In this chapter Machiavelli focuses on proper actions suitable for a prince. Although he makes clear that there had been other attempts to clarify the subject, Machiavelli still believes that the subject is missing proper explanation. According to Machiavelli these other people who took their chances on the subject solely focused on the explanation of techniques of how a men should live his life rather than how they actually live by. Acknowledging that, Machiavelli explains how the lifestyles of men in reality are completely different than the ones recommended by philosophers. Machiavelli bestows importance to a key concept of a men’s life which is that a men never practices virtue in reality. Machiavelli therefore comes to a conclusion that a proper and efficient prince should follow the same routine of men and instead of trying to be virtuous they should go after the immediate profits with their actions. Then Machiavelli draws a line between the qualities of men which can change their reputation. By this Machiavelli shows us which qualities a prince needs to convince people that he is virtuous. As my visual text I chose who I think would be a perfect master of deceptions for profit, the role Chancellor Palpatine in the movie Star Wars. He portrays the true meaning of “means justify the ends” (Machiavelli). In the movie series Chancellor Palpatine acts with virtue and goodwill. He is also the leader of what we can consider the “Light” side which is opposite to the evil
