Alan E. Miller
Drawing on The Simpsons Teaching Machiavelli, and other contemporary references, Miller describes or How I Learned how the 15th-century classic can still resonate to Love The Prince with young adults.
ritten by a petty bureaucrat and dip- that could unify much of the fiction, drama, and lomat for Lorenzo de Medici, a short stories they would read during the school member of one of the ruling fami- year? Couldn’t the Macbeths be considered typical lies of Europe, Niccolò Machiavelli’s Machiavellian rulers? Couldn’t Oedipus be blamed The Prince (1532) is a slim volume concerned pri- for sharing power and underestimating a possible Wmarily with advising Medici on how to acquire, “religious” rival in the Delphic Oracle? Were the maintain, and sustain power over a state. Its difficult Ibo, as depicted in Things Fall Apart, too accommo- and often archaic vocabulary aside, at first glance it dating of the white settlers encroaching on their hardly seems an ideal text for the sophomores I often territory with a new religion, powerful weapons, teach. Nearly 500 years old, it features a glib atti- destabilizing economic strategies, and potentially tude about violence and a cynical opinion of human- oppressive laws? Indeed, weren’t the British in Ni- kind. And hardly anyone teaches the book in its geria perfecting Machiavelli’s techniques? Not only entirety at the secondary level—probably because did The Prince provide a way of understanding these it’s repetitive, dense, and sometimes frustrating. problems, it also offered some principles for leaders Ironically, the things that make it a questionable concerned with how and when to act effectively to choice also make it an excellent challenge, or maintain control of their lands. “stretch” text, one that would require considerable At the time I was teaching The Prince, the attention and effort by young people. That history California State University (CSU) system developed textbooks still reference Machiavelli demonstrates CAPI, or Collaborative Academic Preparation Ini- that his ideas are still considered relevant. tiatives. It created a partnership between high For several years, I taught Machiavelli’s The school English teachers and college professors in an Prince (Dover, 1992) as a nonfiction text for sopho- effort to decrease the need for remediation at the 23 mores enrolled in a World Literature course at CSU campuses. They paid teachers to meet, pro- Berkeley High School because it helped create in- vided valuable inservice training, and offered tellectual “glue” that could link required works schools the opportunity to employ the assessment such as Macbeth, Oedipus Rex, and Chinua Achebe’s CSU used; these could help us identify student tragic novel, Things Fall Apart. The Dover intro- strengths and weaknesses in the areas of reading, duction described the 16th-century work as “a writing, and grammar. CAPI allowed us to work primer for princes” and an introduction to the prin- together, to present and critique our teaching to- ciples of leadership and governance (back cover). gether, to visit each other’s campuses and class- Widely read in college history and political science rooms, and to understand the link between our jobs courses, and even graduate business schools, it and our students’ futures. They believed, as I was would be challenging, but couldn’t Machiavelli’s also coming to believe, that English teachers needed words provide secondary students with a framework to include more nonfiction in our curricula because
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of The Simpsons during the unit. Knowing that they would be assigned to write an essay in which they would apply the principles they learned in The Prince to modern situations intrigued others. Reading the text would be the next challenge. I had to gloss the book heavily to provide defini- tions, footnotes, and background information. To assist reluctant and challenged readers, I needed to limit the amount of required nightly reading. I set- tled on 5–7 pages per night. (A letter to my gener- ous parents secured more than enough money to purchase Dover paperback copies of The Prince for each student.) These two decisions helped me widen access for all students. I wanted student ownership Devotees of rap music of the ideas and the books; I had heard Tupac Shakur wanted them to write per- call himself “Makaveli” sonal notes in the texts, to and knew rumors that circle words they didn’t both the rapper and Niccolò Machiavelli, portrait by Santi di Tuti (ca. 1520) know, to write questions in 15th-century political the margins. Writing in theorist had faked their books and dialoguing with most college English classes included increasing text is a skill public school deaths. amounts of nonfiction, that tests at both the high teachers rarely teach. One of