Paper #2: The Machiavellian Nights (only required if you took Exam #1)

Paper #2: The Machiavellian Nights

Though superficially quite different works, both the Tales from the 1,001 Nights and Machiavelli’s The Prince each embody the concept of Humanism as it emerged in the late Medieval Period and flowered during the Italian Renaissance.  Shifting away from the epic, which showcases the struggles of gods, kings, and princes, these works focus on common men and women, and the ‘real’ struggles of ruling a kingdom.  Not surprisingly, we find some consistent themes in both works, chief among them a mistrust of those in power, a cynical view of mankind, and the phrase from Ma’aruf the Cobbler, “where candour fails, cunning thrives.” 

For your paper, I want you to explore how the Tales from the 1,001 Nights seems to illustrate many of Machiavelli’s principles in large or small ways.  Discuss a few tales/characters and analyze how they seem to reflect Machiavelli’s philosophy, whether in their use of manipulating or cunning, or simply how they come from the same world (a world where you can’t trust your fellow man—especially your friends and family!). 

The trick to this paper is showing us how we can read one book in terms of another, so be sure to quote ideas from The Prince to help illustrate situations in the Nights.  Also quote passages from The Nights so we can ‘see’ the connections you’re making.  In short, the more you can make specific connections, the stronger your paper will be.  Try not to be too literal in your analysis; you don’t have to focus only on leaders or people who rule; The Prince is also a way to view the world, to understand human psychology, and to protect yourself from people out to do you in (which we see in many of the stories in the Nights). 

ALSO: assume you’re writing to people who have read both works, so you don’t need to engage in plot summary or lengthy summaries of characters/situations.  Instead, get right to the discussion of the “Machiavellian” elements in the Nights.  You can also show us ways that the Nights seem to offer a slightly more optimistic view of humanity/power (if you think they do), but again, you’ll have to show us this very clearly rather than just suggesting it. 

REQUIREMENTS

• At least 3-4 pages, but you can do more if you like
• Quote from both books, in enough detail to make specific connections
• Introduce quotations (“As Machiavelli discusses in Chapter 8,”) and discuss them so your readers can understand (a) why you quoted it, and (b) how you interpret the quotation.
• Be sure to include a Works Cited page for both works. 
• DUE Monday, November 3^rd by 5pm