Once the “cargo” has been approved by another stranger, they are taken off the ship and put into another holding building. Throughout it all, Amari clings to the words of Afi, who, even though she speaks the brutal truth, also gives Amari words of comfort and hope, focusing on Amari’s strength.Īfter several months, the ship finally docks at Sullivan’s Island. The next evening, she isn’t so lucky and is brutally raped. On the first night, Amari is spared when she is taken by a kindly, red-haired sailor who takes her below the ship and rather than raping her, gives her food and water and teaches her English words. At nighttime, the women are taken by the sailors and raped. Eventually the slaves are brought to the upper level of the ship where they are splashed with cold water, given little food, and then ordered to dance. Both areas are filthy with human waste, and there is very little fresh air. The women do not have to be stacked but are still enclosed in a separate area in the bottom of the ship. On the “ship of death,” the men are “stacked,” still chained, beside and on top of each other on slats in the bottom of the ship.

Soon they are transported by small boat to a large ship.

While at Cape Coast, the women are humiliated, inspected by strangers, and branded like cattle. Here is where Amari meets Afi Afi becomes a motherly mentor to Amari during the harrowing journey across the ocean. Once the Africans and their captors reach Cape Coast, the slaves are locked in a large building. People die every day on the walk and are merely left on the side of the path. The next day begins a brutal, deathly march to Cape Coast where the prisoners cannot eat, drink or rest.

Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper