Ruth always sought approbation of her teachers, so she did whatever pleased the guardians and more. I think Ruth really does please the guardians because she finds easy success when it comes to expostulating them about punishments. Ruth easily gets away when she inveighs on other students and sometimes even adults. The guardians seem to turn a blind eye whenever she breaks out, violently attacking others verbally. I had suspected that the guardians had favored her, but it was a mere surmise since I did not have enough evidence to prove it. After doing something nice for a guardian, I have witnessed Ruth wheedle small gifts out of Ms. Lucy and Ms. Emily. She has even used flattery and coaxed out a few tokens from them. Ruth is infamous for being sedulous, so when sweet talking does not work the first time, she will try over and over again. I think it compliments her fractious nature well since she has a tendency to get into trouble, and without pleasing the teachers she should have been punished many more times then she has. I remember once when Ruth suffered from megalomania and thoughts she could get away with not doing chores. All the power she felt with not being reprimanded got to her head, and she thought she could do whatever she wanted at Hailsham. The look of consternation on her face was priceless when Ms. Lucy gave her detention and all the chores of the fifth year girls. First, Ruth was confused because she had never been dealt with so harshly, but then she began to impugn Ms. Lucys power to assign such punishment. Ruth attacked Ms. Lucy with her words and brought into question her authority because Ms. Lucy was never the one to declare the punishments but rather Ms. Emily. Luckily, Ms. Lucy was munificent in grace and mercy, and Ruth received no further punishments for talking back to a guardian after she asked for forgiveness. Ms. Lucys kindness enthralled me the day she walked in, and I think many students were the same, captivated by the niceness she radiated.
