The Great Chain of Being: pg. 309-353

After finishing the book and reading Mr. Sharpe's final speech to Octavian, I found that there could be no title more appropriate for this section. We finally return to Octavian's perspective and learn of his treatment following his capture. Hands and feet shackled, with a mask covering his face for days on end, he maintains his rationality. While they may have physically restricted him in every way possible, they cannot prohibit his mental faculties. The audience is privileged enough to be permitted access into Octavian's thoughts during his time being chained up. He demonstrates how the very facts they taught him in his youth challenged the treatment he receives during his punishment.
pg. 316 "..they told me of color, that it was an illusion of the eye, an event in the perceiver's mind, not in the object; they told me that color had no reality...and then they imprisoned me in darkness; and though there was no color there, I still was black, and they still were white; and for that, they bound and gagged me."

These men of science claiming to be rational, unbiased, and objective are in actuality rejecting any evidence that doesn't support their desired conclusion. The experiment was never meant to be neutral, yet instead these powerful white men funding it wanted it to point to inferiority in African Americans so that they could keep possession of their slaves and have "justified" reason to do so. Once it was realized that giving Octavian the same opportunities as a white boy would result in his flourishing, Mr. Sharpe cut off his resources. He meant to skew the results by taking away what Octavian excelled at, including his studies with languages, ancient history, and music. Perhaps this is why Octavian is such a threat to Mr. Sharpe, because despite his efforts to deprive Octavian, he still pushes forward. Even with such strict restrictions, Octavian remains a glorious violinists and still possessed years of knowledge in which he absorbed tales of slaves rising up and expressing the satisfaction of freedom.

In the final few passages, following Octavian's capture and return to the house, we see that the mental chains Mr. Sharpe imposed on him were not enough and thus he shackles him up for days on end to break him down physically. Only through twisted self-serving interpretation does Mr. Sharpe manage to reflect Octavian's behavior as his failure.
p.337 "..Octavian, you have been instrumental in the effort to understand African capacities and propensities. You must understand, God has determined-" ..."-that some creatures are less, and some more, potent on this earth, and has given us the stewardship of all, according to our place in the Great Chain of Being."

In the end, as Dr. Trefusis unlocks Octavian's shackles, the "great chain of being" that Mr. Sharpe struggled so hard to maintain is shattered as he is freed both physically and figuratively. While they may have damaged Octavian, they never broke him and only physical chains could hold him back from the greatness that he displays so clearly.