1. Class 15: EWRT 2

2. AGENDA
0 Essay #3 Questions or Comments
0 Group Discussions: Justice and A Game of Thrones
0 Get into your teams to consider the application of Cicero
and Thoreau to A Game of Thrones
0 Class discussion: Cicero/Thoreau and A Game of Thrones
0 In-class writing: Generating Prompts

3. Essay #3
Questions or Comments?

4. Why look at GOT through the
lenses of philosophy texts
0EWRT 2 aims at providing the tools for both meaningful reading
and critical thinking. Intertextuality expands the scope of text
interpretation beyond the reader, carrying it to the meeting place
of texts.
0 The challenge of developing intertextual aptitudes develops
conceptual, curricular, and methodological perspectives.
0 Using a theoretical or philosophical lens, that is viewing a novel
from a particular perspective, fosters thinking development, the
use of broad lateral thinking, associative thinking, focusing, and
critical thinking.
0 The practice of frequently using intertextual aptitudes helps to
develop a habit of mind that includes complex thinking, creative
insights, and speculative conclusions.

5. Group Discussions: Justice and
A Game of Thrones
Get into your
teams to consider
the application of
Cicero and
Thoreau to A
Game of Thrones.
Make sure to find
textual evidence
to support your
claims.
Injustice

7. Cicero and Jon
0 Laleuis describes the only
God given law, “To attempt
to invalidate this law is
sinful. Nor is it possible to
repeal any part of it, much
less to abolish it together
[...] As a consequence, even
if he escapes the normal
punishment for
wrongdoing, he will suffer
the penalties of the gravest
possible sort.” (129).
0 When John hears the news
about his father being
beheaded, he attempts to
run away from the wall to
be with his family. John’s
brothers chase after him
and persuades John to
return to the night’s watch,
“They’ll cut off your head if
they catch you, you know
[...] but it doesn’t matter.
Once you say the words,
you can’t leave, no matter
what.” (779).

8. Cicero, Ned, and Joffrey
0 Philius mentions, “‘Laws
are not imposed on us
by nature- or by our
innate sense of justice.
They are imposed by the
fear of being penalized.
In other words, human
beings are not just, by
nature, at all'” (150).
0 Joffrey Baratheon is an
example of this philosophy
when he condemns Ned
Stark as a traitor for telling
Cersi, her son Joffrey is not
the true heir to the throne.
Joffrey worries and
condemns Ned as a traitor
towards Robert, Cersi, and
Joffrey. Joffrey orders the
kingdom to assassinate
Ned Stark because of his
fear

9. Cicero, Arya, and Sansa
0 “Laelius: Yes, I can see
what you have reason to
fear. You are afraid of
that, if you repeat the
customary arguments
against justice, you
might be supposed also
to improve them”(123,
Verse 3)
0 “His eldest daughter stepped
forward hesitantly. She was
dressed in blue velvets…She
blinked at her sister and at
the young prince.”I don’t
know,” she said tearfully,
looking as though she wanted
to bolt, “I don’t remember.
Everything happened so fast,
I didn’t see…“You rotten!”
Arya shirked. She flew at her
sister like an arrow, knocking
Sansa down to the ground,
pummeling her.“ Liar, liar, liar,
liar.”(131)

10. Cicero, Eddard, and Joffrey
0 [Cicero] describes the
[two]men by stating, “
one a paragon of virtue,
fairness, justice and
honesty, and the other
an outrageous ruffian.”
(Cicero 128)
0 For one, there was Ned Stark
who was an honest man, but
following his moral compass
led him to death. There’s
Joffrey who is aware of the
significance of maintaining a
good reputation but he
himself has a rotten
personality. Joffrey knows it is
not right to abuse Sansa, but
has someone do the dirty deed
anyways.

11. Cicero: Eddard and Joffrey
0 ” Let us imagine that there
are two men, one a
paragon of virtue, fairness,
justice and honesty, and
the other an outrageous
ruffian. And let us suppose
that [...]the good man is an
evil villainous criminal,
and that the bad man, on
the other hand is a model
of honourable and
propriety” (128).
0 ” King Joffrey looked her
up and down. “your sweet
words have moved me,” he
said gallantly, nodding, as
if to say all would be well. ”
I shall do as you say, but
first your father has to
confess. He has to confess
and say that I’m the king..”
(2238 ipad version).

12. Cicero, Ned, and Cersei
0 “For a start,” said Ned, “I do
not kill children. You would
do well to listen, my lady. I
shall say this only once. When
the king returns from his
hunt, I intend to lay the truth
before him. You must be gone
by then. You and your
children, all three, and not to
Casterly Rock. If I were you, I
should take ship for the Free
Cities, or even farther, to the
Summer Isles or the Port of
Ibben. As far as the winds
blow” (Martin, PDF 334).
0 For we have to choose one of
three things. We can perform
injustice and not suffer it. Or
we can both perform and
suffer it. Or we can neither
perform it nor suffer it. The
most fortunate choice is the
first, to perform injustice, if
you can get away with it. The
second best is neither to
perform it nor suffer it. And
the worst is to engage in an
everlasting turmoil consisting
of both performing it and
suffering it (Cicero, 127).

13. Cicero and Cersei
0 Cicero depicts “two men,
one a paragon of virtue,
fairness, justice, and
honesty, and the other an
outrageous ruffian. And let
us suppose that their
country is so misguided
that it believes that the
good man is an evil,
villainous criminal, and
that the bad man, on the
other hand, is a model of
honorable propriety”
0 In A Game of Thrones,
Eddard stark is the
paragon of virtue, while
Cersei is the ruffian.
Towards the end of the
book, Cersei’s plot to take
the throne succeeds, while
Eddard is beheaded for
attempting to do the right
thing. Based on this event
in the story, who would
you rather be?

