Pride- Although Mountain claims to be ashamed of his past life, his speech suggests that he is proud of it.  He describes himself as an able thief who had experienced teachers.  He describes presenting his plunder to a group of highwaymen fondly, saying “I will never forget with what joy I was received.  The house rang with praises of Mountain. An elegant supper was provided, and he placed at the head of the table.  Notwithstanding the darkness of his complexion, he was complimented as the finest of his profession, and qualified for the most daring enterprises.”  In the criminal world in England, Mountain could demonstrate his talents and be recognized in a way that was impossible among polite society, especially in America.  He seems to be in crime as much for the recognition as for the wealth.

Humiliation- Humiliation is especially important in this story because it causes a drastic change in Mountain.  He goes from a thief who is not especially vindictive to a merciless rapist because he is so shocked and outraged that someone of his stature could be publicly beaten for a relatively small offense.  He says “no event in my antecedent life produced such mortification as this; that a highwayman of the first eminence, who had robbed in most of the capital cities in Europe,.. that he should be punished for such a petty offence, in such an obscure part of the country, was truly humiliating.”