2. *AGENDA
*Vocabulary Exam #4: 15 minutes
*Group Preparation for discussion of
Philosophy and A Game of Thrones.
*Class Discussion
*Essay #2 writing tips
*Group Preparation for Cicero
*Homework
5. *“He must, therefore, never raise his thought from this
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” (38) says Machiavelli.
“Do you recall your history Bran”
“And that’s Torrhen Stark, the King Who Knelt. He was the
last King in the North and the first Lord of Winterfell, after he
yielded to Aegon the Conqueror. Oh, there, he’s Cregan
Stark. He fought with Prince Aemon once, and the
Dragonknight said he’d never faced a finer swordsman.
(Bran VII)
(Bran VII)
6. 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
8. “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. […] His enemies are not demons, / but
human beings like himself. He doesn’t wish them
personal harm. / Nor does he rejoice in victory / and
delight in the slaughter of men? / He enters a battle
gravely, / with sorrow and with great compassion, /
as if he were attending a funeral.” (31)
“‘the question was not why the man had to do
die, but why I must do it. […] The blood of the
first Men still flows in the veins of the starks,
and we should 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 […] A ruler who
hides behind paid executioners soon forgets
what death is’” (16).
9. “…one learns to know one’s
own country and can better
understand how to defend
it…by knowing the lay of the
land…this skill teaches you
to find the enemy, choose a
campsite, lead troops,
organize them for battle,
and besiege towns to your
own advantage.” (39)
“I’d leave a small force here to hold Moat Cailin, archers
mostly, and march the rest down the causeway,” he said,
“but once we’re below the Neck, I’d split our host in two.
The foot can continue down the kingsroad, while our
horsemen cross the Green Fork at the Twins.” He pointed.
“When Lord Tywin gets word that we’ve come south, he’ll
march north to engage our main host, leaving our riders
free to hurry down the west bank to Riverrun.” Robb sat
back, not quite daring to smile, but pleased with himself
and hungry for her praise. (605) (Catelyn VIII)
10. “When there is no
peace in the family,
filial piety begins.”
“He bowed his head. “Yes, my lady,
but the appointments—” “I’ll make
the appointments,” Robb said” (128).
11. Machiavelli says that the prince
must portray a positive image of
himself to the public so he can
avoid being despised and hated.
The prince “must strive to make
everyone recognize his greatness,
spirit, dignity, and strength”(48).
“You are an honest and
honourable man, Lord Eddard.
Ofttimes I forget that. I have
met so few of them in my
life”(634).
We can also apply Lao-tzu’s
philosophies to Eddard. “Peace is
his highest value./ If the peace
has been shattered,/ how can he
be content?/ His enemies are not
demons,/ but humans like
himself”(25)
12. “ his enemies are
not demons but
human beings like
himself. He does not
wish them personal
harm.”
“The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of
the Starks, and we 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.” (eBook, Chap. 1)
13. In Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of a
prince, ” Machiavelli states that
“a prince must desire to be
merciful and not cruel;
nevertheless, he must take care
not to misuse this mercy”
“Whoever Jon’s mother had been,
Ned must have loved her fiercely,
for nothing Catelyn said would
persuade him to send the boy
away. It was the one thing she
could never forgive him. She had
come to love her husband with all
her heart, but she had never
found it in her to love
Jon.”(Martian 65-66)
In this excerpt from the text Ned is
showing his merciful side by taking in the
bastard Jon, raising him with his own,
feeding him, and housing him even
though this wife, Caitlyn, despises it.
However, Ned is still exercising his
dominance and showing that he isn’t
misusing his mercy by standing up to his
wife and electing to keep the bastard
Jon, rather than sending him off.
14. “‘Robert was betrothed to
marry her, but Prince Rhaegar
carried her off and raped her,’
Bran explained. ‘Robert
fought a war to win her back.
He killed Rhaegar on the
Trident with his hammer, but
Lyanna died and he never got
her back at all’” (670).
“For every force there is a
counterforce, violence, even
well intentioned, always
rebounds upon oneself.”
15. “…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 use it according to
necessity”(40).
“And then he heard the laughter, sharp and
cruel as a whip, and the voice of Ser Alliser
Thorne. “Not only a bastard, but a traitor’s
bastard,” he was telling the men around him.
