44 pages • 1 hour read
Rebecca RoanhorseBlack Sun
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Crows
The image of a crow recurs throughout the book: it represents not only the Carrion Crow clan as an emblem, but the close relationships that members of the clan have with the bird. Adult male members of the clan have scarification on their chest of a bird skull and bird wings on their shoulder blades to underscore the close relationship.
Additionally, depictions of the birds play important roles in the plot: the giant crow Benudah shelters Serapio on Sun Rock after Serapio’s murderous rampage; crows murder the crew of Xiala’s ship when they are about to kill Xiala; Serapio shifts into the consciousnesses of crows to see through their eyes at moments when sight provides an advantage.
The Sun
The main plot arc of the text bends toward the day of the convergence: on the day of the winter solstice, the moon eclipses the sun. During this cosmic event, when the sun becomes the eponymous Black Sun, Serapio’s abilities as the Odo Sedoh will be at their peak. Because of this, the convergence is when he plans to strike.
The power of the Sun Priest, Naranpa’s initial role, is represented by a mask shaped like the sun. The mask anonymizes its wearer. The witch Zataya predicts the death of the Sun Priest based on the mask, not the individual wearing it. The usurpers use the mask to pretend they have the power of the Sun Priest. As the reader discovers during the book’s climax, they do not—the mask is a symbol; it does not confer power.
Natural Magic
Magic emanates from the natural world and is dependent on the relationships between people and ecology. Both the book’s major and minor conflicts revolve around differences in magical systems: the star charts and astrological predictions of the celestial tower’s magic system hold the most power at the beginning of the book, and that system’s power is threatened by the crow-based magical systems of Serapio, the Odohaa, and the older ways of the Carrion Crow clan. Teek magic is dependent upon close relationships to the ocean: when Xiala works Teek magic, she feels that the ocean recognizes her as one of its children.
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By Rebecca Roanhorse
