Sunday, January 17, 2010

Personal Reaction to Copper Sun

Copper Sun was the kind of book the grabbed my attention in the very first couple of chapters. Amari faced many struggles in the very beginning of the book. Through the use of vivid imagery the author was able to clearly depict the atrocities that took place to the African tribes. As a reader I was able to sympathize with Amari and feel her pain as unthinkable events continued to befall her and her fellow Africans.
I had never before read a slave tale before, and I think that this book is great for teens. As we discussed in class the historical fiction was accurate especially when referring to how the whites treated their slaves. The horrific images of slavery and torture were astonishing and even opened my eyes as I read the novel. I do not believe that at any point the novel gets too graphic for teens, but I am sure that anyone who reads this will be at least a little surprised about how terrible the slave trade and slave life on a plantation really were. This is a great multicultural novel for adolescents because it not only reveals the atrocities of slavery, but it also presents a theme of hope that is a common theme in slave tales.
I consider myself a well educated individual, but after reading this novel I feel that I have learned significantly more about what life was like for each individual person. Putting slavery into the perspective of a protagonist helps the reader to sympathize with that character and gain a better understanding of that character's experiences. This novel could help many adolescents see the seriousness of what slavery was, and why it is not something to be taken lightly.
Our class discussions on the historical context of the book made me think more of the book and its Sharon Draper. At times that events that befall Amari and her people seem so extreme that they could be exaggerated, but after finding that all of this happened it adds merit to the novel. I had never before heard that slave babies were used as gator bait. I found this particular tragedy very terrifying and atrocious. This part of the novel completely epitomized the helplessness of the slaves and their terrible situation. It is events like this that many people, especially teenagers, don't know about and could benefit greatly by reading the book Copper Sun, but also by discussing its historical and multicultural significance.

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