owen syllavan

Posted on June 4, 2007 by aaust6yp

1. servant– a servant is generally thought of as a lowly person. he always has a master and must always perform duties of submissiveness. most of the time these services are rewarded by the master with some sort of payment. for example, “the gentleman told me if i would go and live with him, he would be my friend and relation, too.” and “i agreed with the captain to serve him three years more, for as many biscuits as i could eat.” this concept is also spiritual. through repentance and conversion, one’s ultimate goal is to become a servant of God performing Godly duties which will then be rewarded with a place in heaven.

2. guilt– being responsible for a crime, in Syllavan’s case always led to some degree of punishment, usually imprisonment, even if he was eventually acquitted. however, syllavan’s guilt led to other “torturous” punishments as well. “I received twenty lashes at the public whipping post.” and “i was branded in both cheeks with the letter R and cropt in both my ears.” these are significant because they are the first two accounts of “torturous” punishment used in any of these texts. in the 1700’s it seems that most offenses were at first punished with imprisonment which would hopefully result in the transformation of the soul. however, in syllavan’s case, the body, once again, became the target for punishment.

3. mercy– this forebearance was shown toward syllavan many times for his counterfeiting currency. the relationship between power and mercy becomes evident in this passage. the court having more power than syllavan granted him mercy by acquitting his crimes. at the same time, syllavan is left begging for God’s mercy-god being the supreme power-when the court no longer would.

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john jubeart

Posted on June 4, 2007 by chard3ah

Education- Isaac Frasier blames his upbringing and education (or lack thereof) on his criminal history, combined with his “thievish nature”.  John Jubeart, however, seems to have been well brought up, by parents who “were honest industrious people and gave him as genteel an education as their circumstances would allow” (163).  John’s fall into crime is pretty bizarre, actually: he becomes upset by the death of his mother, wanders around, gives his children all his money and becomes so poor that he counterfeits money.  So unlike Isaac Frasier, who blames nature and conditioning,  Jubeart blames circumstance

 

Poverty-  In a state of self-induced poverty (having settled his estate upon his children), Jubeart mines some silver and makes money out it.  “His simplicity,  and being badly paid for his work, had reduced him so low that he was greatly in want of linen and several other necessities” (164). 

 

Experiment-  In these two pages, we have seen perhaps the three biggest reasons attributed to crime: the first being that is in the criminal’s nature or upbringing, the second that extenuating circumstances drove him or her to commit the crime, and perhaps the third being simple curiosity.  Jubeart says that when he counterfeited the money out of silver, rather than “any fraudulent intention to impose upon the public,” that “it was more for the sake of trying an experiment” (164). 

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patience boston

Posted on June 4, 2007 by bford

warning – In this narrative like many of the others we have read the criminal admits to following a life of sin in which they were made aware of their wickedness. Boston claims to have had “seasonable Warnings against sinful courses.” But she did not feel remorse for her deeds and continued to live a life of wickedness. The idea that there a steps along the way to eternal condemnation is a notion that was very popular. Less significant sins like drinking laid the foundation for the capital crime that was to follow.

conversion – Boston like Rodgers become a model narrative for the people to follow because of her rdedication to God. The story of the conversion was the aim of these narratives because it exposed the criminal mind as being unable to bear their own criminal acts. It leaves people with the thought that although there may be no hope to resurrect your life here on Earth, if you are penitent and able to renounce your former life you can become a monument of God’s mercy and may secure your spot in eternal bliss.

Counsel – The role of the ministry was to help encourage criminals to repent and begin life anew by condemning the former life. This counsel was fairly instrumental in shaping the narratives we read because without the executors of God’s will helping to change the minds of these criminals they surely would not have been selected to mass produce and distribute among the public. It is interesting to note though that both of the conversion narratives of Rodgers and Boston ignored such counseling until they knew that the final days on earth were numbered, only accepting God and repenting after being imprisoned for a crime punishable by death.

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isaac frasier

Posted on June 4, 2007 by chard3ah

Nature- Frasier is always referring to his true nature as one of wickedness: he seems to see himself as a naturally evil person, held back from time to time from committing evil deeds. First his mother instills in him a sense of honesty (although this is quickly undone by a later mistress). When his future bride wants nothing to do with him, he notes that he has “no restraints of character,” and “abandoned to my former course of wickedness” (153). He refers to himself as having a “thievish calling,” perhaps attempting to excuse his crimes by arguing they are a part of his nature (154). He says that perhaps he could have been reclaimed early in life “when education would have been most powerful to restrain from vice” (158).

