The Executioner's Notice
Marrant has a rather odd reaction to receiving a writ of execution which is expressed through metaphor:
“The judge sent for the executioner, and gave him his warrant for my execution in the afternoon of the next day. The executioner came, and gave me notice of it, which made me very happy, as the near prospect of death made me hope for a speedy deliverance from the body: And truly this dungeon became my chapel”
Roots...of Defiance
Very early on, Marrant confesses to being almost a born rebel capable of unyielding defiance and stubborn resolve. Of course, his confession is much more metaphorically impressive:
“Disobedience either to god or man, being one of the fruits of sin, grew out from me in early buds.”
Another Sort of Slavery
Continuing upon the theme of embracing disobedience, Marrant recalls his early self as a thirteen-year-old:
“I was now in my thirteenth year, devoted to pleasure and drinking in iniquity like water; a slave to every vice suited to my nature and to my years.”
Evangelicals
Lured by the siren song of bright lights and large crowds filling up a meeting house, Marrant comes face to face with a fiery evangelical and faithfully following flock. Things do not immediately go well:
“…every word I heard from the minister was like a parcel of swords thrust into me, and what added to my distress, I thought I saw the devil on every side of me.”
Self-Awareness
Above all else, the text reveals John Marrant as a man with an acute sense of self-awareness. He recognizes his character flaws even if he doesn’t necessarily recognize them as flaws:
“Unstable as water I returned to town, and wished to go to some trade.”
