The Prince Synopsis & Main Ideas
“The Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli was a classic written around 1514 and published in 1532. It was dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici (the ruler of Florence) and was to serve as a “how to” guide for aspiring rulers. In his work, Machiavelli emphasized the importance of achieving the main goal by “all means necessary”. Throughout his work, he discusses how previous rulers and regimes gained an upkept a certain level of control. Strategies such as forming alliances, appearing virtuous, various ways to acquiring new states and maintaining power are all presented to the audience in this work. The most important idea from the book which stands out is “the end justifies the means.” In the work, Machiavelli also speaks on how previous rules used the tactics of ‘fear’ and ‘manipulation’ to uphold power on their subjects. At certain points in time, war and killings were also methods used by rulers in order to gain and maintain power and control. Unlike other writers from his time, Machiavelli mainly focused on using logic and reasoning to get the best possible outcome. The Prince is a work which introduces the audience to the world of dark psychology and emphasizes its applicability in the real world.
Power Book II: Ghost Synopsis & Main Ideas
Power Book II: Ghost is a television series, a sequel to the series “Power.” It is available on Hulu through a Starz subscription. Ghost explores the life of Tariq James St. Patrick, the son of James “Ghost” St. Patrick. The show explores his struggles to balance college, family, and his involvement in criminal activity post his father’s tragic death in the series “Power.” In the beginning of the series, Tariq gets accepted into an Ivy League college and meets the Tejada family: Monet, Lorenzo, and their children, Cane, Dru, and Diana. Through time, Tariq and the Tejadas become close and form an illegal business partnership together, with the Tejadas becoming Tariq’s drug supplier. During this time, Tariq’s mother, Tasha St. Patrick, is in protection along with his younger sister, Yasmine. They are living in an undercover location in order to stay safe. Throughout the series, Tariq is constantly coming up with new ways to sell drugs on his college campus while juggling school and making sure his mother and sister are safe. We see the main ideas from ‘The Prince’ play out in ‘Ghost’ as Tariq commits various crimes (e.g. murder, robbery, drug trafficking, etc.) and scandals in order to become and remain the undercover king pin of NYC just like his father was.
Tariq as ‘The Prince’
For Tariq, becoming the top king pin in NYC was the ultimate goal. His father, Ghost, was great at keeping his undercover kingpin identity hidden through owning a club (which helped clean his drug money). On the other hand, Tariq struggled a lot post killing his father, especially financially. Tariq’s trust fund was not to be paid out to him until he got a bachelor’s degree from an Ivy League college according to his father’s terms. In order to afford school and survive while making sure his mother and sister are safe; Tariq had to work with the Tejadas. In ‘Ghost’, the phrase “by all means necessary” is presented to the extreme as Tariq committed various murders along with various scandals in order to please his suppliers. For example, during season one, Tariq had to kill a couple people on order to please Monet Tejada and get her to continue doing business with him. At the end of the four seasons, Tariq gets away with all of the murders, drug trafficking, and scandals along with his friends. His enemies have also been taken care of and will no longer be in his way, as most are dead. Neither the law nor his enemies in the street were able to take him and his friends out, He was also able to keep his mother and sister safe at end. We watch as Machiavelli’s lessons on power, fear, and control play out with Tariq being the prince in his story.
