Study Guide

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party Part 3, Chapter 7

By M.T. Anderson

Part 3, Chapter 7

On the back of Private Goring's last letter, there's a list of questions and answers that Goring titles "Prince's Catechism."
The Captain has asked Goring to get more information out of Octavian, just in case an "Adjutant" (a military officer) asks questions about Octavian.
Octavian doesn't answer most of the questions though, questions like: where he's from, if he fled Boston, where he learned to play the violin, if he has papers stating he's free, where he lived, and if he lived in a house.
Octavian does, however, answer affirmatively to the question of whether or not he lived outside.
He's also asked if he lived in a house with family, and this question causes Octavian to look down and reply that he's "'never even dwelt inside [him]self.'"
Both the Captain and Goring think that Octavian escaped from some tyrant master.
But Goring doesn't say this to Octavian, though he does tell him that slavery will be gone soon (oh, how wrong he is).
Then Goring gets seriously Biblical—like fire and brimstone-y, preacher-style—about how God will punish those who have slaves.

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