How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
He [Governor Dunmore] don't care a thing for our property any more and I fear the worst kind of tyranny to come.
'Tis time to shake off the yoke of oppression. 'Tis not enough that the royal tyrants reduce us to slavery—they raise up our slaves to lord it over us. (3.12.3-4)
Clepp Asquith, one of the Southern backers of the College and the guy who Bono is sent to serve, is complaining in a letter to Mr. Sharpe about Governor Dunmore. According to Asquith, Dunmore is trying to incite a slave rebellion against the Southern plantation owners so that the Brits can defeat the Patriot cause more easily.
We'll just point out the obvious—it's ridiculously hypocritical to call British rule over the colonies as a form of "slavery." It's not like the Brits are out their whipping, lynching, maiming, shackling, or outright killing Southern plantation owners as a routine way of managing the colonies.
Quote #8
There burnt the Sun of Massachusetts Bay above us, the Eye of God too, & the Kelp was around us, & the grassy heaped Hills was before us, where grazed dumb Beasts. 'Twas a rustic Scene, and yet, so must the River Rubicon have looked to the great Caesar when he forded it, and so declared himself the Enemy of Rome. (3.13.11)
Goring is describing to his sister how pastoral and peaceful the scene before them is, even though they're about to do battle on those hills and fields. Does the scene and the war really compare to Caesar's invasion of the Roman empire though?
Quote #9
Now there was a continual BLASTING—
the Shouting of Commands —
—and no moment to think—
too close —
which made the spongy Earth shudder—And I saw a Motion: that John was risen, deranged with fear, & confronted the Battle Screaming.
[…]
John screamed & begun to run down the Length of the Beach towards the Enemy; & though we wished to call to him, we could not, though Shem started up before someone grabbed him & yanked him back to the Sand while he gasped— (3.15.28-31)
Goring definitely has a flair for dramatic writing, but, in this case, the drama isn't overblown—the men have been hiding in a ditch for most of the day while bullets whiz above their heads continuously.
So when John goes nuts and runs straight toward the enemy, it makes sense even if it's the stupidest move ever—John just wants things to be over; he goes kamikaze. When Octavian stands up and does something similar after this moment, you really get that this is no joke; war is really hard on the mind, and even the mentally toughest people can break.