notorious – Discipline & Punish http://blogs.elsweb.org/disciplinepunish Early American Crime Narratives Tue, 12 Jun 2007 01:16:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 Frasier http://blogs.elsweb.org/disciplinepunish/frasier-3/ Tue, 12 Jun 2007 01:16:18 +0000 http://blogs.elsweb.org/disciplinepunish/2007/06/11/frasier-3/ Continue reading →]]> Notorious– “Notorious” seems to be thrown in the title of Frasier’s narrative to attract readers. The seeds of the sensationalism of later works seem to be in place here. Although he seems to be a prolific thief, there is little evidence of his notoriety among the general public given here. The inclusion of the word seems to be more to create notoriety than describe a preexisting state.

 

Lenity– He is thankful for the lenity of his judges in postponing his sentence, but most of the narratives we have read ending in execution involve more heinous crimes than he commits, like infanticide. Like earlier narratives, this thankfulness seems a bit forced rather than spontaneous.

 

Inconsequential– At times, Frasier seems more like a petty thief than one that would be considered notorious. He describes stealing cheese, stockings, and handkerchiefs. He seems almost to be stealing to survive rather than on a grand scale.

]]> isaac frasier http://blogs.elsweb.org/disciplinepunish/isaac-frasier-2/ Mon, 04 Jun 2007 21:21:05 +0000 http://blogs.elsweb.org/disciplinepunish/2007/06/04/isaac-frasier-2/ Continue reading →]]> 1. conscience– this is the first text in wich this inner sense of right and wrong is the main focus. Frasier’s conscience was a key component in his crimes. it is also a word that helps us to under- stand the effects of an action on the mind. it links a mental state, often guilt, with a physical feeling: “upon committing these last thefts, i found what i had never experienced in all my scene of sillainy before, which was the working of a guilty conscience, whose power was so great that it forced me to recede from my wicked designs several times.”

2. flames– “i was in eminent danger of being consumed by the flames.” in this sense, frasier is speaking of the literal flames which he was responsible for creating while in prison. however, in a more spiritual sense, avoiding the horrifying idea of hell and its flaming wrath, is the main argument used by the ministers who admonish criminals like frasier, hoping to deter them from their wicked ways and persuade them of a godly path.

3. notorious– this term re-emphasizes the role of the public in the sense of crime. criminals like Frasier were known publically, scorned publically, and eventually killed publically. this article, however, broadens the role of the public from just an audience at an execution. the term notorious indicates that the public was not only aware of the criminal’s execution, they were aware of his life before he was sentenced to death due to his repution as a person.

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