As much as I love writing about and analyzing books, no amount of words will be sufficient to fully grasp the dark beauty of Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver. With Demon Copperhead, however, it is best to warn readers that this book will make you develop such an attachment to it that it becomes palpable.
Aiming higher than just describing the difficult life of a boy in Lee County, Virginia, Kingsolver captures the darkness of poverty, domestic abuse, the foster care system, and opioid addiction, along with the prejudice of living in rural America, being known as a “hillbilly.” The story of Damon Fields, known as Demon Copperhead because of his copper-colored hair, is one of being forced to mature and survive with a constant nagging reminder that he is unwanted.
Kingsolver introduces Demon as a fatherless, emotionally hurt 11-year-old boy living with his young mom in a trailer. Demon is way ahead of his time for an 11-year-old, having to ensure and maintain his mom’s sobriety, because his mom is still a child at heart, as she was a victim of abuse while in foster care as a child. Demon’s best friend, Maggot Peggot, along with his family, helps raise Demon as they treat him as one of their own. In fact, Mrs. Peggot assisted with Demon’s birth in the trailer, claiming that Demon will never drown since he was born in his amniotic sac. With his father dying before he was born, Demon did not know much about who his father was, but he knew his father died at a place called Devil’s Bathtub. The only thing Demon has from his father is his looks, being a tall young man with copper-colored hair and green eyes. Along with his looks, Demon also has a grandmother, Miss Betsy (the mother of his late father) who wanted to take him away at birth and disappeared shortly afterward, according to Demon’s mom.
Demon’s introduction is sad yet sweet, but the plot takes a dark turn as Demon is abused by his mom’s new boyfriend, Stoner. The palpable tension destroys whatever Demon knew as his childhood, that being his mom after she overdosed. After such a traumatizing event, the rest of the novel portrays Demon’s difficult path, falling victim to abuse in foster care and meeting people who took advantage of and manipulated him, drifting apart from the Peggots, and being forced to fend for himself. It is worth noting that Demon also made very few friends, one of whom was Tommy, who helped Demon from emotionally crashing. After going through multiple fosters, Demon decides to run away and find Miss Betsy, his grandmother, from his late father’s side. Finding Miss Betsy was the best thing Demon could have ever done, as finding her led to Demon living with and meeting the people that had the best and most significant impact on his life–Aunt Jane, Coach Winfield, Angus, Annie, and Mr. Armstrong. Every character helped Demon transform into the man he always wanted to be, until he fell into an opioid addiction after getting together with his girlfriend, Dori.
It is important to note how every character had their own trauma, but each played an important role in helping Demon, before, during, or after Demon’s addiction. The novel is realistic fiction, and Demon displays the beauty yet ugliness of the world, bringing light to the real world and the abuse it inflicts onto those in the foster care system, victims of domestic abuse, and drug addiction. Demon was a beautiful representation of real-world brutality and emotional pain, as he goes from hopefulness to being emotionally lost and self-loathing. The real thing that Demon was addicted to was the light and happiness that he knew was out there, and that is the addiction every heartbroken victim has and strives to obtain.
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