In Octavian Nothing, education is all tied up with moral ethics. What is the right way to educate a person, especially if that person happens to be enslaved? Is it okay to educate an enslaved person as a scientific experiment without the subject's knowledge of the experiment? And what counts as education anyway? Does everything need to come from a book, or do you learn more from experience? At the College and beyond, education is a major player in this book.
Questions About Education
- Is Octavian's experimental education under Mr. Gitney a good thing or a bad thing?
- What kind of an education do the other characters (besides Octavian) get?
- What is the relationship between narratives and learning?
- What does Octavian learn through Bono and other slaves?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
It doesn't matter that the College gives Octavian an education; it's still an experiment done on an enslaved person.
Sure the College uses Octavian like a lab rat, but who cares? He gets educated and lives a pretty good life at the College.