Palace Thief End

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“The end depends on the beginning,” says Headmaster Woolbridge in the film adaptation of “The Palace Thief” by Ethan Canin. Is this true? Does the end really depend upon the beginning? In “The Palace Thief”, history teacher, William Hundert, meets a new student, Sedgewick Bell, who challenges his authority, and because of his self-importance, this challenge manifests itself until the end. In the beginning, Hundert has a job he is passionate about, a happy and uneventful life, and a moralistic view of himself. Hundert loves St. Benedict’s. “That school was my life,” (Canin, pg. 155) he says. He believes that his job at the school is of utmost importance. However, a boy walks into his classroom one day that does not fit his ideal picture, Sedgewick …show more content…

Benedicts, climbing the ladder of authority. One day, while reading the newspaper, he discovers that Sedgewick had become the chairman of a large corporation in America. He decided to send him a letter, and reconnect to his past. Meanwhile, he was becoming more involved in the decisions of the school, such as the hiring of a new chair of humanities. When deciding this, he vouches for his good friend Charles Ellerby, however, mainly because the other candidate had the idea that history had “become little more than a relic,” (Canin, pg. 177), which Hundert rejected. Although Hundert no longer worked as a history teacher, he still felt a sense of loyalty and ardor towards the subject, not wanting to let go of his days of teaching. Before long, Headmaster Woolbridge passes away and Hundert applies for the job as headmaster. However, Ellerby does as well and betrays him in order to get the job. He uses the gun that was given to Hundert and remains in his possession, to threaten him. Hundert was willing to do anything in order to secure the job and remain at St. Benedict’s, and therefore throws the gun into the lake at the school, which he quickly regrets because it rids him of the physical memoir he had. Quickly after Ellerby gets the job, he asks Hundert to retire, breaking his

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