In the blink of an eye, Jon had vaulted onto the
table, dagger in his hand. [. . .] Thorne
recoiled. People were shouting, but Jon Snow
did not hear them. He lunged at Ser Alliser’s
face with the dagger, slashing at those cold
onyx eyes”
16. Machiavelli states that,
“Nevertheless, a prince
must be cautious in
believing and in acting, nor
should he be afraid of his
own shadow, […] too much
trust may not render him
imprudent nor too much
distrust render him
intolerable” (Jacobus 43).
These qualities of a Prince can be
connected to Robert Baratheon’s
decision after he took Ser Barristan in
custody at the Trident River. King
Robert displayed his mercy by sparing
Ser Barristan, who was his [enemy].
“I will not kill a man
for loyalty, nor for
fighting well” (Martin
352).
17. “ it is evident that when
princes have given more
thought to personal luxuries
than to arms, they have lost
their state.” (38)
“Robert had always been a man of
huge appetites, a man who knew how
to take his pleasure. […] Yet Ned could
not help but notice that those
pleasures were taking a toll on the
king.” (42).
18. “As his 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.’”(489)
“Hence it is necessary for a prince
who wishes to maintain his position to
learn how not to be good…” “…while
some other thing which seems to be a
vice, if pursued, will result in his
safety and his well-being”
19.
20. 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).
21. “And if he must take someone’s
life, he should do so when there
is proper justification and
manifest cause” (Jacobus 44).
Prince Joffrey continues to
exhibit behaviors that would
be unfitting for a prince.
‘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).
22. “So it is wiser to live with the
reputation of a miser […]”(43).
“Let them see that their words can cut
you, and you’ll never be free of the
mockery. If they want to give you a
name, take it, make it your own. Then
they can’t hurt you with it any more.”
(193)
Machiavelli also proposes
that it is not important
what name people give you.
Only thing that matters is
how effective you are in
what you do.
23. The mark of a moderate man
is freedom from his own ideas.
Tolerant like the sky,
all-pervading like sunlight,
firm like a mountain,
supple like a tree in the wind,
he has no destination in view
and makes use of anything life happens to bring his
way.
Nothing is impossible for him.
Because he has let go,
he can care for the people’s welfare
as a mother cares for her child.
“I see the face of slaves. I
free you. Take off your
collars. Go if you wish, no
one shall harm you. If you
stay, it will be as brothers
and sisters, husbands and
wives”(Martin 800).
24. “I want what I came for’, he told her. ‘I
want the crown he promised me. He
bought you, but he never paid for you. Tell
him I want what I bargained for, or I’m
taking you back. You and the eggs both.
He can keep his bloody (baby). I’ll cut the
bastard out and leave it for him” (Martin
417).
Machiavelli states that a Prince’s only
profession should be war and must not
take on anything “as his profession but
war, its intuitions, and its discipline;
because that is the only profession which
befits one who commands: and it is of
such importance that not only does it
maintain those who were born princes, but
many times it enables men of private
station to rise to that position”
(Machiavelli 38).
Viserys desires badly to be a man
of war and I believe that him
pulling his sword is his way of
showing he is not afraid of war an
it shows his eagerness to fight.
25. *
*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?
27. *
* Essay #2: An in-class essay on Lao-Tzu’s “Thoughts from
the Tao Te Ching” or Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of the
Prince.
* You will respond to one of several prompts provided.
* There will be prompts addressing each Plato and Woolf.
* Your essay will be between 500 and 750 words. The
number of pages will depend on your handwriting!
* You will have two hours to write.
* You may use your textbook or copies of the essays (no
other pages or papers will be allowed).
* Please bring a clean, large Blue Book: No Blue Book, no
test.
* (Approx. 8x10). You can buy them at the bookstore.
* You may write with either a number 2 pencil (dark
lead) or blue or black pen.
28. *
*Take the prompt apart; briefly respond to each sub-question.
*The Thesis: Your thesis will likely be a combination of answers
to the most important or compelling sub-questions.
*Write a brief directed summary as an introduction, and
conclude it with your thesis.
*Expand your list of answers to sub-questions into an outline.
*Find textual support for answers that will come from the text
*Put your evidence, explanation, and analysis into your outline
29. *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
30. 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!
31. *HOMEWORK
• Prepare for Essay Exam #2, an in-class
exam held at our next meeting
• Read A World of Ideas: Marcus Tullius
Cicero "The Defense of Injustice" (119-129)
• Post #21 Questions for Critical Reading:
(page 129) or QHQ Cicero)
