Machiavellian Character Essay: The Governor Brian Blake, also known as The Governor, presented a terror far greater than cannibalistic zombies throughout seasons two and three of the hit show, The Walking Dead. He was psychotic; driven mad by the death of his daughter. Using his position as governor within a small group of survivors and refugees of the zombie apocalypse, he manipulated, terrorized, lied, cheated, many people in order to secure and maintain his position of power. Out of the list given in the prompt for this paper, The Governor matches at least seven of the twelve Machiavellian characteristics. The concepts exhibited most strongly in The Governor, however, are the concepts of ‘the end justifies the means’ and the ‘use of force to avoid danger.’ In the midst of a zombie apocalypse, the prioritization of self-preservation above all else is understandable. However, even when he had the resources to help himself and nearly 100 other people, The Governor still slaughtered people who posed even the slightest threat to his position of power. Machiavelli writes “for although the act condemn the doer, the end may justify him.” This …show more content…
He uses force to protect both his position as a leader in within his community of refugees, and he uses force to keep himself out of physical danger. He himself says, after he killed is right-hand man—the man who was arguably his most loyal supporter—“in this life, you kill or die, or die and kill.” In several instances, this has been the case. In one particular instance, The Governor and his supporters happen upon a group of survivors, all of whom were members of the military, and killed them all without a second thought; he stole all their weapons and food. Throughout his lifespan in the series, The Governor has looked out solely for himself. He meticulously manipulates people in order to maintain his position of power, and to preserve his
Most people believe the beat of a heart and a breath of fresh air makes people alive. The truth of the matter is the quality of life is what matters the most, which Mildred, in Fahrenheit 451 realized more and more with every sleeping pill, as she slowly began letting herself go. Although Mildred seems content with her life behind her parlor walls and seashells, she remains selfish, confused about her identity, and unloving towards her real family. A cold wife will eventually show her lack of commitment, betrayal, and the small amount of life that she lived over a long period of time.
Through narrating of Obama’s two speeches, Olivia found that the “deep structure” of Obama’s speeches is the post-zombie apocalypse narrative structure an underlying that is the psychology of the survivalist. “The psychology that emerges form each seasonal arch of the Walking Dead and in Obama’s apologia is survival relies on the solidarity of the community or democratic individualism” (Olivia, 2016). Olivia mentioned that this survivalist psychology is a persuasion tactic to exonerate Obama’s administration from blame for questionable foreign policies and it promotes the acceptance of moral ambiguity in order to rationalize the necessity of individual sacrifice in the name of preserving a
A villain is also called the antagonist—defined as one who contends with or opposes another in a fight, conflict, or battle of wills. The true villains held within the pages between the two covers of The Great Gatsby could be classified as anyone and everyone. I believe the three main ones throughout the story, though, are Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan; they’ve hurt so many people. Some on purpose, some unconsciously were hurt. Jay Gatsby could be known as the most villainous, but to himself.
A zombie apocalypse has happened and there is no longer a sense of government. Individuals still alive after the initial outbreak, and the ones who were once part of a well-governed society have resorted to primitive ways.
Niccolo Machiavelli, a Florence native, presented revolutionary ideas about leadership in his famous work “The Prince.” This sort of “how-to” handbook for rulers was written in a time when power was frequently changing hands, leaving nations in constant confusion (The Prince, 443). Machiavelli presented a way for these new leaders to maintain their power, encouraging such things as cruelty and fear as a means of governing the common people. This new concept was drastically opposed to the Christian ideals which had been taught for centuries. Despite its harshness, Machiavelli’s doctrine was accepted by many and has influenced some very popular men throughout history. One such person is none other than William Shakespeare. Multiple plays written by Shakespeare are stories of men in government who are either attempting to maintain their power or regain it. It is no wonder, then, why Shakespeare would refer to “The Prince” as a resource when writing these plays. One play in particular, “King Lear,” is evidence of Shakespeare’s acknowledgement of Machiavellian beliefs. Throughout this paly it may be witnessed how Machiavelli’s ideas on what a ruler should be were taken into account by the famous playwright, leading either to his characters’ success or downfall.
A villain is also called the antagonist—defined as one who contends with or opposes another in a fight, conflict, or battle of wills. The true villains held within the pages between the two covers of The Great Gatsby, could be classified as anyone and everyone. I believe the three main ones throughout the story, though, are Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan; they’ve hurt so many people. Some on purpose, some unconsciously were hurt. Jay Gatsby could be technified as the most villainous, but to himself.
