Copper Sun

The women are unchained and brought up to the deck of the ship, where they are astonished at the sight of nothing but water. The sailors bring out a drum and order the women to dance, but they do not understand. The men watch the women jump around, sometimes touching them, and one man with red hair watches Amari’s face intently. The women are then tied to the edge of the ship, and their children are brought up to join them. Afi predicts that that evening they will be sexually assaulted. When Afi tells Amari this, Amari longs for death, but Afi tells her that she must live, otherwise, these men win.

The captive men are brought up from the hold later and go through the same horrible routine of salt water, eating, and dancing but are then ordered back down below. Some men are brought up dead and tossed unceremoniously overboard.

“Like pigs in heat [the sailors] came for the women” (50). The red-haired man that watched Amari earlier, takes her into a separate room and yells at her to scream. She only does so when he raises his arm to hit her, but he doesn’t harm her. He then orders her to be quiet. The sailor talks with her, but, of course, she can’t understand. He gives her a carved doll and explains to her that it belonged to his child. He gives her fresh, cool water to drink and then proceeds to teach her words: water, bucket, door, ship, man, etc. “Knowledge of the language of the white men was a powerful weapon that she could possibly use one day to her advantage” (54). When Amari returns, all the other women are beaten and shaking. Amari, with a lot of thought, realizes “that what had happened to her really was one drop of kindness in this huge sea of evil that surrounded them” (54).