school and college levels relied heavily on nonfic- my colleagues, Gabrielle Winer, modeled the strat- tion, and that most college majors contained rela- egy of alternately reading aloud and providing her tively little fiction. In addition, we were reminded personal commentary on a text. She showed, in other that most students will continue to read nonfiction words, that reading is a process with fits and starts, whether they are college-bound or not: newspapers, that it is full of questions, that definitions have to be contracts, leases, driver’s tests and other forms of li- constantly revised, that thinking is not a linear pro- censing, brochures, and advertisements. CAPI gave cess, and most importantly that tangents while read- us time to consider in what ways the skills gleaned ing were to be viewed as inevitable and savory, not from studying fiction and nonfiction could provide as evidence of shoddy thinking. students with strategies that they could recognize Seeing this, I opted to read the beginning of and employ in their writing. the book aloud. Though many students didn’t know Once I determined that I would teach Machi- all of the words on the page—words such as antiq- avelli, I had to determine how to engage the full uity, deem, esteem, amplified, extrinsic, allurements, wont, spectrum of sophomores at Berkeley High School, unremitting, and Fortune (the capital F is intentional) one of the most diverse schools in the nation, in The appear in the Dedication—they understood that Prince. I had to show how this work was relevant to Machiavelli was “kissing up to” the man he called everyone. Since so many students consider them- “The Magnificent Lorenzo di Piero de Medici.” We selves college-bound, many were excited to read a talked about reading the text closely enough that book they had heard about and expected to encoun- they could determine the meaning of some words ter later. Devotees of rap music had heard Tupac from context. I gave them a sheet with definitions Shakur call himself “Makaveli” and knew rumors of many of the words immediately after, and we de- that both the rapper and 15th-century political termined which definitions suited each word. We theorist had faked their deaths. Some were eager to identified and clustered the words in which Machi- know why Homer Simpson used the word Machia- avelli revealed his purpose: to compare the luxuri- vellian and why I planned to show several episodes ous language and lavish gifts Medici might expect
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from him with his “humble,” “simple,” practical land in a war against Emeryville? (Machiavelli insight. We also examined and discussed Machia- would emphatically answer no, arguing that a state velli’s discussion of the perspective required for the should never join with a larger state unless abso- task he sets out for himself. The diplomat viewed lutely forced to do so. Such states, he reasoned, himself not standing face to face with his potential would be tempted to take two states at once.) I re- benefactor, but staring up, as at the foot of a great minded them also that they knew some of the rulers mountain. cited in the book from the Bible or popular history: On those first two days I modeled what I ex- Machiavelli refers to the Biblical King David, to pected them to do each night: Number each para- King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, to Julius Cae- graph and write titles or headings for each sar, to Achilles and the Centaur. I helped students paragraph. I showed them that these headings identify the contemporary “descendants” of “Duke didn’t have to be elaborate or complicated, and that Valentino,” the playboy/ruler who raped the women they could use the words in the paragraph where it who inhabited the lands he conquered. was possible and appropriate. Also, I showed them After asking students about maxims they had that they could identify the functions of the para- heard from their parents or from the media, I dis- graphs to indicate which paragraphs summarized tributed some maxims from The Prince. What did what had gone on before, which paragraphs pro- these sayings mean, and what did they tell us about vided examples, and which paragraphs defined the culture that is their source? terms. They could create headings such as “Sum- 1. “He who builds on the people builds on mary of paragraphs 1–5,” or “Examples of mire” (26). ______,” or they could title a paragraph 2. “He who is the cause of another’s greatness is “______Defined.” This forced students himself undone” (18). to read more closely than they had previously, be- 3. “Leave it to time” (6; Machiavelli argued cause I was training them not against this popular maxim). Comparing “Mixed only to read for content but Clearly Machiavelli meant for some of his ideas to Princedoms” to “Blended also