The Theme Of Horror Vs. Beauty In Sharon Draper's Copper Sun

In Sharon Draper's novel "Copper Sun," the theme of Horror vs. Beauty is explored through the experiences of Amari, a young African girl who is captured and sold into slavery in America. Throughout the novel, Amari is forced to confront the brutal realities of slavery, including violence, abuse, and exploitation. At the same time, she is also exposed to moments of beauty and kindness, such as the friendship she forms with a white indentured servant named Polly. By pairing these opposing forces, Draper invites readers to consider the complex nature of human experience and the ways in which horror and beauty can coexist in the same world.

Amari starts the book walking down a path with fruit trees on both sides, watching her brother Kwasi

Beauty, and you can find a lot of examples of this throughout the novel. One specific example is Mr. Derby’s influence on the plantation. In Chapter 22, Mr. Derby lashed out at Amari because she had tripped over his legs and dropped the leftover blackberry pie onto the pale carpet. He yelled at Lena to go grab his whip, and when he had it in his hand, time seemed to slow. "Polly inhaled and held her breath. Mr. Derby grasped the handle, drew his arm back, and fiercely brought the branded lash of it across Amari’s back… and seven times he thrashed her. Ten. Twelve" (Draper 132). As stated in the first sentence of the quote, you can imagine how Polly was feeling throughout this whole process of having to stay quiet while watching Amari being whipped and having to hear her scream after each lash. "Lena quietly murmured words of prayer. Horror distorted Mrs. Derby’s face. Clay looked surprisingly uncomfortable and agitated… Isabelle Derby got up from the table and walked over to her husband. Noticeably trembling, she grabbed his hand as he lifted it to strike Amari again… Mr. Derby, as if returning from another place, shook his head and coiled the whip" (Draper 133). These reactions from everyone in the room can also help the reader imagine just how uncomfortable everyone could have felt. For someone like Clay to also be uncomfortable in this process justifies how awful this was. This experience, plus others, was going to help Amari push

Beauty can be a part of every person's life one way or another. Amari and Polly both have been through the horror part but showed strength to push past it to gain the freedom that they wanted, the freedom representing the beauty aspect. They had it rough, especially Amari. From her watching her little brother Kawai being killed along with her mother and father, to losing Besa at the slave auctions, she never gave up. She said at the end of the book, “If this child is a boy, Amari thought, I shall name him Freeman. He will stand tall and proud and be forever free. I shall teach him my native language and tell him of the beauties of my homeland. If it is a girl, I shall name her Afi, after the one who loved me and helped me find my destiny. I will tell this child of her ancestors and her grandparents and tell her the stories my father told me. My child shall never be enslaved, Amari vowed fiercely” (Draper 262). She will keep her fighting spirit and pass it on to her