Octavian Nothing, Volume I: The Pox Party

1414 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

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

Show More
Related

  • Cry Liberty: The Great Stono River Slave Rebellion of 1739 by Peter Charles Hoffer

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a result of Cry Liberty and the daring rebellion from so many brave slaves this book paints a visual art in the minds of those who pick this book up. Not only does Hoffer bring us back to the year 1739, he brought me back in time and I felt as if I was one of the slaves marching down Pon Pon street in hopes to make it to Spanish Florida to be set free. I enjoyed the historical adventure and the significant events that lead to what we know now as The Great Stono River Slave Rebellion.

    Read More

  • Benjamin Banneker's Letter To Jefferson

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    Slavery in the United States of America occurred throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. During this time, over 305,000 slaves were imported into present-day America. In 1791, Benjamin Banneker, a self-educated mathematician, astronomer, and writer, wrote a letter to the secretary of state at the time, Thomas Jefferson. Banneker said to Jefferson, “ I apprehend you will embrace every opportunity, to eradicate that train of absurd and false ideas and opinions, which so generally prevails with respect to us.” This was Banneker’s main purpose of the letter: He wanted to inform Jefferson of the unfairness and injustice slavery brings. Benjamin Banneker’s incorporates ethos, pathos, and logos throughout his letter and that is what makes it such an impactful piece of writing.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Why Establish This Cary

    599 Words  | 2 Pages

    The philosophical tone created through the lofty diction demonstrates that the principles of the Constitution are in actuality unconstitutional in regards to society’s attitudes toward the forced labor system. Cary emphasizes that the inhumane treatment of slaves goes against the moral values of the nation as it takes away the necessities that all are inclined to. Consequently, this led to the mass movement of abolitionists, demanding that they “… [make] our voice heard at home” (Cary 1-2) in a place where

    Read More

  • Fredrick Douglass - Fourth of July Oration

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    On July 5th 1852, Frederick Douglass, one of history’s outstanding public speakers, carried out a very compelling speech at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. Within that moment of time where the freedom of Americans was being praised and celebrated, he gathered the nation to clear up the tension among slavery and the establishment of the country’s goals. Frederick Douglass’s speech mentions the development of the young nation, the Revolution, and his own life experience. While speaking, his main subject was seen to be American slavery. The “Fourth of July Oration” was a commendable model of Frederick Douglass’s affection and engagement towards the freedom of individuals. Frederick Douglass’s speech left an impact on his audience and continues to change the minds of those who read his speech today. I agree with plenty of dominant thoughts and cases he acknowledged in the “Fourth of July Oration.”

    Read More

  • Whether Reconstruction Truly Was Beneficial

    366 Words  | 1 Pages

    "In spite of its achievements, the Freedmen's Bureau did not solve the serious economic problems of African Americans. Most of them continued to live in poverty. They also suffered from racist threats and violence and from laws restricting their civil rights. All these problems cast a deep shadow over their new freedom."

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Two Periods of Antebellum South Carolina

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    Walker, Barrington. “Slavery and Anti-slavery in the Age of the American Revolution.” Lecture 10, Queen's University, Kingston, February 3, 2014.

    Read More

  • Religion's Influence on the Slavery Debates

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The right to have a slave implies the right in some one to make a slave; that right must be equal and mutual, and this would resolve society into a state of perpetual war.” Senator William Steward, an anti-slavery supporter, issued this claim in his “There is a Higher Law than the Constitution” speech. Steward, like all abolitionist, viewed all of man as equals. This equality came from the “higher law” that is the Bible. Since all men were created by God then all men were equals in God’s eyes. Abolitionist believed that whites had no more right to make a slave out of a African American than the African American had to make a slave out of a white man.

    Read More

  • Douglass -- The Narrative

    1968 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Sincerely and earnestly hoping that this little book may do something toward throwing light on the American slave system, and hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of my brethren in bonds … relying upon the power of truth, love, and justice, for success in my … efforts and solemnly pledging myself anew to the sacred cause, I subscribe myself” (Douglass 76). With these words, Frederick Douglass (c. 1817-1895), an emancipated slave with no formal education, ends one of the greatest pieces of propaganda of the 19th century America: that slavery is good for the slave. He writes his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, as an abolitionist tool to shape his northern audience’s view of southern slaveholders. Through personal anecdotes, Douglass draws an accurate picture of slave life. Simultaneously, he chooses these events for how they will affect the northern audience’s opinion of southern slaveholders (Quarles ii). By using the written word, Douglass targets educated northern whites because they were the only group capable of changing the status quo. Illiterate northern whites and free northern blacks could not vote, while white Southerners would not vote because they did not want change. For that reason, Douglass used his life story as an instrument to promote abolition among literate northern whites (vi).

