The Palace Thief Sparknotes

“That school was my life”, (pg. 164), these were some of the first words muttered by William Hundert, a dedicated history teacher at St. Benedict’s school for boys. Being the narrator in Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief”, he begins to depict himself as a nobleman, who has a strict code of morals, and always follows the “Cardinal rules of teaching” (pg. ), however his willingness to not stray from these strict personal rules is soon going to be tested by an unlikely source. Sedgewick Bell, a new student at St. Benedicts, is the one who will test these morals Hundert has set for himself. The more interaction these two have, the more Hundert begins to lose these morals he set forth for himself, and the more it begins to change him for

161). This statement began Hundert’s transformation and began the obsession with the boy, “Here again, I suppose I was in my own way rooting for Sedgewick” (pg. 164). Soon, after Sedgewick began to do well on the Mr. Julius Caesar Competition quizzes, a pivotal moment arouse that would test Hundert’s moral code. “This was when I made my first mistake. Although I should certainly have known better, I was impressed enough by his efforts that I broke the cardinal rule of teaching: I gave him an A on a quiz on which he had earned only a B, and in doing so, I leapfrogged him over Martin Blythe,” (pg. 165). This was the beginning of the end for Hundert. Though not being able to expose Sedgewick for his cheating, “Ignore it, Hundert, or look for another job,” (pg. 168), it allowed Sedgewick to expose the most critical flaw of Hundert, he was only concerned about himself and his own well being, and this is why he is so easily manipulated. After Sedgewick Bell has graduated and is a successful businessmen, Hundert still wonders if he should have spoken up in front of the crowd, “Should I have confronted him in the midst of the original contest? Should I never even leapfrogged another boy to get him there? Should I have spoken up to the Senator?” (pg 187). Though, even after rematch of the Mr. Julius Caesar competition over 40 years later, Hundert decides to not call him on his cheating once

Julius Caesar competition both times. Even after getting his intoxicated, he still does not hear the words, “ ‘You have made a difference in my life, Mr.
Hundert’, “ (pg. 204-205), from Deepak as well, he goes back to his old ways, thinking, “But of course those are things Deepak Metha would never say.” (pg. 205). The interaction between Hundert and Sedgewick is like any other. It had its eventful parts and its disappointments, but there was an everlasting effect of this relationship. Hundert who was once an honorable and respectful man, was now a man of self-centeredness and moralless. Sedgewick Bell’s manipulation and interactions have changed Hundert for the worse, and, in Hundert’s words, he changed just like “How deeply a viper is a viper” (pg.