How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
>"Sir —," I said, "you shall be glad of my success?"
He smiled. "Of course I shall," he said. "You are a good boy."
I asked, "Shall I someday be called by a number?"He looked fondly upon me. He said, "That, Octavian, is something to aspire to." (1.11.66-69)
We're not so sure being a number is what Octavian or anyone should aspire to, but Octavian's not going to argue with Mr. G—after all, every boy needs a father figure, and for better or worse, that's Mr. G at this point in his life.
Quote #5
My mother turned to me. I watched to see the mask, and if it would lift. "Octavian," she said coldly, "don't be a child."
There was a silence.
"But," said 09-01, "he is a child."
"He has never been a child," my mother said, "and I see no reason he should begin now." (1.22.26-29)
Talk about bringing us (and Octavian) down to reality. Cassiopeia's upset that Octavian's being a heel about her flirtation with Lord Cheldthorpe, but in her anger, she's pointing something out that the other (white) men around Cassiopeia and Octavian just don't get: The whole idea of a childhood is a total luxury, and it's something that Octavian—like any child born into slavery—just doesn't have.
So even though Octavian appears to be a child, his whole childhood is an illusion because, at the end of the day, he's a slave without the freedoms of a typical (white) child.
Quote #6
I have no desire to speak of the next several years, the years that conveyed me from childhood to youth. I take no pleasure in their memory. (2.12.1)
Who doesn't want to forget those awkward pre-teen years? Although we'll concede that Octavian probably has even better reasons for not wanting to remember those years… you know, slavery, war, Mr. Sharpe…