45 pages • 1 hour read
Tara SullivanThe Bitter Side of Sweet
Tara SullivanFiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Complexity of Corruption in the Cacao Industry
Through the story of Amadou, Seydou, and Khadija’s escape from the cacao farm, Sullivan educates the reader on the cacao industry, showing the many aspects that contribute to the problem of child slavery. She highlights the working conditions on the farm, the necessity of manual labor for harvesting pods, and the journey the seeds take as they pass through many hands before being used to make chocolate. Her overview of the industry, coupled with Amadou’s first-person narrative, show the complex problems of the cacao industry. In this way, she informs young, English-speaking readers on the issues present in Ivory Coast, Africa and compels readers to learn more about the cacao industry.
First, she shows how poverty makes children from surrounding countries, such as Mali, vulnerable to being trafficked and enslaved on a farm. Amadou and Seydou leave their village to find work and are easily taken advantage of. The bosses make them believe they will eventually be released, which keeps them from risking escape attempts. They also know that if they were to return to their village, they would have no money to show for their absence and would probably have to leave again to find work, making them vulnerable to traffickers once more. The traffickers and bosses know that the children are poor, and they use this to their advantage to bring children to the farm and to keep them there.
Next, Sullivan shows how one rung higher on the ladder, the bosses are also taken advantage of. Although their use of child labor is unquestioningly wrong, Moussa and the bosses are also characterized as poor. This shows why they use slave labor; they cannot afford to pay workers. Farmers are paid very little for the seeds they harvest, which is why they turn to unpaid child labor. They are also easily taken advantage of because they are kept in the dark about how the seeds are used. The bosses are unable to learn what the seeds are worth, and therefore cannot demand a higher price for them. Just as Amadou does what he must to keep himself and Seydou alive, the bosses do the same to keep themselves alive. Their struggle to simply survive leads to their use of child labor, just as it leads to Amadou’s hardening heart as seen in the first half of the novel.
Because everyone at the plantation is trying to survive, no one can afford to risk speaking out or seeking fair treatment. Even Mrs. Kablan, who lives outside of the vicious cycle of the cacao industry, is silenced when she tries to expose the use of child labor. Sullivan invites readers to understand the complexities of this issue and provides a broad picture of the many links in the chain of the cacao industry. Although fictional, Amadou’s story is an example of how modern-day child slavery must end. Sullivan compels readers to learn more about the cacao industry. She asks readers to consider where their chocolate comes from and what price was paid for the commonly enjoyed treat.
Cruel Treatment Shapes One’s Identity
The novel’s three main characters—Amadou, Seydou, and Khadija—are deeply affected by their experience at the cacao farm. Sullivan shows how their mistreatment affects the way they see themselves and others. She highlights the intense emotional effects of cruelty, giving a realistic and sobering portrayal of how the victimization of children affects the core of their identity.
Amadou’s struggle with anger, guilt, and trust shows how his years on the plantation took a toll on his identity. He lives in constant fear of receiving a beating and of Seydou getting hurt. This fear leads him to anger, which he takes out on Seydou, Khadija, and the other boys at the farm. More than once, he exhibits violent and threatening behavior that resembles the bosses’ anger, showing how years on the farm hardened him. Amadou is also plagued by feelings of guilt, blaming himself for everything from Seydou’s arm injury, to the fact that they ended up at the farm in the first place. His self-blame weighs him down and keeps him from seeing himself as worthy of love, fair treatment, and a better life.
Finally, Amadou struggles to trust others because of how badly he’s been mistreated. He doesn’t make friends with the other boys, because caring hurts too much. He struggles to trust the adults that offer him help while escaping such as Oumar and Mrs. Kablan. Finally, he struggles to fully trust Khadija, even though they have been through so much together and are on the same side. Sullivan highlights the way cruelty and captivity created Amadou’s anger, guilt, and reluctance to trust as a prime example of how mistreatment at the farm shaped his identity.
Similarly, Seydou and Khadija are both deeply affected by captivity. Seydou thinks of the farm as home because he was so young when they arrived. He has lost much of his youthful energy, and Amadou can see that Seydou has grown up too quickly because of the suffering he endured. The bosses break Khadija’s wild spirit, and even when she makes it home, she is not the same girl she used to be. Her short week at the plantation has caused damage that may never fully heal. Sullivan demonstrates how Amadou, Seydou, and Khadija are forever scarred because of the mistreatment they endured. Although they may regain much of their original selves with time and healing, their identity has been irrevocably shaped by captivity. Sullivan shows how cruel treatment shapes one’s identity to demonstrate the toll child labor takes on its young victims.
Disparity Between the Rich and the Poor
Sullivan creates a sharp contrast between Amadou’s background and Khadija’s background to show the wide gap between the rich and the poor in Africa. For most of the novel, Sullivan creates a sense of mystery concerning Khadija’s background. Amadou recognizes clues of her wealth as he gets to know her and understands that she grew up differently than he did. Several times throughout the novel, their background differences drive a wedge between them. For example, Amadou is shocked to learn that Khadija can read; children from his village must work in the fields for food for their families and could never afford to go to school.
His lack of knowledge compared to Khadija’s makes him defensive and at times, embarrassed. Then, when he learns that she is Ivorian, he feels betrayed. Despite all they have been through together, his opinion of her immediately changes, and Amadou sees her as the enemy, “like the bosses” (182). Although they came from neighboring countries, their ways of life are completely different. Despite their friendship, their differing nationalities and financial situations put a wall between them. This shows the sharp divide between the rich and the poor and demonstrates how people can easily judge and misunderstand one another because of differences such as wealth and nationality.
Sullivan also contrasts Khadija’s tireless escape attempts with Amadou’s quiet acceptance of his fate as a captive to show how their different backgrounds affect the amount of power the bosses wield over them. From the moment Khadija is brought against her will to the cacao plantation, she tries to escape every chance she gets. In contrast, Amadou came willingly, thinking he would be paid for his work. Even though he’s been there for two years, he still holds out hope that the bosses will release him once his debt is paid. Furthermore, Khadija knows her mother is looking for her and is worried about her. She has big dreams for her life and is motivated to get back to the life she used to have. However, Amadou’s family, Moke and Auntie, are probably not worried or looking for him; they sent him away to find work. Amadou has no education to return to, nor does he have dreams for his future. If he were to return home, his situation would remain difficult; his family would still be poor, and he would have to leave again to find work, risking getting stuck on another plantation.
The contrast between Khadija and Amadou’s backgrounds shows how the poor are vulnerable to traffickers and somewhat easy to subdue as workers on the farms. Because they have only a difficult life to return to, they are quick to give up trying to escape. Oppositely, Khadija’s character shows how a wealthy child is not an ideal worker or captive for the bosses. This contrast shows the reader how and why the poor are exploited. It also demonstrates why a large gap between the rich and poor is problematic. Sullivan’s choice to highlight two main characters with opposite backgrounds shows the reader the disparity between the rich and poor within a particular geographical area and highlights the challenges this gap creates.
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