deceit – Discipline & Punish http://blogs.elsweb.org/disciplinepunish Early American Crime Narratives Mon, 11 Jun 2007 02:46:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 thomas powers http://blogs.elsweb.org/disciplinepunish/thomas-powers/ Mon, 11 Jun 2007 02:46:22 +0000 http://blogs.elsweb.org/disciplinepunish/2007/06/10/thomas-powers/ Continue reading →]]> deceit – having something or someone appear to be something that they are not.  this happened to Powers a lot in his narrative.  Many times after his escape he turned to familiar people to take him in and help him in his time of need, with the end result being betrayal on their part.  I’m not so convinced that this was a factor of his being a convict, or the fact that he was a black man which in that time was a  sort of imprisonment in its own right.

justice – To Powers justice was receiving a punishment suitable for the crime that he committed.  Ravishment was an unforgiveable crime and it deserved an unforgiveable punishment, and what better than death.

wicked – mischievious or playfully malicious (dictionary.com) Powers started out early as a mischievious person stealing things from whomever he lived with.  He admits himself that if he had received a beating severe enough after being caught stealing then that would have stifled his desire to do wrong.  By not receiving that just punishment, it lead to him enjoying his wrong in am almost playful manner and this lead to his becoming wicked.  Wicked enough to fathom rape in his mind and to carry out the act.

]]> buchana, ross, brooks http://blogs.elsweb.org/disciplinepunish/buchana-ross-brooks/ Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:57:38 +0000 http://blogs.elsweb.org/disciplinepunish/2007/06/05/buchana-ross-brooks/ Continue reading →]]> deceit – To me it didn’t seem like these men were really guilty of anything except being deceived.  Mrs. Spooner from the moment she saw them conceived in her mind ways to have her husband killed.  Her refusal to have them leave her house reassured their role in his death, and gave her more credibility in their minds which allowed for her to eventually get them to kill her husband.

lust – Buchanan seemed to be a victim of lust.  Mrs. Spooner’s flirtations and constant requests of his presence offered the lust of his flesh more and more time to gain control of his mind.  His attraction to Mrs. Spooner in effect was his downfall because it lead to his agreeing to commit the crime when at first he and Mr. Brooks rejected taking part in the murder.

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