Why does Horace Danby consider himself an honest man despite being a thief? How does this self-perception affect his decision in the story? (A Question of Trust)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:19 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Horace Danby considers himself honest because he steals only once a year, plans carefully, harms no one physically, and uses the money solely to buy rare books — not for greed or personal luxury in the usual sense. He justifies his thefts by reasoning that he only steals from the wealthy.
This self-perception makes him dangerously gullible. When the young woman in red claims to be the lady of the house, Horace readily believes her and even opens the safe for her — because he wants to see himself as helpful and trustworthy, not as a real criminal. This misplaced self-image leads directly to his arrest and imprisonment.
Source: A Question of Trust, Chapter 4
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Explanation
- The question has two parts: (1) why he sees himself as honest, and (2) how this self-perception affects his decision. Address both clearly.
- Key textbook evidence: he steals only to buy books (not out of greed), steals only once a year, and claims to steal only from the wealthy.
- The effect: his desire to appear reasonable and non-threatening makes him trust the woman and open the safe — the very act that traps him.
- Examiners look for the irony: his false sense of honour is exactly what the real thief exploits.