 

Stealing- Frasier is obviously a thief, and a prolific one at that: almost his entire narrative is a list of things he stole (cheese, fabric, shoes, money). Interestingly, many of his robberies are settled outside of the justice system—he settles the score with the people from whom he stole, presumably by returning what wasn’t his. He tells us how on one occasion he stole a piece of linen and threw it away simply for revenge.

 

Conscience- Frasier mention his conscience towards the end of his narrative, once he has already escaped from the prison in which he awaits execution. After taking one pair of shoes and a few pieces of clothing he suddenly, inexplicably, “found what I had never experienced in all my scene of villainy before, which was the working of a guilty conscience” (157). It proves to be a rather ineffective sense of guilt, as Frasier says that he ignores it and then continues to steal his way through New England.

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owen syllavan

Posted on June 4, 2007 by bford

Mischief – In the account of Owen Syllavan it was written in the front page that the following narrative was to show the “Manner of Life he led from Infancy.”  The account is written in the first person perspective and Syllavan beigns by characterizing his youth as a continual state of mischief where a fear of God did nothing to stop his winful nature.  The characterization of Syllavan as being of criminal since infancy ignores any role of nurture in his life.  Instead it is believed that this inherent nature of mischief begot a life of capital crimes.

accomplice -Here the idea of bad company again rears its ugly head.  Syllavan seems to be fairly proud of his accomplishments as a counterfeiter but he never once claims that he attempted to spend the money that he made.  Instead Syllavan counterfeited the money for the use of others who had approached with the idea.  He took no pains is selling them the fake money but was adamant that even though his accomplices were as guilty as he , he would not give them up to the authorities. He even warned them to rid themselves of any evidence of counterfeiting so they too would not have the same fate as he.

terror -  In his dying speech syllavan warns his accomplices to make sure they do not meet the “King of Terrors”.  I am inclined to believe that this “king” is God, who is the only one that can strike such drastic amounts of fear into a human.  Likening God to terror is exemplary of the times because fear was the force that the masses believed could control the masses.

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William Fly

Posted on June 4, 2007 by bford

1. stupidity – During the relation of Fly’s story he did not show an ounce of remorse for his deeds and did not play the role that the ministers and public were all used to seeing. He never once appeased those of faith by renouncing his life of sin but rather went to the gallows as an impenitent soul. Because of this the author of his text characterized Fly’s state as one of stupidity; he would never be in God’s good graces.

2. ignominious – Fly’s capital punishment came without any act of penitence and because of this his death was was described as both miserable and ignominious. The public was warned to take heed of such a vile being and use his example as a way of becoming scared straight; no one wants to have their head posted on a pole in Boston harbor.

3. scourge- There has been a lot of talk about how people must avoid bad company in order to avoid the pitfalls of a wicked life and ignominious death. At the end of Fly’s narrative it is written “However, it was admirable to see, how the Vengeance of GOD, sometimes makes Accomplices in Sin, horrible Scourges to one another.” Here the presence of bad company can be seen when God seeks his vengeance on Fly’s accomplices. Fly is seen as a person that spread wickedness amongst those around him and because of this they all were subjected to a capital punishment. FLy was the only one of his accomplices that did not condemn their sins.

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esther rodgers

Posted on June 4, 2007 by bford

1. grace- The story of Esther Rodgers’ confession is one in which the author/publisher declare that “…the Glory of free Grace is displayed.”  Although she lived much of her life being scarred by wickedness she makes a remarkable conversion after being in prison for some time and becomes of symbol of the grace of God.  By the time of her execution Rodgers wholly believes herself to be going to a better place; she has rid herself of any bad feelings towards her executors and has denounced her former life of sin.  By following her model of penitence others too could hope to earn a spot of God’s good graces.

2.  Weakness-  Rodgers much like many of the stories we have read that include women was explicitly described as being part of the “Weaker Sex”.  The implementation of this little jab is used in part to explain how she succumbed to her lusts as well as serving to remind women that they were believed to inherently be more inclined to fall victim of wickedness.  The dangers of “Whoredom” are often seen as something that women cannot help but fall into due to pressures of the stronger sex.  This loosening of morals is the first step on a slippery slope.

dishonor -  After having been visited many times by members of the surrounding church community esther began to see the error of her ways.  She never feared the punishment for her deeds and claims that the impending death sentence is not what wrought such a drastic change in her heart and mind.  She believes that her need to repent was sparked by the realization of the “…Dishonour done to God.”  Due to this she began to loathe the odious nature of her sins and began a complete conversion in the eyes of the lord.

