2. *AGENDA
*Vocabulary Exam #4: 15 minutes
*Integrating quotations: review
*Discussion Lao Tzu/Machiavelli:
Examples and preparation
*Group Preparation for discussion of
Philosophy and A Game of Thrones.
*Class Discussion
*Essay #2 writing tips
*Group Preparation for Cicero
*Homework
8. In teams, discuss your ideas
about applying Lao-Tzu and
Machiavelli to A Game of
Thrones.
You have about 10 minutes!
Make sure you have textual
support for your assertions!
Eddard Stark
Catelyn Stark
Robb Stark
Jon Snow
Robert Baratheon
Cersei Lannister
Joffrey Baratheon
Tyrion Lannister
The Night’s Watch
Khal Drogo
Daenerys Targaryen
Viserys Targaryen
Petyr Baelish
Varys
Lord Stannis
Syrio Forel
10. “For a man who wishes to make a
vocation of being good at all times
will come to ruin among so many who
are not good. Hence it is necessary
for a prince who wishes to maintain
his position to learn how not to be
good, and to use this knowledge or
not to use it according to necessity”
(40).
He damned them all: Littlefinger, Janos Slynt and
his gold cloaks, the queen, the Kingslayer, Pycelle
and Varys and Ser Barristan, even Lord Renly,
Robert’s own blood, who had run when he was
needed most. Yet in the end he blamed himself.
“Fool,” he cried to the darkness, “thrice-damned
blind fool.” (628-629)
“I will not dishonor his last hours on earth by
shedding blood in his halls and dragging
frightened children from their beds” (508)
Ned could have a
good end if he
had better political
savvy and knew
how to do right
but dishonorable
things.
11. "Therefore, a prince must not
worry about the reproach of
cruelty when it is a matter of
keeping his subjects united
and loyal; for with a very few
examples of cruelty he will
become more passionate
than those who, out of
excessive mercy, permit
disorders to continue, from
which arise murders and
plundering; for these usually
harm the community at
large, while the executions
that come from the prince
harm one individual in
particular" (43).
His lord father smiled. "Old Nan has been
telling you stories again. In truth, the man
was an oathbreaker, a deserter from the
Night's Watch. No man is more dangerous.
The deserter knows his life is forfeit if he is
taken, so he will not flinch from any crime,
no matter how vile. But you mistake me. The
question was not why the man had to die,
but why I must do it" (16)
12. Lao-Tzu teaches that a ruler
"enters a battle gravely with
sorrow and great
compassion, as if he were
attending a funeral" and that
"weapons are the tools of
fear; a decent man will avoid
them except in direst
necessity and, if compelled,
will use them only with the
utmost restraint."
Starks "hold to the belief that
the man who passes the
sentence should swing the
sword. If you would take a man's
life, you owe it to him to look
into his eyes and hear his final
words. And if you cannot bear to
do that, then perhaps the man
does not deserve to die” (16).
This demonstrates Ned's sorrow
towards killing and his
understanding that killing
another human is not
something to be taken lightly,
even when there is just cause.
13. "Therefore, a prince must
not worry about the
reproach of cruelty when
it is a matter of keeping
his subjects united and
loyal" (43).
"'Daenerys Targaryen has wed
some Dothraki horse-lord.
What of it? Shall we send her
a wedding gift?'" (112)
"A knife, perhaps. A
good sharp one, and a
bold man to wield it'"
(112).
[Robert] exhibits cruel
behavior, but it is in the
matter of his people.
Believing that Daenerys
will turn out exactly like
her father, he wants to
execute her to prevent
millions of [people] from
dying.
14. *“Robb was changed. He was Robb
the Lord now, or trying to be… His
days were spent drilling the guard
and practicing his swordplay… At
night he closeted himself with
Maester Luwin, talking or going
over books” (Martin 239).
*“He must, therefore, never
raise his thought from his
exercise of war, and in
peacetime he must train
himself more than in time
of war; this can be done in
two ways: one by action,
the other by the mind”
(Machiavelli 38).
Just as a leader, Robb understands his position,
thus he constantly trains to insure the safety of
the people of Winterfell. The erupting divide
amongst them and the people reigning in King’s
Landing continues to rise. With that in mind, it is
a priority for Robb to understand as much as
possible.
15. *“Maester Luwin stood. ‘We
might do well to question
her.’ Bran could see the
relief on his brother’s face.
‘As you say, Maester. Wayn,
bind her hands. She’ll come
back to Winterfell with
us…”(409).
*“Weapons are the tools of
fear; a decent man will
avoid them except in the
direst necessity and, if
compelled, will use them
only with the utmost
restraint” (Lao-tzu 31).
When Bran is under attack from the wildlings, Robb takes arms
to rescue Bran, defeating all of the enemies except one, a
wildling named Osha. Osha would have potentially be killed,
just like the rest of the wildlings. Indeed, Robb adheres to the
words of the Maester, but he had not intended to use force,
unless it was to save Bran. Robb keeps in mind that violence is
only necessary as a last judgement.
