What happens when a man gains complete control over another man’s life? Even if that man is kind and giving, what does it say about a man who owns another man’s existence; his life, his death, every part of him? To mold another man in an experiment and take away that which makes him human is undoubtedly inhumane. In The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson, Mr. Gitney, who also goes by Mr. 03-01, does just that. In an effort to prove whether or not African and Caucasian people are equal, he takes every aspect of a young slave named Octavian and records it, turning him into a data source and taking away his humanity. As he does this, he refuses to acknowledge the cruelty of what he is doing along with his emotional connections
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Gitney’s seemingly benevolent nature serves him well in his search for the truth and allows him to keep himself in the dark in regards to the true nature of his actions. Towards the beginning of the novel, Octavian explains how grateful he is for the things the Novanglian College and by extension, Mr. Gitney, saying, “...I have so much to thank them for. They lavished luxuries upon me. They supported my every interest and encouraged my curiosity […] these are not little things” (Anderson 11). Mr. Gitney has allowed Octavian to become who he is through these actions, and this is how he is seen by others, a kind, and benevolent benefactor. But this does not change the fact that he owns Octavian and that his interest in him is not because he truly cares, but because he is performing an experiment on him. When Octavian finds out about Mr. Gitney’s experiment on him, he talks to him about his goal of finding out whether African people are as smart as Caucasian people if they both have a chance to flourish, and Octavian asks Mr. Gitney, “You should be glad of my success?”, to which Mr. Gitney replies, smiling, “Of course I shall” (Anderson 49). Mr. Gitney saves face talking about how he will be proud and happy for Octavian if he proves that they are equals, but he does not see how hypocritical he is; a man trying to help prove the equality of Africans and Caucasians who owns several African slaves. This is not to say that he does not believe he is kind, or that he never exhibits kind behavior, only that his gifts are tainted with a hypocrisy and often used to mask some of the uglier aspects of his actions. When Octavian describes the college in the beginning of the novel, he ends his description, saying, “I do not believe they ever meant unkindness” (Anderson 12). Mr. Gitney has consistently been unable to see that what he is doing is immoral and wrong because of his own nature and the nature of his experiment. No one in the college is trying to be unkind, and he is
Gitney’s seemingly benevolent nature serves him well in his search for the truth and allows him to keep himself in the dark in regards to the true nature of his actions. Towards the beginning of the novel, Octavian explains how grateful he is for the things the Novanglian College and by extension, Mr. Gitney, saying, “...I have so much to thank them for. They lavished luxuries upon me. They supported my every interest and encouraged my curiosity […] these are not little things” (Anderson 11). Mr. Gitney has allowed Octavian to become who he is through these actions, and this is how he is seen by others, a kind, and benevolent benefactor. But this does not change the fact that he owns Octavian and that his interest in him is not because he truly cares, but because he is performing an experiment on him. When Octavian finds out about Mr. Gitney’s experiment on him, he talks to him about his goal of finding out whether African people are as smart as Caucasian people if they both have a chance to flourish, and Octavian asks Mr. Gitney, “You should be glad of my success?”, to which Mr. Gitney replies, smiling, “Of course I shall” (Anderson 49). Mr. Gitney saves face talking about how he will be proud and happy for Octavian if he proves that they are equals, but he does not see how hypocritical he is; a man trying to help prove the equality of Africans and Caucasians who owns several African slaves. This is not to say that he does not believe he is kind, or that he never exhibits kind behavior, only that his gifts are tainted with a hypocrisy and often used to mask some of the uglier aspects of his actions. When Octavian describes the college in the beginning of the novel, he ends his description, saying, “I do not believe they ever meant unkindness” (Anderson 12). Mr. Gitney has consistently been unable to see that what he is doing is immoral and wrong because of his own nature and the nature of his experiment. No one in the college is trying to be unkind, and he is