Thursday, July 3, 2014

What is Hundert's code of morals? Sedgewick's?

Hundert lives by quite a high moral code. He prides himself on being a man of integrity, someone with an elevated sense of what's right and what's wrong. Throughout his long, illustrious career as a teacher, he's always tried to instill the correct values into his many students. But Hundert proves himself incapable of defending those values when it really matters, compromising his much-vaunted integrity in the process. By failing to call out the entitled, over-privileged Sedgewick Bell for cheating, Hundert is not just failing in his duties as a teacher, but also failing to live up to his own principles.
The Bells' moral code, such as it is, involves their pretty much doing as they please, irrespective of the consequences. As they're rich and socially prominent, the Bells think they have the right to bend and break the rules to serve their own interests. They adhere to the concept of survival of the fittest, believing that their wealth and position proves that they are among the strong. However, their belief in the value of competition is belied by Sedgewick Bell's blatant cheating and his influential father's attempts to cover it up. Competition is all very well and good, they maintain—but only if the rules have been rigged to keep the rich and powerful on top.

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