78 pages • 2 hours read
Demon Copperhead
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Symbols & Motifs
Water
Water is an important symbol in Demon Copperhead. This symbolism is first developed in Demon’s remarkable birth: He is born with his amniotic sac intact, as though protected from the traumas the world will present through a thick, water-like skin. Mrs. Peggot declares that this symbolizes his luck, declaring Demon will never die by drowning. Thus, water saves him from water.
As he grows up, Demon has a fascination with the ocean, which he has never seen. He dreams about seeing the ocean but can’t explain why. This dream, though subconscious, ends up being very fitting. Two important events in Demon’s life involve one body of water: Devil’s Bathtub. This is where Demon’s father dies by accidental drowning, and it is later the site of the deaths of two of Demon’s friends. Water, which first appeared during Demon’s birth, becomes a symbol both of death and rebirth, as these deaths inspire Demon to turn his life around. At the end of the novel, Angus and Demon ride away together to see the ocean, symbolizing their future relationship and their love.
Football
Football is an important symbol of American and community. Football is a classically American sport, and the fervor around football in Lee County highlights their identity and ethos. Football is also an important saving grace in Lee County—something that unites a community divided by unemployment and drug addiction. Society may be crumbling around them, friends and neighbors may be dying of drug overdoses, but there is at least football to look forward to and to celebrate; as Demon says of his time on the team, “[E]verything we did, we did for God and country but specifically Lee County” (282). It is the symbol of community and hope—the heart of Lee County’s pride, dignity, and sense of home—but its centrality is bittersweet, as the injuries that come with the game leave young men like Demon with chronic pain and in many cases opioid addictions. In this sense, it is another iteration of The Exploitation of the Rural Working Class.
Lee County
Lee County is both a setting and a symbol. Symbolically, Lee County represents a forgotten but resilient people. Despite the stereotypes of Appalachia that abound in American media, Kingsolver shows that the region has a rich history of activism and integrity. The people of Lee County are resilient; they endure unemployment and loss without government help. Their ethos of self-reliance is impressively American (if sometimes self-destructive) and develops the theme of Rebuilding Oneself and the Importance of Autonomy. The novel juxtaposes vivid imagery of Lee County, a physically beautiful environment, with the ugliness of the opioid epidemic. Ultimately, the county represents a group of people with untapped potential, integral to the nation.
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By Barbara Kingsolver
