Machiavellian As A Villain In The Prince

Machiavelli insists that living a life deprived of sin is unsustainable given the corrupt nature of our peers, which justified immoral and unethical actions: “Because they [men, author’s note] are bad and do not keep their promises to you, you likewise do not have to keep yours to them” (65). Machiavelli thus advises princes to favor cruelty over mercy when balancing the two is not possible, since mercy will be abused and lead to the demise of the prince: ”men have less hesitation in injuring one who makes himself loved than one who makes himself hated” (62). Indeed, Hannibal and Scipio both possessed remarkable qualities with regards to military strategy. Yet, while Hannibal is remembered as a great leader, Scipio is not for the former gained unwavering respect through fear while the former failed to successfully establish his

What some may believe to be the acts of a malicious ruler are, in fact, in the best interest of the state. Machiavelli states that a prince should regard himself miserly, so his people may believe that he is investing in the commonwealth. Liberality will lead to increased taxes to support a prince’s lavish spending. Therefore, a lavishly spending prince will only be hated and untrusted by his people, which will lead turmoil. In addition, a prince that strays from generosity will be regarded as a miser.

Machiavelli argues the perfect prince will be both feared and loved by his people, and if unable to be both he will make himself feared and not hated. Machiavelli believes it is much safer to be feared than to be loved because people are less likely to offend and stand up against strong characters, also people are less concerned in offending a prince who has made himself loved. Accordingly, Machiavelli believes generosity is harmful to your reputation and the choice between being generous or stingy, merciful or cruel, honest or deceitful, should only be important if it aids the prince in political power. All in all, Machiavelli believes the ruler must be a great deceiver and do what is essential to uphold power over the

(T) While talking with Gloucester and Lear, Edgar (Poor Tom) mentions that, contrary to what one might think, the devil is a gentleman. This concept of evil clothed in civility is crucial to the the play as it stresses the concept that, often, one must be careful to look beyond another’s outward appearance or intentions in order to derive their true motivations. After all, deception can hide a whole world of sin. This idea can be seen throughout the show, most namely when King Lear’s daughters profess their love for their father. While Regan and Goneril may seem the most appreciative from an outside glance, their true goals lie in gaining land and power, while the most humble of the three, Cordelia, ends up being the only sister to truly care

Political rivals could stop plans from moving forward because they disliked the writer of those plans. Alexander Hamilton wrote, “The only enemy that the republic had to fear is the effects of political parties. It will prevent the government from achieving its goals and create disorder…”(Document 2). Alexander Hamilton wrote this document to criticize his opponents, however in this he also criticizes political parties. Also in the same letter he states, “...harmful to the principles of good government and dangerous to the union, peace and happiness of this country…” In that document he was talking about the head of the rival party.

Orwell strongly represents the use of Fu as a rhetorical device. This device was used the most effectively to persuade Winston of the beauty of destroying language. Winston begins to be threatened harmfully by the Big Brother party. “Power is in fearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”(Orwell 292). George Orwell is quoting that power is all that Winston needs, but power is not what he has to destroy Big Brother.

History shows the inevitability that people will deliberately blame others for one of the two major reasons: his/her own satisfaction or the good of the whole. In his novel The Crucible, Arthur Miller calls these types of people “a proctor” and “a fool.” A proctor is an assertive, respected man. Unlike a fool, a proctor’s reputation is not the most important thing to him. A fool is the complete opposite of a proctor. A fool is a proud, villainous person who puts their reputation above all others.

William Blake claims, “it is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend”. In the play Julius Caesar, Shakespeare writes about a nation built on: trust, betrayal, and patriotism. At the start of the play, Cassius accuses Brutus of not having any passion or pride in his nation. Cassius then proclaims “then Brutus, I have much mistook your passion” (Shakespeare I,ii,48). This shines a light on the fact that Cassius is trying to upset Brutus and manipulate him to oppose Caesar.

