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“The Palace Thief” begins with the word “I,” the first indication of Mr. Hundert’s infatuation with his own place in history. Mr. Hundert’s first-person narration demonstrates his confident, learned knowledge of classic history and also places Mr. Hundert in the role with which he most identifies, that of history teacher, with the reader taking on the role of his student. Placing Mr. Hundert in the role of teacher reinforces the idea that he has no identity other than his vocation. The first-person structure also allows Mr. Hundert, an unreliable narrator, to tell the story in a way that portrays him as he would like to be seen and remembered. Despite the narrator’s claims that he is merely recording facts for others to analyze, he constantly analyzes the motivations of his actions and those of Sedgewick, the voters, the headmaster, and Ellerby, emphasizing his unreliability. 

Mr. Hundert’s account exposes his weaknesses even as he narrates events through the lens of his own truths. For instance, Mr. Hundert admits that most parents would come to the school to visit him to speak about a student, but he rides a bus for over an hour to speak to Senator Bell in Washington, D.C., showing clear preferential treatment for the senator as well as his desire to be in the arena of government. No matter what kind of man Mr. Hundert strives to be, his interactions with Senator Bell expose his true character. His hands shake when he calls the senator, he is intimidated by the gravitas of the U.S. Senate office buildings, and he leaves the capitol feeling confused, hurt, and in possession of a firearm he did not want. However, he still refers to the senator as “likeable,” showing how easily even he, a man who studies the finer details of politics, can be manipulated and controlled by charming politicians.

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