Machiavelli’s interpretation of human nature was greatly shaped by his belief in God. In his writings, Machiavelli conceives that humans were given free will by God, and the choices made with such freedom established the innate flaws in humans. Based on that, he attributes the successes and failure of princes to their intrinsic weaknesses, and directs his writing towards those faults. His works are rooted in how personal attributes tend to affect the decisions one makes and focuses on the singular commanding force of power. Fixating on how the prince needs to draw people’s support, Machiavelli emphasizes the importance of doing what is best for the greater good. He proposed that working toward a selfish goal, instead of striving towards a better state, should warrant punishment. Machiavelli is a practical person and always thought of pragmatic ways to approach situations, applying to his notions regarding politics and
When examining the totalitarian government of 1984 by George Orwell, a direct connection can be drawn to the motives and ideals associated with Niccoló Machiavelli’s The Prince. Machiavelli’s support of the political necessity as a means to remain in power resonate with the government whose aim is to “extinguish once and for all the possibility of independent thought” as a way to ensure complete political orthodoxy within the country (193). Specifically, Machiavellian thought plays an important part in 1984 as its ideas on reputation, revolution, avoiding hatred, and the use of fear to control a populace are used by INGSOC in order to maintain complete control throughout the story. In the following paragraphs, the connections between these
George W. Bush, our current President, must keep a copy of Machiavelli’s most celebrated work, “The Prince “(1513), on his desk in the Oval Office. In my opinion, Bush and his administration’s actions mimic Machiavelli’s advice to the Prince on the tactics that he should use to stay in power. I am going to discuss how President Bush uses Machiavellian principles.
Machiavelli believed wicked means were to be used to achieve a virtuous outcome. In his eyes, a successful ruler was able to balance ethical virtue with harsh, sometimes even merciless pragmatism.11 If this meant partaking in the most ruthless acts of murder, brutalizing,
Niccolò Machiavelli, established himself as a prominent Renaissance figure when his book The Prince, shared his political philosophies on how to gain and retain power. The “Princely Virtues” were a set of standards that discussed what he considered to be good and bad characteristics of a ruler. Ultimately, Machiavelli explained that morals were not always required to play a part in politics, which in contrast opposed many principles established by his predecessors. Some of the listed characteristics contest his views, meanwhile others disagree. According to Machiavelli’s opinions, always acting moral will ruin a person as the number of immoral people in the world outweigh the good. Machiavelli writes “Other things seem to be vices, yet if put into practice will bring the prince security and well-being,” (186). In this case, if a ruler has the desire to keep his status, he must learn not to be virtuous when it is required. From Machiavelli’s notion, four “positive” attributes a ruler should acquire are cruelty rather than compassion, egoism instead of philanthropy, greediness versus being open-handed, and finally, inflexibility in preference to being easy to deal with. Machiavelli stands by these rules, as he knows a feared leader is more beneficial than a beloved leader. For example, a compassionate, philanthropic leader implies generosity to the people. If the
Voltaire states that it is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong, But why? Government leaders usually have some form of power, and more often than not, persons with authority can quickly become power hungry. This is a theme displayed throughout Joseph Heller’s novel . Most of the military officers introduced in the novel are greedy, blindly selfish, and more often than not, put others in danger, only to benefit themselves.
Histories have seen many of those gigantic powers who have no mercy on human being, people who used the concept of Machiavelli. Our brain is not a machine and working with food, water and air, they are not all the same. Each one is created in a way genetically and the initializes of someone’s life integrated. Thinking about and expressing meaning for the existences around is I different, so as this is happens, each one takes the prince’s ideology in their way. And I think most of who used it, beginning from the dictators and democratic reached a way, but for some lost the track and reached a dead-end, and for some reached the evaluation of their acts.
A political leader should not worry about being perceived as cruel if his actions are just and done in order to keep his people united because with these “very few” examples of cruelty, he will appear more merciful than the merciful leader who lets acts of cruelty go on without intervention.
When reading Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, one can’t help but grasp Machiavelli’s argument that morality and politics can not exist in the same forum. However, when examining Machiavelli’s various concepts in depth, one can conclude that perhaps his suggested violence and evil is fueled by a moral end of sorts. First and foremost, one must have the understanding that this book is aimed solely at the Prince or Emperor with the express purpose of aiding him in maintaining power. Therefore, it is essential to grasp his concepts of fortune and virtue. These two contrary concepts reflect the manner in which a Prince should govern while minimizing all chance and uncertainty. This kind of governing demands violence to be taken, however this