapter 24, Clay and some of his friends take Amari and Tidbit out to go gator hunting, using Tidbit as bait. 

[[Part 6: Polly[[

In chapter 25, Amari and Polly help deliver Mrs Derby’s child, a black little girl. 

In chapter 26, Amari and Polly take the baby to Sara Jane’s to take care of, while Mr Derby comes back demanding to see the body of his dead daughter. 

In chapter 27, Mr Derby uncovers the full story of his daughter and forces Mrs Derby, Clay, Polly, and Amari to watch as he shoots Noah, the baby’s father, and the baby. 

In chapter 28, as consequences for their participation in his wife’s betrayal, Mr Derby deecides that he is going to sell Polly to a whorehouse and Amari and Tidbit as slaves. 

In chapter 29, while locked in the smokehouse, Amari and Polly discuss their plans to escape down south to Fort Mose in Spanish Florida with Cato. 

In chapter 30, Tidbit and Teenie are separated from each other when Mr Derby forces him, Amari, and Polly to leave with the doctor.

[[Part 7: Amari[[

In chapter 31, the doctor allows and encourages Amari, Tidbit, and Polly to escape and run to freedom, giving them a gun with enough ammunition for one shot to protect themselves. 

In chapter 32, the group decides to stay together and go south towards Fort Mose by night, accompanied by Tidbit’s dog, Hushpuppy. 

In chapter 33, the girls and Tidbit get sick after eating a poisonous plant, but Amari is able to catch fist for them to eat raw to give them strength. 

In chapter 34, the group continues walking after being separated from Hushpuppy, who returns with a dead bunny. 

In chapter 35, Amari is caught by Clay, who is then partially shot by Polly, allowing for the group to escape. 

[[Part 8: Polly[[

In chapter 36, Polly falls for a boy named Nathan who gives the group shelter for the night, but in the morning they are caught by his father and forced to flee into a swamp. 

[[Part 9: Amari[[

In chapter 37, Amari meets Besa again, who has now met another woman and no longer has hope, and she, Polly, and Tidbit are given a wagon and a horse to help them on their journey. 

[[Part 10: Polly[[

In chapter 38, Amari, Polly, and Tidbit run into a Spanish soldier who tells them about what life is like in Fort Mose, a city of freedom run by a Black freed slave. 

[[Part 11: Amari[[

In chapter 39, the group crosses a wide river on the back of the horse they were gifted, bringing them one step closer to Fort Mose. 

In chapter 40, Amari, Polly, and Tidbit arrive at fort Mose, a tiny town full of freedom. 

In chapter 41, Amari gets a job working a loom and Polly becomes a teacher, both jobs are paid with real money in Fort Mose. 

In chapter 42, Amari, Polly, and Tidbit get a house together in Fort Mose and Amari realizes that she is pregnant with Clay’s baby.