People interact with each other on a day to day basis, often times revealing more about who they are about a person and what they believe to be right and wrong. The author of “The Palace Thief”, Canin, strategically uses character interactions to evolve a central idea. Morals are a debatable subject because not everyone has a moral code and not everyone follows their moral code as closely as they think they do. The environment in which people grow up and live in for a long period of time affects how strictly they follow their morals, if some people grow up never following their morals, in the future they also aren’t going to follow their morals. Canin utilizes character interactions to support the overall central idea that whether or not we have a moral code, it is set early on in life. People who don’t follow a moral code don’t really show much care for other people and don’t think twice about doing the wrong thing. The interactions Sedgewick has with Hundert demonstrate that Sedgewick has no morals, which also supports the central idea. Based off what Hundert describes about the interactions between the two, it appears that Sedgewick either didn’t recognize he was doing the wrong thing or didn’t care that it was the morally wrong thing. Upon getting caught, Sedgewick states quite snarkily, “I knew you saw,” and the way he says it, along with the context of the statement, makes it seem like he shows no regret, and wouldn't think twice about doing it again. (Canin, pg. 171, para. 4). After Hundert had caught sight of Sedgewick’s puerile behavior and thinks back on it he believed that because of the student’s depravity he already known “what an act of corruption,” he had committed, and that was “especially chilling” to Hundert because of his rigid code of morals. (Canin, pg. 172, para. 1). The interactions between the two characters provide aid to the localized central idea because the way that Sedgewick behaves and speaks to Hundert exhibit the qualities of a person without morals. People who don’t know, or more often, don’t care whether what they are doing is wrong don’t have a moral code which they follow on a day to day basis. Characters who have a moral code but don’t follow it with strict precision
There are many relationships throughout the small part we read, in the story ‘The Palace Thief’. The few key relationship are Mr. Hundert & Sedgwick, Mr. Hundert & Senator Bell, and Mr. Hundert & Charles Ellerby.
The fantasy of this moral based society roots itself in the misconception that human differences can be overcome on a large societal scale to generate group approval of a fundamental set of morals. This
Furthermore, the important Tournament of Roman History is almost won due to Sedgewick Bell's cheating. The headmaster at the time trickles under the weight of the powers and tells Hundert to ignore the cheating and move on. There were higher-ups at the school as well as Sedgewick Bell's senator father continually badger Hundert and prevent him from taking any action against Sedgewick Bell. Perhaps Mr. Hundert draws some ironic encouragement from his self regard that he has failed to reshape Sedgewick Bell's personal character. But I believe he also overestimates the influence on his character building coaching might have on students like his. Hundert has a clear sense of his own identity that he cannot always stand up to others.
As you already know the story(The Palace Thief)Is being told by the main character,Mr Hundert a dedicated teacher trying is best to help a young man make it in life and not give him shortcuts like everyone else in his life.
For three generations of boys, Mr.Hundert in the short story “The Palace Thief” by Ethan Canin has molded his students into the leaders of tomorrow. Mr.Hundert is candid about the Senators and other successful men that he has produced from his classroom at St.Benedict’s school. Being as certain as he was about his ability to create future leaders, when Mr.Hundert’s belief is challenged by Senator Bell, he surely goes against his moral compass in order to prove that Senator Bell is wrong. Mr.Hundert is aware that he is making a mistake however, he proceeds to augment Sedgewick Bell’s grades so that Sedgewick Bell would be able to participate in a prestigious school competition. At first, Mr. Hundert does this furtively, however when Sedgewick Bell cheats during the competition, Mr.Hundert’s initial actions of changing Sedgewick’s grade begin to to spin out of control. Called into question by the Bell’s, Mr.Hundert simultaneously ruins his reputation as an honest man, yet also proves his ability to not merely teach his students, but rather mold them, repeating his own mistakes of allowing himself to be used by others.
