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Sedgewick Bell serves as a foil character to Mr. Hundert. Even as a young teen, Sedgewick uses his charisma and his natural people-reading skills to be whoever he needs to be in the moment to get what he wants. Like his senator father, Sedgewick quickly fits into situations by charming his audience and getting them to believe he is one of them. He easily moves through adolescence as a popular kid to whom people are drawn. From the moment he enters Mr. Hundert’s classroom, Sedgewick captures everyone’s attention. His personality is so compelling that even Mr. Hundert is drawn in and seeks to help him succeed, even breaking the rules to do so. Sedgewick becomes the person people want him to be through deception and theatrics, including pranks designed to rattle Mr. Hundert and display his own power. His ability to charm carries him through his young adulthood into his career as a senator. 

Whereas Mr. Hundert clings to the past and takes no action, Sedgewick focuses on progress and action above all else. From the beginning, Sedgewick questions and challenges tradition, and he treats St. Benedict’s as a place to practice charming people rather than to improve himself through learning. Sedgewick asks questions aimed at understanding what motivates other people so he can strategize and shape his image around their expectations. While Mr. Hundert sees every interaction as an epic test of higher virtue and honor, Sedgewick views events and people as stepping stones to the next stage of his life, and St. Benedict’s as merely the training ground for his career as a corporate leader and politician.

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