The Palace Thief

1. The Palace Thief

Even from the beginning of this story, Hundert is faced with various ethical dilemmas. Before the competition has begun, Hundert has already bent rules by allowing Sedgewick Bell to be in the competition. Later in the competition, Hundert is faced with the realization that Bell was cheating and is unable to do anything about it without losing his job. Although Hundert can not publicly announce that Sedgewick was cheating, he ingeniously asked a question that Sedgewick would not be able to answer. In this way, he eases his conscience and justifies his earlier actions with regard to Sedgewick.

Later in the second competition, much of a similar situation arises. Hundert once again realizes that Sedgewick was cheating, but to expose him now, at his own estate would be much more grievous than exposing him as a student. Once again Hundert uses ingenuity to ask a question of Sedgwick that could not be answered through cheating.

In today's world small ethical lapses can be seen everywhere. It is human nature to bend moral and ethical values to their own benefit and that can be seen in every aspect of life. For example, students who cheat on tests; in high school "everybody" does it, and for the most part, no one gets caught. Each incident on its own is not a big problem, but when compounded together, can create various problems for the student. If he or she had cheated on every exam given in the class, he or she will most likely fail their final examination because he or she gained no knowledge. Although these small lapses may not seem very significant, in the long run, they may have severe repercussions

2. The "accountant"

There are many times in our lives where our actions overtake our minds and brains. We do things without thinking or even knowing why we do them. This is the case with Roth and the legging. Although common sense and his mind were telling him to give the legging back, he instead hides it in his briefcase. I believe he is telling the truth and he committed the act in a moment of irrationality. He wanted those leggings and therefore he stole them.

I think Naomi is happy that her father did this because for the first time, she sees him acting assertively. She realizes that her father did something for himself, something that made him happy. She saw that he yearned in his heart

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