Mr. Hundert realized that Sedgewick was cheating, so he gives him a question that’s not in the course’s material so that he is penalized for his wrongdoing. Furthermore, this act can also be seen as justice. Additionally, justice can be seen when the older Mr. Hundert and Sedgewick were talking in the bathroom. Mr. Hundert was speaking poorly of Sedgewick and asking him questions on why he would cheat, once again. This forced Sedgewick to say his real, unjust feelings about the “real world,” not knowing that his child was in the stall, close by. Although Mr. Hundert did not know the child was nearby, he tried to persuade Sedgewick to think in a morally good way, but it ultimately failed. Lastly, honesty is shown at the end of the movie when the second Mr. Caesar ended. Mr. Hundert runs into Martin, and he lets him know that he was supposed to be competing for Mr. Caesar, which breaks Martin’s heart. From this movie, one can see that Mr. Hundert is a man that teaches many virtues, but his teachings have been inflicted by trying to help a man by the name of Sedgewick
All humans have different morals that change based on their environment and circumstance. Jean Valjean, in the novel Les Miserables(1961), changes from someone with confused morals to a man with more morals than most whom with respect learns to love and share.
If you believe in yourself and have dedication, pride, and never quit, you will be successful. Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief, creates a story of a young orphan named Liesel Meminger, who is living with her new foster family. She learns the wonders of reading from her foster father and grows to love books. During Liesel’s time with her new family, she shows determination through her efforts and kindness with her encounters with other people. Liesel in The Book Thief expresses her traits, such as hardworking, and bravery.
The Emperor’s Club is a film that addresses many moral and social aspects that are central to contemporary society’s moral controversy. Can morals be properly instilled in a young person outside of religion? Can our future decisions be predicted based on our current character? Can our current character even be changed or molded? Can morals be learned through studying the classics? The Emperors Club’s main characters are Mr. Hundert a teacher of classics at a prestigious preparatory school, and an unruly or misunderstood student, Sedgwick Bell. Their characters seem to perpetually butt heads, or at least be contrasting moral characters.
Newsstands proclaim it. Talk shows trumpet it. Scandal, murder, and deception! People share a common disdain for these evils, scorning those who commit the dirty deeds. Laws are upheld to prevent people from doing “bad” things, but how do people come to an agreement on what is truly wrong? Even as society moves away from traditional teachings and perspectives, many acts are still universally looked down upon. Throughout history, the majority of civilizations have held surprisingly similar moral ideals regarding acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Although moral relativists believe that morality is individually determined, there is, in fact, an objective moral standard that governs all humanity, because a sense of right and wrong is universal, transcends time and culture, and is evident in the majority of people.
“The Miller's Tale” in the Canterbury Tales provides insight into the morality of people of medieval England by showing the Miller’s views on religion, heroic ideals, and common morality. Religion at this time was defined by a religious code outlined in the Bible and the ten commandments. Even though all men were expected to live by these laws, those closely related to the church, like Absalom, were expected to never break from these codes. Heroism involved a set of ideals that were meant to guide men to a heroic state of being. A hero was supposed to seek revenge and never let a crime go unpunished. Common morality was the behavioral code all men were expected to follow and it is essentially what we now call common courtesy. This
Mr. Hundert is in charge of the Mr. Julius Caesar contest. Once Sedgewick’s father told Sedgewick to get his act together, Sedgewick then started to study and work harder for the contest. His behavior started to
This paper discusses the notion that truly moral people are not only those who follow rules, laws and norms, these society norms and laws are very flexible and change with time. Such people do whatever they wish to do without the fear of being criticized. The essay is based on "The Doll House" play by Henrik Ibsen. However, other similar stories that support thesis statement include; "The story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin and "The Stranger" by Albert Camus.
William Hundert is a highly virtuous man who loves what he does. He hopes that he has an impact on his student by his teachings and inspires his students to be ethical and moral. He teaches Roman and Greek civilization and truly enjoys it. Hundert believes that by teaching young boys at St. Benedict with influence, he will mold their characters into his life 's work. When Hundert meets a new student, Sedgewick Bell, things get complicated. Sedgewick is a young unhappy man, who is a troublemaker that cries out for attention with his behavior and claims to be a know it all. Hundert decides to meet with the boy 's father, who is a US Senate, in an effort to motivate his son who is having trouble at school but instead learns the cause of the problem. The father tells Hundert the limits of control over his son, states “You, sir, will not mold my son! I will mold him,” and that his only job is to teach him the facts out of a textbook not to influence him. Mr.
The complexity of this area and the concepts involved necessitates a rather expansive look at the perspectives on Moral Development in order to develop contextual