2. honesty– honesty, to frost, was very important. he felt that being dishonest was, in fact, what made someone a bad person. his murdering men was not wrong to him- however, if he were to lie about it, that would be the unjust act. “he had high notions of honesty, and appeared much offended when his honesty was suspected.” “he was told that he might plead not guilty, was urged so to do, and was remanded to prison, in order that he might consider of the plea he had made…he persisted in pleading guilty.”

3. death– this narrative shows how frost thought death to be an experience much like a sane person would think about jumping into a cold pool or getting a shot if they had never had one; curious of the feeling it produces. his interest in people dying is comparable to the interest readers had in these narratives. he wanted to see the unknown. he wanted an explanation for something the human mind could not fathom. “being asked why he thought so, he said he had been beating his head against the walls of the prison, in order to know how they felt whilst he was killing them.”

drinking – The intoxicant is constantly referenced as making part of an evil character, it is a common act in the life of sin and lays the groundwork for future misdeeds.  The criminals in this narrative recall several days of drinking liquor which all helped to iron out the details of the murder.  The victim himself was said to go to the tavern on multiple instances as well as drinking with his murderers.  Abuse of alcohol is the backdrop of many of the criminal narratives, helping to show the progression of the criminal mind.

death – The criminal narratives we had read all end with the execution of the condemned persons except for this one.  In this narrative we are left with the new that they perpetrators had been sentenced to death after drinking and boisting of having Mr. Spooner’s watch.  We are not given any account of repentance while incarcerated nor are we privy the last dying words of these murderers.  instead we all left with the thought of the impending and inevitable doom of the sentence.

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.”

2. death– the termination of life takes on a completely different meaning in Pillars of Salt. It was not just the act of passing away, but a form of entertainment. in terms of Morgan’s and Rodger’s executions, the said purpose of the public affair was to warn others of the outcome of wrong doing ON YOUR SOUL. however, perhaps the intention of the crowd was to witness something never before experienced. in fact, the text even states, “fully aware of the popular fascination with death. ” the onlookers are also actually referred to as an “audience.”

3. conversion– ultimately a change, i found the contrasting usage of the term, in comparison to that of Foucalt, very interesting. in this text, the interest in conversion was not placed on injust to just, but rather on sinner to non-sinner, wretched to holy. a criminal’s conversion is looked upon in this instance from a much more religious standpoint. “ministers became in- creasingly involved with arousing a more personal, evangelical form of piety.” and “criminal characterization similarly reflected this evangelical fervor, and narrative emphasis shifted from the individual’s desperate distress to his or her confident faith in Christ’s merciful love.”