16. “For a prince must have two
fears: one, internal,
concerning his subjects; the
other, external, concerning
foreign powers.(48)
Robert's hatred of the Targaryens
was a madness in him. He
remembered the angry words they
had exchanged when Tywin
Lannister had presented Robert with
the corpses of Rhaegar's wife and
children as a token of fealty. Ned
had named that murder; Robert
called it war. When he had
protested that the young prince and
princess were no more than babes,
his new-made king had replied, "I
see no babes. Only dragonspawn."
[…] (Eddard II) Robert snorted. The
anger was leaving him as suddenly
as it had come. "This Khal Drogo is
said to have a hundred thousand
men in his horde” (Eddard II).
17. From both Tywin’s and Robert’s perspective, such “cruel” acts were a
necessity of war. Tywin’s military prowess and ability to partake in
heinous acts like killing children asserts his military dominance and
instills fear in both people and his military. Although not necessarily a
prince, Tywin is not concerned with seeming too “cruel,” and instead
takes the necessary steps he needs in order to overthrow the former
power and solidify his role in the next monarchy.
[Ned] remembered the angry words
they had exchanged when Tywin
Lannister had presented Robert
with the corpses of Rhaegar's wife
and children as a token of fealty.
Ned had named that murder;
Robert called it war. When he had
protested that the young prince
and princess were no more than
babes, his new-made king had
replied, “I see no babes. Only
dragonspawn.” (112)
Tywin Lannister’s act, although
seen as unnecessarily cruel and
considered “murder” by Ned, can
be legitimized in Machiavellian
terms: “But when the prince is
with his armies and has under his
command a multitude of troops,
then it is absolutely necessary
that he not worry about being
considered cruel; for without that
reputation he will never keep an
army united” (44).
18. " never in peaceful times must
he be idle; but he must turn
them diligently to his
advantage in order to be able
to profit from them in times of
adversity" (Jacobus 40).
Machiavelli thinks that a good ruler should always be prepared and well-
trained even in times of peace. Robert does the exact opposite; he stuffs his
stomach and plays with women. '"Look at what kinging has done to me. Gods,
too fat for my armor, how did it ever come to this?"' (Martin 41). Robert is no
longer the warrior he once was and cannot even fit in his own armor anymore.
Instead of training to keep his body and mind strong, he indulges himself in
food and women.
'"Look at what kinging has done
to me. Gods, too fat for my
armor, how did it ever come to
this?"' (Martin 41).
19. Lord Petyr Baelish/Littlefinger : “As [Ned’s] men
died around him, Littlefinger slid Ned's dagger
from its sheath and shoved it up under his chin.
His smile was apologetic. I did warn you not to
trust me, you know" (529).
Machiavelli : “It is
necessary to know how
to [...] be a great
hypocrite and a liar”
(46)
Petyr Baelish is one of the most hypocrite characters in A Game of Thrones,
he pretends to want to help and support Ned, but at the end he betrays him
to Queen Cersei. His behavior exemplify well the philosophy of Machiavelli
stating that in order to be successful a leader must be hypocrite and a good
liar to keep his position. Lord Baelish betrayed Ned to acquire the favors of
the Queen, and to survive.
20.
21. Machiavelli’s philosophy of using the nature of
the beast can be applied to Tywin Lannister in
A Game of Thrones.
“a prince must know how to make good use of
the nature of the beast, he should choose
among the beasts the fox and the lion; for the
lion cannot defend itself from traps and the
fox cannot protect itself from wolves” (46).
“Tywin Lannister was as much fox as lion. If
indeed he’d sent Ser Gregor to burn and pillage—
and Ned did not doubt that he had—he’d taken
care to see that he rode under cover of night,
without banners, in the guise of a common
brigand. Should Riverrun strike back, Cersei and
her father would insist that it had been the Tullys
who broke the kings peace, not the Lannisters”
(391).
22. “And if he must take someone’s
life, he should do so when there
is proper justification and
manifest cause” (Jacobus 44).
‘My mother bids me let Lord
Eddard take the black, and Lady
Sansa has begged mercy for her
father.’ He looked straight at
Sansa then, and smiled, […] ‘But
they have the soft hearts of
women. So long as I am your
king, treason shall never go
unpunished. Ser Ilyn, bring me
his head!’ (Martin 726).
23. *Machiavelli : “The princes
who have accomplished
great deeds are those who
have cared little for
keeping their promises and
who have known how to
manipulate the minds of
men by shrewdness” (46).
*Tyrion : “I promise, the king will
hear of your need, Tyrion said
gravely, and I will speak to my
father and my brother Jaime as
well. [...] He left the rest unsaid;
King Robert would ignore him,
Lord Tywin would ask if he had
taken leave of his senses, and
Jaime would only laugh” (207).