to read as writers, to de- termine why Machiavelli have the same lasting value. Families,” I coined the structured his narrative as he 1. “The temper of the multitude is fickle” (14). “Stepmom Rule,” which did. (A CAPI strategy called 2. “A Prince who is not wise himself cannot be posits that a stepparent, “mapping,” in which students well advised by others” (64). like a new Prince, identify paragraph functions, 3. “Nothing makes a Prince so well thought of “cannot avoid . . . helped here.) This helped ev- as to undertake great enterprises and give striking proofs of his capacity” (59). (Having offen(ding) his new eryone, especially lower-level readers. It was painstaking a strong foreign policy—i.e., undertaking subjects.” and painful, but it improved “great enterprises”—actually meant taking participation and comprehen- over other countries and displaying one’s military might. The Prince is full of such sion; it also allowed students to appreciate the text euphemisms.) on more than one level. 4. “He who wishes to deceive will never fail in In an effort to make the ideas seem less for- finding willing dupes” (46). eign, I created my own names for Machiavellian principles. Comparing “Mixed Princedoms” to Midway through our reading of the book, I “Blended Families,” I coined the “Stepmom Rule,” formed groups of four students to create posters in which posits that a stepparent, like a new Prince, which they would show how a school librarian, a “cannot avoid . . . offen(ding) his new subjects” (2). small town mayor (like ours), a high school princi- To personalize some of the examples, I would refer pal, a coach, a teacher, a dean, a history teacher, a to nearby East Bay towns such as Emeryville (pop. parent, and a class president would use the Machi- 8,500) and Oakland (pop. 420,000) to clarify some avellian principles to effectively “rule” their do- theories espoused in The Prince. For example, I’d ask main. Posters had to describe (and, hopefully, if Berkeley (pop. 102,000) should ever join Oak- illustrate) the ruler’s environment. For instance, I
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might ask: What would a Machiavellian librarian the brand of critical-thinking opportunities avail- emphasize in organizing the library? What types able from this text: of monuments, posters, and technology would dec- 1. Five years ago, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates orate the library? Posters also had to provide at destroyed thousands of copies of the Daily least two symbols of the ruler and his or her leader- Cal (UC–Berkeley) student newspapers that ship style. (These symbols could be taken from the did not endorse him. What would text or from the students’ assessments of the ruler’s Machiavelli think of this and why? needs.) The posters needed to include at least three Answer: Machiavelli would say this was quotes or paraphrases from the text. Posters needed fine. Anything you can do to acquire or to include five adjectives describing the ruler or maintain power is good. The problem here is the environment the ruler created. Posters obvi- getting caught. ously needed to depict the ruler and to name the 2. Former President George W. Bush twice type of ruler. opposed raises for soldiers. Soldiers have been Four episodes of The Simpsons were especially reluctant to criticize him about this issue or helpful here. “Bart the General” shows how Bart, to comment on how poorly the medical facilities for soldiers have been maintained. the bratty third grader, organizes his friends to How would Machiavelli explain the behavior combat Nelson, the school bully. “Two Cars in of Bush and the soldiers? Every Garage, and Three Eyes on Every Fish” shows Answer: Machiavelli would say that you Mr. Burns, the town of Springfield’s most detested don’t want the soldiers to be too happy with capitalist, running for governor, employing every their situation. Remember: you want your dirty trick in the book to get elected to avoid keep- soldiers hungry and motivated, not fat and ing the town’s biggest employer, its nuclear power lazy. You also want to train them not to plant, up to code. “Sideshow Bob Roberts” depicts stand up to you. the clown sidekick involved in satire based loosely 3. You are a current senator planning a future on Watergate and Chicago mayoral politics. “Last run for president, with a child who has been Exit to Springfield” shows Homer, Bart’s father, be- admitted to West Point (a military academy), coming the president of his union local to save his Harvard (an old, elite college with a fine dental benefits. While many students had viewed reputation), and Amherst College (a fine, small, liberal arts college in Massachusetts). these episodes, none of them had previously dis- According to Machiavelli, where do you cussed how these episodes utilized Machiavellian