Summary Of The Palace Thief

Ironic Symbolism in The Age of Innocence: Name That Transformation Imagine living a life in a pre-destined, high-class society – a place that decides if one’s job, marriage, clothing, housing, and lifestyle are worthy of approval. Envision the struggle that must come about each person has they try to decipher the real meaning of their life and where their happiness truly lies. The ideas of identity and individuality are ongoing themes uncovered in Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. The variety of characters and the names given to them significantly differ from one another purposefully to show the different struggles each character faces.

Because of this, Brother continues to make plans to make Doodle more like the other kids his age. While planning this, Brother says“... I began to believe in my own infallibility and I prepared a terrific development program for him, unknown to Mama and Daddy, of course.” (P. 559) Once Brother has had the success of teaching Doodle one thing, he assumes he can teach him anything.

Lockie Leonard Scumbuster, by Tim Winton, accurately reflects the life of an average adolescent boy. The main character, Lockie, is not exceptional in his experiences, as is reflected in the exploration of themes that commonly characterize teenage existence. He suffers love issues, finds it difficult to understand his parents, and develops a friendship with someone who is totally unlike himself. In realistically developing these themes, the author forces us to an inescapable conclusion: Lockie is a typical teenage boy.

He is the accidental killer of his brother pushed to this state by his and societies best and worst qualities. The Brother (the narrator) is compelled to teach and kill Doodle by the two pillars of his character; and the character of man: ambition and arrogance. The narrator is annoyed from the beginning of Doodle’s birth, he holds only contempt for his new sibling. Not because he does not want a sibling, but because he wants one the that can lend to his ambitions and further his goal of progress and greatness.

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?”

To the narrator, “it was apparent that such efforts (teaching humility through history, etc.) would be lost on him (Canin, 157).” Hundert experiences a reality check when he meets Bell Senior and is intimidated into realizing that the changing of Sedgewick’s character is beyond is control. The arrival of Sedgewick shows Hundert how flawed his characters is, such as when in the first “Mr. Julius Caesar” competition Hundert is not mentally strong enough to stand up for what is right and expose Sedgewick’s cheating. Sedgewick is slowly able to manipulate the narrator, as shown on page 172 when Hundert says “ instead of enforcing my own code of morals, I had allowed Sedgewick Bell to sweep me summarily into his.” From this statement not only can we see that Hundert is feeble minded, but we can also determine from various confessions on pages 172 and 173 that Hundert clearly recognizes the fact that his “conviction waned” (Canin, 172).

He wanted to do many fun things with his brother but since Doodle couldn’t do any of those things he was a disappointment as a brother. The hatred towards his brother was so bad that he wanted to kill him. “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow.” (pg 351) This shows how he is ashamed of Doodle.

Acts of injustice happen all the time. Many of the times no one chooses to speak up against the action. This is not because people do not find anything wrong with these actions, but rather because they do not realize what is going on in their brain. When we experience something we feel is wrong, our brain will do whatever is in its power to stop us from intervening and standing out. After doing nothing we are then exposed to the results of our injectors making us feel guilty leading us to speak out in the future.

“Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it” (James Arthur Baldwin). In the novel Stonewall’s Gold written by Robert J. Mrazek, Jamie loses his innocence through multiple occurrences. Jamie Lockhart is a 15 year old scrawny homebody, who has never been on his own and relies on his mother for survival. The events of the novel take away the pure innocence of Jamie until he no longer knows who he is. Jamie has such a strong passion for finding the gold, that he will go to any extent in finding it.

For most people, childhood is a time that should be celebrated because of the bliss and innocence one experiences then. For others, it is the complete opposite. Childhood for those few can be described as being full of uncertainty and fear. In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak portrays Liesel’s childhood and adolescence as a time of tribulation and terror after being separated from her family, having to conform to a society she did not agree with, and living surrounded by war and violence. At only nine years of age, Liesel was separated from her biological family.

Many individuals say that a person is a product of its surroundings. And for two young men from Baltimore, this could not be any more accurate. In “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore, the author talks about two young boys who shared the same name and the contributions they did in their lives that made them turn out the way they are. Both Wes’ grew up in similar environment with tough childhood and without the presence of a father. Where one becomes very successful and a Rhodes Scholar, and the other is heavily involved in the drug game and receives a life sentence in prison for serving a part in a murder of a former police officer.

Due to his hurtful actions, inflicted upon Doodle throughout his life, the Narrator feels deep shame for what he has caused. Through the elements of foreshadowing and dialogue, Hurst’s narration reveals the protagonist’s guilt, emphasizing his deep regret over his actions regarding his crippled brother. The Narrator foreshadows the eventual climax of the story through his words regarding his views of pride. He states, “But all of us must have something to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine.

Although humans may originally behave due to innate reasons, much of literature argues external forces shape character and possess the power to influence the way societies behave. Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief exhibits how individuals may react in times of discrimination, and demonstrates the love and hate accompanying war. Difficult times challenge morality, and tests one’s limits; Liesel Meminger perseveres through arduous events, namely due to her identity as a creative and brave adolescent. Liesel’s identity is shaped and ultimately strengthened by outside forces.

In the short stories “The Interlopers” by Saki and “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hust, the theme Reason Vs. Desire is developed in the way Saki and James Hurst portray the character’s drastic actions and deep destructive emotions towards one another. Along with the way the characters are shown in the short stories gives a view into what causes them to be put into situations where their true and inner most desire comes out whether they realize it or not. The theme Reason Vs.

In the beginning of The Palace of Thief, Hundert had set a Code of Ethics for himself. He made sure he treated each of his student the same and that he did not favor one over the other. Also, he made sure that he never overstepped that boundary line. When Sedgewick Bell came to St. Benedict’s, Mr. Hundert already worked at the school for several years. When Mr. Hundert first saw Sedgewick Bell, Sedgewick had a look of disdain on his face (pg. 158, 1st paragraph).