Emperor's Club

Explain.
Great ambition and conquest without contribution are insignificant.

We are created in this world with different and superiorly unique purposes in order to attain the goal of doing things for the greater glory of our Lord. We are given different and complex talents and abilities to share, ideas to contribute and express, wisdom to partake, and intelligence and skills to make use of. All of us have dreams and aspirations we would want to achieve someday. Leaders decide for the led considering their situations. If the leader is full of ambition but no action, then it is insignificant. If the leader only conquers but doesn’t govern the land, then the action is undoubtedly insignificant. All of us have something to offer in this society in different simple and complicated ways. If you haven’t contributed something to the society, you will never be remembered in the hearts of the led. Even though we have many achievements and unique ambitions, if we never contributed something for the betterment of the people relying on us (like the leader and the led), then there is no point in serving if we are not truly serving.

Man’s character is his fate.

Whatever attitude you have will bring you to your fate. We all know that your attitude affects your whole future may it be your ideas and decisions in life. Whichever path you choose, it’s you who decide and it depends upon you personality. It affects how you decide and how you influence people in the future. Take for example Sedgewick Bell, he was a cheater. He was never corrected and failed to be reprimanded so in the future, he was and still is a cheater.

The end depends upon the beginning.

Whatever happens in the end depends on how you started it. This can be related to almost anything but since the movie centers on the development of students, it is exemplified like that, in a way. Whatever path the student chooses in his life after he graduates depends upon how he was put up while he was still in school, how he was raised by his parents and the experiences he encountered during his journey in life. Whatever decisions he makes depends upon how his character was molded and how he was influenced in the society when he was on the process of maturing.

Why do you think Mr. Hundert favored Sedgewick Bell over Martin Blythe in the final list of the search for Mr. Julius Caesar?

Mr. Hundert is a teacher with a principle, virtue and compassion. He wants to mold the children for them to become better citizens in the future. He teaches Western History Civilization, Greece and Rome. He is a very intellectual teacher who feels that through teaching his students about honorable men that it will inspire them and it may have a great impact on them. But Sedgewick Bell, a rebellious brat, doesn’t seem to really care about principles and virtues. As weird as it sounds, the teacher believed in the potentials of the boy so much that he wanted Sedgewick to reveal his own abilities and prove to the others that he is capable of change and do greater things in life. Mr. Hundert felt that this was a great opportunity for Sedgewick and that it was unimportant for the intellectual and hardworking student in the figure of Martin Blythe. I believe that he wanted this to serve as a new experience for Sedgewick that will make him believe in himself more and can possibly mold him into a better individual in the society.

How did Mr. Hundert rectify his mistakes in the past?

People make mistakes. These mistakes could easily be forgiven, as grave as they are, by a simple sorry, granted that they never repeat the error. That was what Mr. Hundert exemplified in the movie, regarding the offense of Mr. Hundert committed against Martin Blythe. He admitted his mistake to his student, regretted the fault and said that he was sorry. He didn’t make excuses and nor did he deny his mistakes. He then eventually learned from it and never repeated it. Regarding the mistake he did when he didn’t reprimand Sedgewick Belle is a different story. He didn’t say that he was sorry because he didn’t offend him but he was unfair to his other students. He never recognized the fault of Sedgewick in the past. He corrected it through reprimanding him in the form of inspiring words which is more striking and reflecting compared to scolding a person.

What instances that Martin Blythe had forgiven his teacher?

Mr. Hundert admitted his mistake when he and Martin were drinking together in a bar. He asked him to still join him during breakfast the following morning. The presence of Martin Blythe during the supposed-to-be-breakfast-but-turned-out-to-be party or celebration in tribute for Mr. Hundert was one of the signs that he has forgiven his teacher. He rejoiced for his teacher and was happy for him. He was proud and thankful that Mr. Hundert’s teachings had affected him, in a way and had a great impact on his life. Another instance is the most touching of all scenes of the movie was the last scene. It was when Martin Blythe enrolled his son, Martin Blythe, at St. Benedicts with Mr. Hundert as his teacher. I believe this symbolizes his forgiveness for the teacher and letting him know that he still trusts Mr. Hundert despite the fault he had done against him. He still entrusted to him his son, hoping for him to change and maybe gave him a chance to correct his wrongdoing and make it up to him.

What lesson can we learn from the story?

In this story, I learned that once you are forgiven by a particular person you offended, especially in a grave way (and that you absolutely know it was wrong and you admit it to yourself but you didn’t have the courage to ask for forgiveness), it’s as if all you’re problems are gone and you really feel good. Asking for forgiveness is hard, especially for Mr. Hundert who offended one of his students very gravely. Teachers are supposed to be good examples but human as they are, they can’t help but make mistakes. The last scene, the moment that Mr. Blythe brought his son, Martin Blythe, to the classroom and smiled at Mr. Hundert who was teary-eyed, I was so touched at that time. I empathized with his character, knowing how he felt when the person he offended smiled at him and silently but wholeheartedly forgave him. How Mr. Hundert felt when he was forgiven, can’t control his emotions and began to cry, was very heart-warming and awe-inspiring. He felt like he had satisfied himself, he can breathe again and all the guilt within him were gone. I learned that it’s hard to forgive but it will really make you feel happy if you did. Likewise, it is harder to ask for forgiveness, but once you did, you will feel a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.

In your high school here in XUHS, how do you want to be remembered?

I want to be remembered as a well-rounded and intimate person who is although part of the pressures in the honors class, can still balance her social life and dancing and sports. A person who is a friend to all and proves that honor’s class students are so NOT nerds and that they can be as aggressive as others in sports and graceful and hip-hop in dancing and still has time to balance social issues and meet academic expectations.