Meeting Date:
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Today
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Book Title:
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Octavian Nothing
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Discussion Director:
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Sophia Dean
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Chapters Read:
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Part IV
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Partners:
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Courtney Schoeb
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Lizzie Weschler
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Kate Pausic
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IMPLICIT QUESTIONS by sophia
Question #1: What does Octavian mean when he says, “ Such a punishment, indeed, would have seemed a freedom?”
Octavian is saying that he is free to die, and that a punishment so horrible should grant him freedom.
Question #2: If Octavians mother was still alive do you think the people of the college would have killed her when Octavian ran away? Why?
They would have questioned her about Octavian, and if she did not answer they would have killed her. Or, when Octavian Returned to the college they would have killed her as punishment. But Octavian wouldn’t have run away if she had been there.
Question #3: Why is Octavian a traitor to the nation?
Maybe the “nation” is the college, and the saying is a metaphor. He betrayed the US by going to Boston (colony), and he betrayed the college by ditching the experiment.
Question #4: Was it unexpected when Octavian realized that the plantation owners were counting on him to fail? Why?
No, because Mr. Sharpe stopped the education, which implied that he wanted Octavian to fail.
Vocab by Kate
- Confound- 316
Definition: to perplex or amaze, especially by a sudden disturbance or surprise;
Part of Speech: verb
From the Book: “I looked down, confounded. “
Sentence: The boy sat down on the plastic chair confounded.
- Emancipate- 327
Definition: to free from restraint, influence, or the like.
Part of Speech: verb
From the Book:: “ … with no offer of emancipation; …”
Sentence: The slaves fought in the civil war with no promise of freedom or emancipation.
- Decocting- 342
Definition: to extract the flavor or essence of by boiling
Part of Speech: verb
From the Book: “ … in its lickerish decoctions, … “
Sentence: The boy decocted the strong taste from the red wine bubbling in the boiling pot.
- Intrusion- 347
Definition: to thrust or bring in without invitation, permission, or welcome.
Part of Speech: verb
From the Book: “They wish no intrusion.”
Sentence: The pupil intruded into a meeting held between his parents and the principal of his school.
- Convulsively (convulsions)- 342
Definition: contortion of the body caused by violent, involuntary muscular contractions of the extremities, and trunk (head, limbs and torso)
Part of Speech: adjective
From the Book: “His limbs moved convulsively.”
Sentence: He had a series of convulsions in the dark of night, crying under his toasty blankets.
Context by Courtney
Over the course of the book talks, there has been lots of different information thrown at us. I am compiling it into a summary of the major topics in the book. The first of the topics was basic information on buying land in the 1700’s. This came up when on page 101 Mr. 03-01 wanted to invest in a portion of land in Virginia with Lord Cheldthorpe. This is a map of Virginia in the time period in which they were discussing this matter. If you look at the excerpt on the page it does say, “when Parliament lifted it’s interdiction against settling there.” Parliament did not let british loyalists but or settle in land areas that had relations to Indians. The issue was that the Indians and British had different ideas of what it meant to buy land and the things you could do when you bought property, thus causing issues. Both sides would trick each other, the Europeans would find loopholes and the Indians tricked the Europeans into buying a piece of land that wasn’t actually good. They may have been interested in Virginia for its successful farming factors, such as climate.
The next topic is about two people that relate to the story. The first was Francis Williams who was a black, Jamaican man, born into a free and wealthy family. He was lucky as a black, he also received an excellent education, this order was his father’s command. One day the duke of Montagu heard about a black boy being educated like a white boy and it gave him an idea. The duke of Montagu would fund an experiment where Francis Williams would be taught like a white child and see if he would be as intelligent. This was a big risk especially since blacks were incredibly frowned upon. Francis was sent for a higher learning experience in England where he thrived. The Duke of Montagu was brave for attempting to prove that blacks and whites are equal. (Francis Williams is pictured on the right and The Duke of Montagu on the left.)
Part 3 is about Octavian’s life in the war. There was an intense battle scene in the story and I related that battle to a famous battle known as the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
700 British soldiers invaded Lexington in the morning. They were ordered to conquer the town. However, waiting for them were 77 farm folk armed and ready to try their hand in battle. 8 of the colonial militia died and 10 were wounded. The Redcoats marched forward to Concord to confiscate weapons. The colonists in Concord were more prepared. They surprised the British and even though the colonists lost some warriors, the British ultimately lost that battle.
In the final section, Octavian is recaptured and chained. He also finds that the funds from the plantation owners were counting on him to fail, which rightfully, made Octavian furious. The only information we can really collect from this chapter is some methods and ways owners would treat their slaves. First we know of Octavian being put into shackles. (Shown in the picture) This unfortunately was all to common. Even for the smallest mistakes depending on the strictness of the owner you could be put in chains. Octavian also had a bite plate mask which forbids him to talk. If he tried his teeth would smack into a solid metal bar. These are some of the ways slaves were punished.
Citations
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/special/Williams_Francis1700-70.html
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-colonial/2027
http://revealinghistories.org.uk/africa-the-arrival-of-europeans-and-the-transatlantic-slave-trade/objects/slave-shackle.html
Art by Lizzie
Similar to Octavian and his shackles, this baby horse’s tubes have become a part of him. Ever since he was born, this baby horse has been hooked up to tubes and monitors, according to him, they are a part of him. After a while, Octavian becomes used to the shackles that bind him. They are a part of him, so he feels nothing. While they have different circumstances, neither sees a difference between what binds them and what is them.
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