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I always noted this tablet to the boys on their first day in my classroom . . . to remind them of the great ambition and conquest that had been utterly forgotten centuries before they were born. . . . It is critical for any man of import to understand his own insignificance before the sands of time, and this is what my classroom always showed my boys.

Early in the story, Mr. Hundert describes a plaque that hangs above his classroom door that is inscribed with a quote by a little-known king from ancient history. In the quote, Shutruk-Nahhunte brags about his conquests and accomplishments. From the vantage point of Mr. Hundert's classroom in the 20th century, Shutruk-Nahhunte's heroic acts seem unimportant. The point of the sign is to remind people to stay humble because most great acts will be forgotten in time. The sign foreshadows the “Mr. Julius Caesar” competition because it provides the answer to the final question, but it also foreshadows Mr. Hundert's own eventual fade into oblivion.

I had taught for several years already, as I have said, and I knew the look of frightened, desperate bravura on a new boy's face. Sedgewick Bell did not wear this look. Rather, he wore one of disdain. The boys, fifteen in all, were instantly intimidated . . . It took me a minute to regain the attention of the class.

As a young man, Mr. Hundert secures a teaching position and begins to steadily climb the ladder at St. Benedict's. Just a few years later, young Sedgewick's appearance at the school is the inciting event of a battle of wills between Mr. Hundert and perhaps his greatest match in a troublesome student. At the start of the story, Mr. Hundert is in control, with Fred Masoudi serving as the next level of authority as the leader of the boys. Sedgewick enters the classroom and within minutes steals power from Fred and attention from Mr. Hundert. From Sedgewick’s first appearance in Mr. Hundert’s classroom, he is set apart as exceptional. Even at this young age, Sedgewick already knows how to command control over a group, and it becomes clear that he will continue to challenge Mr. Hundert.

“It’s my job, sir, to mold your son’s character.”

“I’m sorry, young man . . . but you will not mold him. I will mold him. You will merely teach him.”

This exchange between Mr. Hundert and Senator Bell occurs when Mr. Hundert visits the senator at his office in Washington, D.C. Until this point, Mr. Hundert has been able to inflate his own ego by telling himself that by teaching history to the sons of important people, he was contributing to and even influencing the most important events of the world. Sedgewick Bell's appearance in his classroom shakes Mr. Hundert's confidence in his ability to be effectual, but the Senator explains to Mr. Hundert bluntly that he is basically a servant.

I wanted desperately for him to ask me something . . . to say, “You have made a difference in my life, Mr. Hundert.” But of course, these were not things Deepak Mehta would ever say. A man's character is his character.

In the final scene of the story, Mr. Hundert and Deepak Mehta sit together in silence having a drink in Mr. Hundert's boarding house room. Throughout the story, there are many instances when Mr. Hundert feels an inclination to say something but doesn't. He then rationalizes it away each time. He can't expose Sedgewick's cheating first because the headmaster orders him not to, and the second time because it's rude to embarrass the host at his own event. Mr. Hundert's desire for Deepak to speak to him reflects his regret at not speaking up at pivotal moments in his own life. However, the final sentence suggests that Mr. Hundert believes people have little control over the people they become.

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