regret – Discipline & Punish

frost

chard3ah — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:44:59 +0000

Justification- Frost admits to killing two people in his narrative. The first, his father, he says that he killed because “I ever thought my father had no affection for her, and used her ill; this induced me to kill him” (337). It seems that Frost sees his father’s poor treatment of his mother as not only a reason for murdering him but as a valid justification. The murder of Mr. Allen, however, has no justification or even real reason, other than he watches over Frost’s estate.

Regret- We see absolutely no regret in Frost’s narrative for either murder he commits, and after his account of how the murder is committed there is no mention of his feelings about it or any sort of remorse. He never mentions the death of his father again or any feelings he has about the crimes he’s committed.

Honesty- Frost, like Mount, seems to be a very honest character, although while Mount’s narrative was honest, Frost seems both honest in his narrative4 and his life. He states that he has a great aversion to both stealing and lies, and the later third person account of his life also states that he was an extremely honest man, refusing to plead not guilty even when instructed to.

levi ames

drummerboy — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:49:20 +0000

list – The accounts of thefts appear to be a shopping list or something of that sort. Here is a recollection of those tings that were stolen as if in order to get it all off of his chest.

regret – “For after I had stolen, I have been so distressed at times, as to be obliged to go back, and throw the stolen goods at the door, or into the yard, that the owners might have the again. And not long before I was taken for this robbery, I passed the gallows on Boston neck with some stolen goods under my arm when my conscience terribly smote me, and I thought I should surely die there, if I did not leave off this cause of life.” p.181

admonishment – Just like Frasier in his narrative/confession Ames reverts to admonishing the people in the town not to follow in his steps or death will be their reward. He lends his warning especially towards the youth and tells them to avoid those vices that lead to the lifestyle he lead, such as stealing and lwed women.

esther rodgers

drummerboy — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 21:41:00 +0000

Regret – This subject can be viewed at from two different perspectives. The first is the regret that one feels after having committed a crime and accepted the reality that it has happened. The second perspective is actually regretting the action because a moral concern. I can regret something as did Esther Rodgers at first simply because it was a bad thing to do dealing with the situation. However if I regret something because in the end it leads me to feel that I am morally at the bottom of some moral hierarchy then there is a difference.

Acceptance – After receiving her spiritual revelation in prison, Rodgers became content with her state. She was willing to receive the punishment that was equivocal to her sin because it was the right thing to do. Faith played a major role in her life and also plays a major role in the lives of many convicted criminals. As long as a person has something to base their actions on, some relief system that assures them salvation from the uncertainty of death, they are willing to accept their punishment.

Courage – “She retained an invincible courage, and yet manifested nothing that had the least Tincture of a vain glorious Confidence.” (p. 105) Having gotten over her regret for her crime and accepted the punishment justly deserving of her crime, Rodgers found the courage to face it fearlessly. She wasn’t afraid to die for her faith in God allowed her assurance tha as long as she was unwavering in her faith and had truly repented of her sins then her soul was to be saved. After all this remains a major concern with all people in the world, not even just those who are sentenced to die. But having a faith system that gave her assurance, allowed her to muster the courage to take her punishment before those people who had grown to love her through her imprisonment.