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patience boston

Posted on June 4, 2007 by aaust6yp

1. monster– i remember Molly used this term when we read the excerpt from Monster Kody’s book. i found it interesting that this particular and exact term has been used twice to describe two criminals separated by a period of time of 200 years or more. most interesting is the idea of change and evolution. we talk about how the judicial and penal systems of america have changed over the past few hundred years, but the concept of the criminal has, perhaps, stayed the same. in both the 18th and 20th centuries, criminals like Monster Kody and Patience Boston were viewed as something horrific-monstrous.

2. eternal– this sense of forever was very apparent in this particular account. Patience Boston goes back and forth repeatedly between corruption and repentance. although not explicitly stated, it is obvious that this embedded concern for one’s eternity is what drives one to repentance and conversion. This is made even more clear through Boston’s acknowledgment that “eternal” is relative to one’s life’s actions: “infinite mercy of god” or “eternal misery.” this helps to explain her conviction to return to God each time she turned away.

3. prison– boston speaks of the prison in this account as the place of reform that we talked about in class in regards, once again, to Foucault. “i returned to my beloved prison, which seemed a most pleasant place to me, since i met with christ here, and have had communication with God in holy duties.” the emphasis in her account is taken away from the confining, stone, metal structure that is depicted to us in movies and tv programs and that Monster Kody repeatedly described.

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william fly

Posted on June 4, 2007 by aaust6yp

1. judge– first time in, i think, any of the readings a judge’s name has been specifically mentioned while speaking of a person’s conviction. in this case, William Dummer is directly correlated to the condemnation of death. this identification of a judge as a singular entity is new to our readings in the sense that, in this example, he is the first and only person connected to the fate of this person. this reading’s presentation of the judge offers an interesting contrast to a past foulcaut reading where he talks about the emphasis of power being removed from the judge and distributed among others such as doctors, therapists, and teachers when deciding what to do with a human life.

2. life– this text allows the reader to see life as something other than a reproducing, growing entity. it transforms life into a possession. this was most apparent to me when reading about atkinson securing fly. i felt that at that point, fly’s life was no longer his own, in a sense. it had been repossessed by atkins. fly also turned life into a possession when he “stole” it from jenkins and this other shipmates by killing them. their life was no longer theirs.

3. tremble– this act of shaking seems to be directly connected to fly’s nonconversion and absence of devout repentance for his actions. it is indicative of the unknown to which he is leaving his soul; it is significant in the sense that it is a physical manifestation of the fear that one must have felt when they did not heed the sermons and prayers of the ministers and christians of the town.

“he still persisted in his unrelenting frame…but it was observed…that in the midst of all his affected bravery, a very sensible trembling attended him…and so we mus tleave him for the judgment to come.”

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esther rodgers

Posted on June 4, 2007 by aaust6yp

1. repentance– this was the most important outcome of a person’s conviction. as said before, it was with the soul that people of this time were most concerned. the key entities of the minister and the sermon were centered around this one important act. after being condemned to death, a person’s attention was to be focused on the destination of their soul. after listening to the minister deliver his sermon, much in the case of Rodgers, she eventually repented and her primary worry was being forgiven: “But if i could repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, i might find mercy although i was a sinner. and although i am such a vile sinner, i hope God has made me sensible of my sins, he has made me loathe my self, and truly to repent for sin.” this quote also goes to show how repentance can also be thought of as a humbling of the heart. Take full blame of wrong-doing much like a confession.

2. conversion– after repenting, a person’s changing their life of sin to a Godly life was much desired. A person’s conversion was, in a way, the minsters’ and christian townspeople’s payment and reward for the godly works that they had conducted in a sinner’s life: “she was frequently visited by Ministers and other christians of the town and neighbourhood, to whom she gave little encouragement for a considerable time…” then, “she felt the power of the word preached, inlightening, convincing, humbling and softening of her heart…the words spoken to her in private made deep and lasting impressions on her Soul.”…”i see the folly and filthiness of the ways of sin, and in some measure am made to discern the Excellency of Gods ways, and do find more delight and pleasure therein, then ever i did in my former courses.”

3. death– the ending of one’s life up until Rodger’s account has been thought and spoken of as the negative consequence to a bad act. so strong is the connotation that it is often preceded by “condemned.” Ministers, when speaking to those convicted, warn that their repentance must come before their death, as it is the ultimate end. it is the ultimate punishment. people fear it. However, Rodgers looks at it from the opposite perspective. she views it as her reward for her conversion. a positive outcome for what has become her godly life: “i find a willingness in me to accept the punishment of my sins, and a readiness to glorify the justice of God by suffering that Death i have deserved, in hope of receiving his mercy to eternal life.” “…I endeavor it by thinking of my condition and manner of death…but in the midst of those thoughts, Gods comforts delight my soul, and i think, that at such times i feel the greatest incomes of joy and sweetness.”

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