Tyrion’s character is a good example of Machiavelli’s
philosophy as he often lies and pretends, and he
does not really keep his word. He manipulates
people with his words to get what he wants.
24. Machiavelli is quoted as saying, “A prince must nevertheless make himself
feared in such a manner that he will avoid being hatred, even if he does not
acquire love; since to be feared and not to be hated can very well be
combined... And if he must take someone’s life, he should do so when there is
proper justification and manifest cause.” (Jacobus 92) This adds context for
what Drogo was doing. Of course you would fear someone if they executed
someone by pouring molten gold on their head, and since Viserys was an
outsider, Drogo doesn’t risk garnering hate for the killing. He also has proper
justification, as Viserys had not only threatened his Khaleesi, but had also
drawn a weapon in the sacred city. Drogo only stood to gain from executing
Viserys, and that’s exactly what he did.
When the gold was half-melted and starting to run, Drogo
reached into the flames, snatched out the pot. “Crown!”
he roared. “Here. A crown for Cart King!” And upended
the pot over the head of the man who had been her
brother.
The sound Viserys Targaryen made when that hideous iron
helmet covered his face was like nothing human. His feet
hammered a frantic beat against the dirt floor, slowed,
stopped. Thick globs of molten gold dripped down onto his chest, setting the
scarlet silk to smoldering … yet no drop of blood was spilled. (Martin 418)
25. Machiavelli-
*“A prince must not
worry about the
reproach of cruelty
when it is a matter
of keeping his
subjects united and
loyal”(12)
Khal Drogo-
*“Magister Illyrio had warned
Dany about this too. “A
Dothraki wedding without at
least three deaths is deemed a
dull affair,” he had said. Her
wedding must have been
especially blessed; before the
day was over, a dozen men had
died.”(104)
The Dothraki are a savage group of people that see cruel
and unusual punishment regularly. They still keep their
faith with the tribe and the Khal has no worry against a
rebellion.
26. *
*Do you agree with Machiavelli’s thesis that stability and power
are the only qualities that matter in the evaluation of
governments? If not, what else matters?
*Can we have Lao-Tzu’s peace, even though there is ambition,
materialism, war, and famine on earth? How is it possible?
28. *
*The term the Tao is used often in this selection.
Write a short essay that defines what Lao-tzu
seems to mean by the term. If you were a
politician and had the responsibility of governing
a state, how would you follow the Tao as it is
implied in Lao-tzu’s statements? Is the Tao
restrictive? Difficult? Open to interpretation?
How well do you think it would work?
29. *
1. Define what Lao-tzu seems to mean by the term
the Tao.
2. If you were a politician and had the responsibility
of governing a state, how would you follow the
Tao as it is implied in Lao-tzu’s statements?
3. Is the Tao restrictive?
a) Difficult?
b) Open to interpretation?
4. How well do you think it would work?
30. 1. Define what Lao-tzu seems to mean by the term the Tao.
a) Your answer
2. If you were a politician and had the responsibility of governing a state,
how would you follow the Tao as it is implied in Lao-tzu’s statements?
a) Your answer
3. Is the Tao restrictive? Difficult? Open to interpretation?
a) Your answer
4. How well do you think it would work?
a) Your answer
* The Thesis: Look at the brief answers you gave to the questions.
Then, begin to work them into a short answer. Your thesis will
likely be a combination of answers to the most important or
compelling of the questions.
31. *
*Now, write a brief directed summary as an introduction, and conclude it
with your thesis.
*Expand the answers to your list of questions into an outline.
*Find textual support for answers that will come from the text
*Define what Lao-tzu seems to mean by the term the Tao.
*Is the Tao restrictive? Difficult? Open to interpretation?
*Express your opinion where the question asks for it.
*If you were a politician and had the responsibility of governing a state,
how would you follow the Tao as it is implied (this might demand textual
evidence too) in Lao-tzu’s statements?
*How well do you think it would work?
32. *Write about literature in the present
tense.
*Write in third person (avoid “I” and
“you”)
*Be specific: Avoid “thing” and words
with “thing” in them: something,
anything, everything.
For
And
Nor
Remember, you need a comma and a coordinating conjunction to
connect two complete sentences:
Machiavelli holds that the skill of war making is what a prince must
*necessarily* make his career on, for war making is the primary means by
which he can advance his state.
Use a comma after an introductory clause:
As the Lord of Winterfell, he carries out the execution of the deserter
himself rather than assigning the dreadful task to one of his subordinates.
But
Or
Yet
So
Coordinating Conjunctions
33. Form new teams for this unit. Remember, 50% of
your team must be new to you!
THEN, DISCUSS THE DIVISION OF LABOR FOR CICERO
Questions for Critical Reading (page 129)
We will come back together to go over the homework
before we leave!
