Public – At the outset of Wall’s narrative the writer of this narrative chose to speak to the people reading directly saying “…the ever curious Public…will be anxious to know…” This open address to the reader is a bit odd and makes me call into question the authenticity of this particular piece. It seems very much like the person who will benefit monetarily from this publication is shaping the work right out of the gates to form a reliable story that is victimized by the fundamental structure of the early crime narrative. The writer even hints at the fact that those “of serious turn of mind” should be interested in the following discourse.
fear of God – At the beginning of Wall’s story he begins as most of the narratives do, with a context of the family life and how the individual responded to their family. It is safe to say that Wall is another whose path of disobedience began at the early stages writing that her parents “…taught the fear of God.” She not following her parents counsel decided upon living a life without the fear of God and this has accounted for her dire situation.
innocence – Wall’s narrative includes a short list of a few crimes that she had committed as well as her own admittance that there were far too many other crimes to be listed in such a short narrative. However she is claiming to be innocent of the said burglary for which she is going to be sentenced to death. It seems ridiculous that she would be so resigned to her fate, even thanking a litany of people, given the fact that she contends the charges to be false. This leads me to believe that either she had absolutely no faith in the justice system and became so disheartened as to not care of her own death or that there is something contrived in this narrative.