Student Characters InA Palace Thief, By Ethan Canin

​Sir Gawain, nephew to the well-known King Arthur of the Round Table, is regarded as the most elite and noble of all the knights in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Yet, like anyone else in the world, Sir Gawain is far from perfect. Gawain, a courteous knight living a life dedicated to honor, courage, and self-preservation, is tested on his chivalrous code throughout his journey; a search for the Green Knight. Throughout the tests, Gawain’s actions reveal that even the best of men can be selfish and are subject to guilt and sin.

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.

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.

The Canterbury Tales, written and narrated by Geoffrey Chaucer, explores manipulation and dishonesty in the Catholic Church. The Nun in “The General Prologue” exemplifies improper qualities to which a Prioress should have. Along with the Nun, The Friar in “The General Prologue” uses false information to gain customer. In “The Pardoner’s Tale,” the Pardoner uses greedy tactics to wield other pilgrims into buying his relics.In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses the Nun and the Friar in “The General Prologue” and the Pardoner in “The Pardoner’s Tale” to show the hypocrisy in the Church.

Which one between John Turner and Robert Johnson will succeed? Why will either Turner or Johnson make it and the other not make it?

Honor is a concept that has a great deal to do with entitlement and based on the actions or qualities of a person. There are three main types of honor that society recognizes; family, men, and women and in The Heptameron, Marguerite de Navarre portrays each of the three types of honor throughout her stories. Published in the 1500s, the series of short stories portrays the values and beliefs of that period of time. However, there are often a number of complications that follow honor that lie with classified and understandably honorable deeds or traits, and who is it that determines this. Another issue that one may find is that it is also complicated to be able to view one form of morality in the presence of another due to certain views clashing with one another. In addition to this, Marguerite de Navarre’s stories are written around the themes of love, lust, and adultery, in addition to honor. Each of these has a significant role in portraying the integrity of men, women and family. The Heptameron’s twelfth story has each of the three types of honor present throughout it, and show how they either compliment or conflict with one another. Through the character of the Duke of Medici, the Duke’s “other half”, and the sister of this man, the reader is able to recognize the instances in which honor is evident.

It is in one’s moral beliefs that children are the way to a better future. It is instilled in the modern era to the minds of the human race that treating a child a certain way, will lead them to become a certain person. For instance, they will one day become society’s doctors, educators, and politicians, respectable men and women. Yet, in Puritan New England the conditions to raising children to being such was much more intense from modern day’s way of teaching and living. The life for children in Puritan New England was tough and tenacious, because of its strict beliefs in religion, the lack of individualism and expression permitted to the children, and the dire consequences leading to being abused, or at times, being punishable by death.

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.

Cyrano de Bergerac reveals the role of honor as a key aspect which is displayed through Cyrano’s acts of honor, how honor is established in society and by contrasting less honorable characters with Cyrano.

Mr. Hundert is a teacher that follows many virtues: courage, discipline, justice, and honesty. One can definitely see this teaching when he meets Sedgewick Bell, but one may also see his failures. To entice his virtue of courage, for example, he tells Sedgewick to do well in school. One can tell in the movie that Sedgewick might believe that trying in school will make him not popular, or maybe it fears him. Either way, there’s something hindering his performance in school, and of course, Mr. Hundert was able to convince Sedgewick to start doing well in class by giving him a book that helped him get understand the material. Another incident where he’s helping Sedgewick was when he wasn’t able to check out a book in the library. Then, Mr. Hundert enters asking the librarian to give him the book, and it was given. Another virtue

Some would say that honor is a thing of the past; a thing long since extinct with the King Arthur and the knights of the round table. In fact, it is not, it is real and can still be seen all around through people all the time. In Charles Dicken’s novel, A Tale of Two Cities, honor and dishonor are main themes that are exemplified and enacted through many characters. To be honorable, or to act in honor, is to act in a way that is not necessarily socially acceptable, but is morally right, noble, and kind. To be dishonorable is to neglect the basic responsibility of treating every human being in the respectful manner they deserve, giving no variance to rank or status. Throughout the book different men show varying degrees of honor and dishonor.

Throughout history, there have been different codes of ethics that are often more important to a society that the governing laws of the land. While laws are written standards that people are compelled to abide by for fear of punishment, these codes serve as guideline for how people should live their lives. Two such codes are comitatus as demonstrated in Beowulf and chivalry as depicted in Morte D’Arthur. When the characters in these stories live by the constructs of these social systems, the society flourishes. When characters stray from each social code, however, the entire society falls victim.

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.

Sedgwick turns his act around and starts applying himself to his studies. And eventually makes his way near the top of the class, almost qualifying him for a spot in the Julius Caesar contest. So seduced by Sedgwick’s renewed effort, Mr. Hundert decides to bump him up into the last spot kicking some other poor kid out. Hoping that the ends justify the means, Mr. Hundert, a man who believes in the rules, broke them.

During the Middle Ages, England was a nation in social chaos. Deception of every kind was rampart throughout the lands. Many people felt that there was a great need for moral improvement in society. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales he clearly brings to light his thoughts and concerns of “ethical cleansing.” No tale more fully expresses this idea than that of “The Pardoner’s Tale” and “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale.”