Bloody Register

mtt3e — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:07:29 +0000

Implication of the master- In class, we have discussed at length the importance of the hierarchy in early American society. Rebelling against a master is a small treason. Barrick has an irreverent attitude, however, and does not pander to that tradition. He describes his first master only briefly, but it is an important statement. The fact that he was allowed to print it at all could be evidence of change in the hierarchical system. He says “At ten years of age I went as apprentice to James Saunders, a silk weaver in Spittlefield Parish, lived with my master about three years, but he starved and froze me almost to death, for which I left him, and roved through the streets, and frequently stole small things from shop windows.” Not only is he implicitly blaming his master for his downfall, he further implicates him by giving his name.

Passion- Two very different stories are juxtaposed- that of John Sullivan and that of Alexander White. White’s story is one of the first crime narratives we’ve read that describes a crime of passion. He kills because he wants to win the favor of a wealthy woman. Sullivan’s narrative is almost entirely devoid of passion. He lists his crimes. He describes his more serious crimes in the same matter-of-fact tone he describes his petty crimes. He only devotes a few words to the beating at the end of his narrative, and his warning to others is almost like an obligatory afterthought.

Authenticity- White’s narrative seems to follow the style of older narratives, using words like “heinous” to describe his actions, but certain aspects of his narrative seem more authentic than others. He seems more concerned about the effect that he’s had on his family, for example, than his offending God. One thought that seems show authentic remorse is his wish in his letter that “no reflections may be cast on the innocent child hereafter for the untimely death of his unhappy father. His love for his family separates his narrative from past narratives which express mainly a (possibly forced) love for God.

wilson

bford — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:45:45 +0000

denial – The narrative of Elizabeth Wilson is noteworthy because of the fact that she never admits to commit infanticide. Instead she tells a story in which the illegitimate children are killed by their father after he had called her into the woods. She claims that he rebuked his prior offers to bear the financial burden of the infants.,he then told Wilson to kill them which she would not do and drew his pistol to her head and then stomped the life out of two of his kin. Wilson would ultimately come to terms with her sentence and her previous wrongdoings but would not admit to actually murdering the children.

friend – Her the notion of God as being your “friend” during your last days on this earth while in confinement is a fascinating notion of the preparation continually taken by criminals to ready themselves as best they could for the afterlife. Through his mercy God becomes “friend of sinners” and offers them his hand. They must embrace him for he is singly important at this stage in the game, knowing the fate has been determined in this world.

family – The notion of family in this narrative is quite interesting. There is the murder of one’s own children either by the father or the mother, we can’t be sure of Wilson’s testimony, coupled with the notion of illegimate children that cannot be part of a true family being born in sin. There is also the case of the brother who is said to have visited Elizabeth while she was incarcerated and even obtained a letter that was to delay her execution. He being delayed himself along the way back to her execution, arrived 23 minutes after she had been “turned off”. He even was said to have taken her home where he tried to revive her somehow and seeing that she was “irrecovably gone”, “she was decently enterred”.

family – Discipline & Punish

Bloody Register

wilson