encourage your child to attend college? principles. For each episode, I created a “film sheet” Why? to induce students to look carefully for events and Answer: You should send your child to dialogue that could enhance their understanding of West Point, so he or she will be eligible to The Prince. We discussed quotes from Machiavelli succeed you as a military leader. This shows that seemed to describe the circumstances of each that you are not a hypocrite because you are show. The Simpsons episodes that dealt with the willing to have your own child in a military media assisted me in reinforcing Machiavelli’s early institution, and that you value the military. awareness that politics is at least partly public rela- 4. If you are a Machiavellian Prince, do you cut tions. Showing students political advertisements the budget of the National Endowment of helped drive this point home even further. They the Arts? Why or why not? were shocked to see the “Revolving Door” ad that Answer: No. You would only do so in an emergency. You provide the people with George H. W. Bush’s campaign had used against distracting bread and circuses. You encourage Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election, your citizens to achieve all manner of and amused by the ad depicting Dukakis wearing excellence in diverse fields. the army hat and a silly grin—both parodied in 5. You have just been elected president when “Sideshow Bob Roberts.” you discover that you are inheriting an Selected questions (and my answers) from the enormous budget deficit. Do you go ahead final exam for the unit on The Prince give some of with the publicly funded inaugural bash that the flavor of Machiavelli, and also provide some of you have planned or do you save the money
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for more pressing economic and social needs? Social Science colleagues also commented on in- What would Machiavelli advise and why? creased student interest in their classes. Answer: You go ahead with the big bash. So why should one teach Machiavelli’s The Nothing impresses the people like a big party Prince? It incites students to reach. It is rewarding. at government expense. Raise taxes afterwards It both activates and stimulates their store of back- to pay for it. They will always have the ground knowledge. It forces all students to read memories and associate you with fun. carefully and critically. It invites them to look 6. You are the new CEO of a company facing negotiations with your two most important closely at the worlds they inhabit. In addition, they employees unions—one is the most skilled, gain a framework to help them understand social best paid, and most powerful; the other is a dynamics—not only on the political battlefield but relatively new union. What do you do? What also in school, in the workplace, and in interper- would Machiavelli say about your response? sonal relationships. Machiavelli’s master work also Answer: Pit them against each other. introduces one of the most enduring philosophical Provide the weaker one with resources to questions: Do the ends justify the means? fight the stronger one. You want to weaken When I asked one of my students recently to the strong and strengthen the weak. tell me why she should read Machiavelli, she said, Facilitate a fight between them so that they “There’s a prince on every corner.” cannot focus on you. Works Cited While all of the lessons in the unit described “Bart the General.” The Simpsons. Season 1, Episode 5. Dir. above are enjoyable, what made this unit even more David Silverman. 20th Century Fox Television, 4 rewarding was hearing stu- Feb. 1990. My History/Social dents make connections be- “Last Exit to Springfield.” The Simpsons. Season 4, Episode 17. Dir. Mark Kirkland. 20th Century Fox Televi- Science colleagues also tween Machiavelli and the sion, 11 Mar. 1993. commented on increased literature we read later, and “Revolving Door: Bush vs. Dukakis 1988.” Museum of the even to the history that they Moving Image. 1988. Web. 11 Oct. 2009.
Alan E. Miller teaches at Berkeley High School in California. He served as vice president in his union, Berkeley Federation of Teachers, Local #1078; has published poetry; and served for two years as English Department Chair at BHS. He has taught for over 20 years. Email him at [email protected].
READWRITETHINK CONNECTION Lisa Storm Fink, RWT The Simpsons presents a nearly inexhaustible collection of resources for exploring satire in the classroom. In “Explor- ing Satire with The Simpsons,” students identify the techniques of satire—exaggeration, incongruity, reversal, and parody—through an analysis of scenes from The Simpsons and from the show’s website. http://www.readwrite think.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=811
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