    Read More

  • Role of Blacks in the American Revolutionary War

    2182 Words  | 5 Pages

    The quote above is from the British governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore who proclaimed freedom for African American slaves who fought for the British, after George Washington announced there would be no additional recruitment of Blacks in the Continental army in 1776. For numerous free blacks and enslaved blacks, the Revolutionary War was considered to be an essential period in black manifestation. Many public officials (like Dunmore), who initially had not expressed their views on slavery, saw the importance of African Americans and considered them an imperative tool in winning the war. Looking back, it almost seems like an inherent paradox in white America’s desire of emancipation from England while there still enslaving blacks. This concept has different grounds in white’s idea of liberation in comparison to that of the African-Americans. To white Americans, this war was for liberation in a political/economical tone rather than in the sense of the privatized oppression that blacks suffered from. But what started this war and what would this mean for blacks? How did these African Americans contribute to the war effort? What were there some of their duties? How did the white communities perceive them? How did it all end for these blacks? The main topic of this paper is to show how the use African Americans helped the control the outcome of the war while monitoring their contributions.

    Read More

  • Tama Bunkley's A Thousand Steps

    2121 Words  | 5 Pages

    The setting of the book is in the 18th century. It has been based in the America West during the time when slavery used to be practiced. This setting helps develop the theme of oppression and slavery which was rampant at the

    Read More

  • The American Revolution’s Effect on the Institution of Slavery

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before the American Revolution, significant opposition to slavery already existed. James Otis, a Massachusetts lawyer emblemized this strain of thought when he wrote about the rights of natural born citizens and men. He argued that a man, black or white, should be guaranteed, as British subjects, the same rights and liberties. These liberties should protect men from slavery and afford them the rights guaranteed by the British Crown. Many other American colonists shared this attitude of abolitionism, however their reasoning relied on religious beliefs rather than modern political theory. A letter written by Phillis Wheatley to a Reverend exemplifies this justification for abolition. The letter expressed appreciation for the Reverend’s abolitionist views, but also compared the current situation to those of the Israelites when the Egyptians enslaved them. A parallel to the Bible furthered the view for many that slavery was unjust. This combination of Enlightenment ideals of natural righ...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of David Walker And Thomas Jefferson

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Walker addresses biases established by Jefferson decades before his time that still significantly shape the way many think about blacks. In doing so, Walker is able to draw attention the problematic logic behind said arguments. Ultimately, in his Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World, David Walker addresses the arguments, presented in Thomas Jefferson’ Notes on the State of Virginia, of race superiority, slavery, citizenship, and Jefferson’s own default validation by means of his authority, to further and strengthen his own abolitionist

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass Slavery Theme

    589 Words  | 2 Pages

    Two similar themes in these texts are abuse and forced labor. In the slave girl Shyima was forced to work for the Abrahams and do whatever she was told. she was abused by not getting a lot of food and she did not have a good place to sleep and was always forced to stay inside. In Fredrick Douglas he was forced to do whatever his masters told him to do if he refused the consequences would be severe. He would be abused by being whipped or being forced to do hard labor and to be sold to other masters.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Frederick Douglass The Heroic Slave

    1273 Words  | 3 Pages

    The fictionalized portrait he penned in “The Heroic Slave” is similar to the personal experience related in his autobiographical work. Both works illustrate the cruel and inhumane treatment of slaves by their masters. Physical abuse, in the form of beatings and inadequate nourishment, is a common prevalence as was mental abuse, in the forms of derogatory language and the separation of family units. The pursuit of freedom from slavery is a shared theme of these two compositions. Douglass felt his pursuit was best served by an education. Madison used his innate intelligence, bravery and perseverance to secure his freedom. Slavery’s direct conflict with fundamental Christian values is illustrated in several places in each work. Abuse of any kind is oppositional to the Christian values of kindness and charity and the subjects of these works endured many instances of abuse. Douglass’s own eloquence is apparent in “The Heroic Slave” in his word choice. Phrases such as “made merchandise of my body” (B: 1263) and “children of a common Creator” (B: 1272) masterfully articulates the inhumane act of owning other humans. The passage describing how a snake would not “stop to take my blows” (B: 1256) illustrates the further degradation of humanity when mandatory compliance is coupled with the cruelty of physical abuse

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis: “I have a Dream”

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    He laments on the state of the Negro community which ought to have been freed about one hundred years ago. He particularly uses the historical document which became of America’s freedom today to talk to the Americans and indirectly asking why freedom was not granted to the blacks. King approaches his speech with a fair and non...

    Read More

More about Octavian Nothing, Volume I: The Pox Party

Open Document