Octavian Nothing, Volume I: The Pox Party

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Recommended: Impact of slavery on America

The book, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson; has multiple major themes. The theme that I believe is the most prominent throughout the book is Slavery. This theme plays a key role in how all of the characters’ act and react to the different situations that they are put in.
“This morning Capt. Draper spake to the Innkeep of hiring away the negro and then spake to the boy himself, telling him of coming liberty; of the need to stand with his brother man and resist the tyranny of those who own us all, slave and free alike, that parliament are protectors of the slave-trade, having Interests in it; that , can we sting parliament, they shall no longer think so easily to rob us …show more content…

While offering Octavian this privilege the Capt. attempts to appeal to Octavian through his heart by saying that by joining the Army he was going to be fighting against the enslavement of his people and that the country that he would be fighting to create would be one that is fair and just to all people. This is ironic because after the Revolutionary War the country was run on slavery for many years. To show the magnitude of control that racism had on the country after the Revolutionary War you can look to the Letter from Birmingham Jail that was written in August of 1963. This letter was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he was responding to some Caucasian clergymen that were telling him to stop. While responding to this he decided to explain why he fights for his rights and why he can not stop fighting for his rights in a civil and nonviolent manner. Almost 3 hundred years after the Revolution. Even during this time period, there was intense racism which still caused the African Americans in the 60’s to have to fight for their full freedom and rights despite being promised freedom by Private Evidence Goring when he and Octavian meet for the first

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