Initially, Lydia’s characterisation as “self-willed and careless…ignorant, idle, and vain” foreshadows her eventual elopement with elopement being a punishable offense under the Hardwicke Act of 1753 which enables Austen to advocate a sense of independence, tempered with values of prudence and consideration for others. After Wickham deceitfully claims “Till I can forget his father, I can never defy or expose him”, the dramatic irony in the omniscient narration “Elizabeth honoured him for such feelings” exposes Elizabeth’s prejudiced dislike towards Darcy formulated from appearance and emotion rather than rationality. However, Elizabeth overcomes her prejudgement after reading Darcy’s letter, shown through the cumulative listing “Astonishment, apprehension, and even horror, oppressed her”, resulting in the ephiphany "she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd”, typifying the impact of the epistolary style in promoting introspection and re-evaluation of one’s morality. Consequently, the satirisation of the Regency value of Physiognomy in Elizabeth’s perceptive monologue, "There was some great mismanagement in (their) education. One (Darcy) has got all the goodness, and the other (Wickham) all the appearance of it" validates Elizabeth’s moral development, highlighting the importance of responsiveness to feedback in

Likewise, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern allow themselves to get manipulated by blindly following the crown. This is shown in the quote, “But we both obey, and here give up ourselves, in the full bent, To lay our service freely at your feet To be commanded.” (Act 2 Scene 2 Line 29), and proves that they do not value the friendship between themselves and Hamlet. Once more, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s false loyalty is proven when they knowingly agree to send Hamlet to his

The reader sees that the characters personality, actions, and diction justify the significant theme good vs. evil. Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth displayed traits of evil and corruption by wanting power and wanting to get rid of King Duncan and others that were a threat. In contrast, Macduff showed readers that he wanted what was best for his country and refused to let Macbeth destroy his homeland. After reading The Tragedy of Macbeth, one can see that everyone is not what they seem because even the “brightest angel fell from

The tragedy begins with Iago’s soliloquy, here Iago’s envy towards Cassio is immediately conspicuous. He states that Cassio has “Never set a squadron in the field, Nor the division of a battle knows, More than a spinster”. Consequently Iago’s envy is mistaken for jealousy, which is why he comes across as the villain in the play. However, he also tries to disguise his villainous actions by “justifying” them. “Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty” “I am not what I am.” Here Iago is trying to hunt for motives in order to justify his malignity and envy towards Othello.

This idea is supported in Act I when Macbeth admits, “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erlaps itself and falls on th’ other.” (Scn vii, Ln 25-28) Although King Duncan has failed to act in a manner worthy of murder, Macbeth explains that he carries out the deed as a way to quench his zeal for great authority. Also, Lady Macbeth voices her opinion of her husband, while simultaneously addressing his violent plan. This concept is expressed through Lady Macbeth’s words, “Thou wouldst be great, are not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it.” (Act I, Scn v, Ln 18-20) Lady Macbeth is aware of the vigor that her husband possesses; however, she does not believe it equips him to carry out an act as immense as murder. Due to her expression of his inability, it is obvious that Lady Macbeth feels the need to assist her husband in order to secure the position she seeks. The words of these characters support the belief that both are filled with an abundance of ambition.

In this condition, violence expedites individual agendas better than “peaceful behavior” (Piirimäe, 2006, p. 4). Hobbes argues that individuals are self-interested, thus unable to maintain structure without the presence of an overarching power (Hobbes, 1991). Both Hobbes and fellow philosopher, John Locke, agree that an anarchy is not desirable and that sacrifices must be made to preserve society. In order to achieve maximal justice, Locke argues for a “social contract” in which individuals give up certain rights to an authoritative power in order to retain others (Laslett, 1960). Agreeing to this social contract is a necessary adaptation that an individual must accept to ensure personal security and the survival of

According to Cicero’s De Officiis, one should embrace his gifts from nature and not envy others for theirs, i.e. an artist is better off perfecting his artistic talent than studying law. He also argues that fraud is the worst form of injustice, that is, the one who “practice[s] fraud to the utmost ability [to] do it in such a way that [he] appear[s] to be [a] good m[a]n (I.13). Although Cicero condemns fraud for obvious reasons, such as, corruption, is one unjust for using this gift against the enemy?—more so, what if one uses the gift of fraudulence, ((that is to say, a trained spy)) to do good for the community? The answer to these questions is no because Cicero’s argument on fraud and justice overlap in this scenario.