Guilt– Owen confesses to his crimes, but he never seems to think of himself as “guilty.”  He turns the guilt on the criminal justice system when he says that he will not “betray them (his partners), or be guilty of shedding their blood.”  He has a perspective that many modern readers can by sympathetic to, which is that murder is a more serious crime than counterfeit and counterfeit should not be punishable by death.  Although he says at one point that he “deserves” the gallows, he seems to be talking more about the standard punishment than the punishment he thinks he deserves.

Money-Maker– According to the text, early in Syllavan’s life, there are no signs of his being overly ambitious or greedy, but later his identity becomes completely wrapped up in his job as a money-maker.  Despite the promise he showed in other fields, he does not seem to consider switching once he gets in trouble.  People refer to him as money-maker, often in a derogatory way, but it is a carefully crafted career for him that he takes seriously and seems to take pride in.

Duty- The gang of highway robbers that Mountain eventually joins sees stealing money as a duty: “we were soon convinced that he had cash in plenty, and that ‘it was our duty to get it’;” (295).  Mountain feels a real sense of duty to his highway robbery gang, and in fact sticks with them from England to France.  He never discredits them by blaming them for the crime that he is eventually executed for.

Guilt-  Interestingly, the crime for which Mountain is executed takes up only a few paragraphs of this relatively long narrative: he is very concerned with making himself a guilty character more than guilty of one specific crime.  We get a long explanation of the robberies and petty thefts that he commits, the short periods of time in which he is legally employed, and only a mention of the supposed rape that ends his life.  Although he argues that he didn’t really rape the girl, he says that the court was kind and lenient (despite quickly convicting him and sentencing him to death), probably because he sees himself as a guilty man in general, and thus deserving any punishment. 

Guilt- Rachel Wall is the first person to express innocence of the crime for which she is being executed (unless we want to count Levi Ames’ assertion that he was let into a house, not the one who first broke in).  She confesses to other crimes, all some sort of theft, but still maintains that she is innocent of what she is being executed for.  She states, though, that God with ultimately judge the truth of the statement she is making.

Education-  Like many narratives, Rachel Wall’s starts out with her upbringing—how her parents treated her, what they did, and whether they attempted to make her a good honest person.  She says that they “gave me a good education, and instructed in me in the fundamental principles of the Christian religion” (283).  Wall blames her descent into crime on her husband, not her parents, but it appears that all of the narratives we’ve read have blamed it on someone.

Guilt- Alexander White’s sentencing introduces a very modern concept of guilt or innocence, one very caught up in circumstance and motive. At his trial, the “court seemed much affected with his plea and the rehearsal of his story”, and later “were so tender of his case, that they proceeded to examine sundry witnesses” (247). Although White is eventually found guilty and sentenced to death, it is still interesting to note that his story garnered the sympathy of the court.

Salvation- Alexander white is extremely concerned with his own salvation, long after he has accepted that he will die and that he deserves to. Even upon his execution, he expressed a belief that he will be saved by God.

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.

Bravery- Any sort of refusal on the gallows seems to be witnessed as a form of bravery—like William Fly’s refusal to pray and beg for mercy, Owen’s refusal to name his accomplices or give any information about the money he made seems somewhat brave as well.  When asked for more information about the counterfeited money, he says that people must find that out for themselves, and so, “died obstinate” (149).  His only words about the money or his accomplices is a request that they burn any incriminating evidence so that they don’t end up being hanged—not that they save their souls and change their evil ways.

Mercy-  For all his bravery and humor, Owen Sullivan gives himself away when he cries for mercy from God minutes before he dies, just as William Fly couldn’t hide his shaking knees.  We must wonder, of course, if either of these things really happened or it is merely the author inserting his own religious commentary, proving that even the most “brave” prisoners are fearful of death and the afterlife.  Owen cries out for God to have mercy on his soul, and then says the Lord’s prayer before dying, an odd ending to an account so devoid of any religious undertone.