14. Cicero: Shedding Blood in Vaes Dothrak
0 “[Laws] are imposed by
the fear of being
penalized” (Cicero 126).
0 “Do as [Daenerys says],
[…] before you get us all
killed” (Ser Jorah to
Viserys: Martin 498).

15. Thoreau, Robert, and Ned
0 King Robert brings up a subject
on whether to kill Daenerys or
not since she is pregnant. “The
other councilors were all doing
their best to pretend that they
were somewhere else. No doubt
they were wiser than he was”
(Martin 351). Ned speaks first
that this shouldn’t be done.
Becoming furious by his rejection,
Robert urges other councilors to
speak: “Have the rest of you
mislaid your tongues? Will no one
talk sense to this frozen-faced
fool?” (352) After all, “[Ned] and
Selmy stand alone on this matter”
(354) and Robert makes his
decision to kill her.
0 The philosophy of Thoreau is
applied here. Ned rejects the
decision on killing fourteen-year-old
girl because he makes his
decision based on his conscience
that he thinks “men first and
subjects afterward” (Thoreau 178).
When the subject was brought to
the table, the councilors remained
silent because while their
consciences were telling them ‘no’,
‘yes’ was the answer that seemed
more desirable. Eventually, majority
says yes, and King Robert makes the
decision based on the opinions of
majority “which the rule of
expediency is [only] applicable”
(178).

16. Thoreau, Ned, and Robert
0 Thoreau says,
““Unjust laws exist:
shall we be content
to obey them, or
shall we endeavor
to amend them and
obey them until we
have succeeded, or
shall we transgress
them at once?”
(para. 16),
0 Ned and Robert took over the
realm and fought the Mad King.
While they fought the ruler rather
than the laws, I think the same
ideas still work. Many people in
the realm were not content to obey
the Mad King, so they
“transgressed” him by taking over
the kingdom and killing him. Ned
and Robert could not “endeavor to
amend” the Mad King’s ideas
because he was mad, so there was
little use trying to negotiate with
him.

17. Thoreau, Ned, and Cersei
0 [Thoreau] says “…I do
not lend myself to the
wrong which I condemn”
(Thoreau 145),
0 I think of Ned talking to
Cersei in the godswood.
Cersei tries to gain him
as an ally, a strategic
move that ultimately
would have been wise
for Ned, but he refuses
because of his loyalty to
Robert.

18. Thoreau and Eddard
0 Thoreau claims, “A very
few, as heroes, patriots,
martyrs, reformers in the
great sense, and men,
serve the state with their
consciences also and so
necessarily resist it for the
most part; and they are
commonly treated as
enemies by it (139-140).
0 Ned responds to Marq Piper,
asking for vengeance [in
response to Ser Gregor
Clegane burning down
common man fields] , when
he argues, “I thought we were
speaking of Justice. Burning
Clegane’s fields and
slaughtering his people will
not restore the kings’ peace,
only your injured pride
(Martin 469).

19. Thoreau and Eddard
0 “Under a government
which imprisons any
unjustly, the true place
for a just man is also a
prison” (146).
0 Eddard Stark was
thrown into prison for
trying to keep his honor
and remain loyal and
just to the king, yet was
thrown into prison for
his actions.

20. Thoreau and Danerys
0 “They pass other women
being raped. Each time
Dany reined up, sent her
khas to make an end to
it…”(680)
0 “It is not a man’s duty, as
a matter of course to
devote himself to the
eradication of any, even
the most enormous
wrong; he may still have
other concerns; but it is
duty to wash his hands
of it, if he gives it no
thought no longer”
(Thoreau 143).

21. Thoreau and the Dothraki
0 “’The common people
pray for rain, healthy
children, and a summer
that never ends,’” Ser
Jorah told her. ‘It is no
matter to them if the high
lords play their game of
thrones, so long as they
are left in peace’” (Martin
151).
0 “Practically speaking, the
opponents to a reform […]
are not a hundred thousand
politicians […] but a
hundred thousand
merchants and farmers
here, who are more
interested in commerce
and agriculture than they
are in humanity” (Thoreau
141).

22. Thoreau, Tyrion, and The Wall
0 “Such command no
more respect than men
of straw or a lamp of
dirt. They have the same
sort of worth only as
horses and dogs.” (pg. 2
Thoreau)
0 “The Nights Watch is a
noble calling!” Tyrion
laughed. “You’re too
smart to believe that.
The Nights Watch is a
midden heap for all the
misfits of the realm”
(104 Martin).

23.  Using Cicero or Thoreau, and
A Game of Thrones, write one
or two good questions that you
might consider answering for
your final paper.
 Using Machiavelli or Lao-tzu,
and A Game of Thrones, write
one or two good questions that
you might consider answering
for your final paper. .
Thinking Ahead:
Generating
Prompts

24. Brainstorming Essay
Prompts: Example
0 Is civil disobedience a practical and worthwhile response
to injustice?
0 Identify an example (or two) of Thoreauvian-style “Civil
Disobedience” in A Game of Thrones.
0 Argue for its success or failure as both a social protest and a
personal undertaking. That is, does it disrupt or change the
status quo? Do the personal risks and sacrifices outweigh the
consequences of the disobedience?
0 Finally, argue either for or against “civil disobedience” as an
approach that should be used in contemporary society?

26. Form new teams for this unit. Remember, 50% of
your team must be new to you!
THEN, DISCUSS THE DIVISION OF LABOR FOR PLATO
Questions for Critical Reading (453-54)
We will come back together to go over the homework
before we leave!

27. Homework
0 Essay #3 Due Friday before
noon
0 Read A World of Ideas: Plato's
"Allegory of the Cave" (443-
453)
0 Post #29 Questions (TBD) for
Critical Reading: (pages 453-
54)