oh...ok...well...here is the essay! thanks for all your help! and input! i really appreciate it!!!

Ganondorf, the main antagonist of the Legend of Zelda series and the usurper King of Hyrule, is the ideal Machiavellian leader. Firstly, Ganondorf meets Machiavelli’s standards on acquiring a Princedom. “he who acquires them [new princedoms] does so either by his own arms or by the arms of others” (Machiavelli 1). In Ganondorf’s case, he acquires the Kingdom of Hyrule by “the arms of others”. He uses Link to open the Door of Time so he can get his hands on the Triforce. Ganondorf directly states how he got his Kingdom, “Geh heh heh! Excellent work! As I thought, you held the keys to the Door of Time! You have led me to the gates of the Sacred Realm!…yes, I owe it all to you, kid!” (Legend). When Link opened the Door of Time and grabbed the Master Sword, Ganondorf followed close behind. They both were transported to the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce is found, and Ganondorf got a hold of the Triforce, the sacred triangles that house the power of the creator goddesses of Hyrule. Since Ganondorf had an impure heart, he only got the essence of the Triforce of Power. The Sacred Realm was turned into the Dark Realm, and it soon leaked into Hyrule. Ganondorf became the new King of Hyrule and searched for the other two Triforce pieces. Without Link’s help, Ganondorf couldn’t have gotten into the Sacred Realm in the first place. This was, Ganondorf meets Machiavelli’s standards on acquiring a Princedom. Not only that, but Ganondorf also made sure that it was clear “to everyone that it would be a tedious and difficult task to remove [him]”, just like Machiavelli encouraged (Machiavelli 27). Ganondorf makes it clear that to defeat him, one must go through all of his minions first and have the right weapons to fight him. Valoo, a guardian of one of the Great Sea’s islands, explains to Link, “Still…it is too soon for us to relax. Ganon cannot be defeated by such simple means as wrath and fire” (Legend). Valoo’s statement illustrated that Ganondorf is difficult to defeat, since he has countless defenses and Link finds that it is indeed a tedious task to remove Ganondorf. Link must solve countless puzzles, find several items, and build up his stamina just to confront Ganondorf. In making his defenses strong, Ganondorf is making it difficult for others to unseat him, thus elongating his term as King. Ganondorf also follows the Machiavellian principle that “men are either to be kindly treated, or utterly crushed, since they can revenge from lighter injuries, but not graver” (Machiavelli 4). Ganondorf was one who would “utterly crush” his opponents to get what he wanted. If anyone opposed Ganondorf, that person better hope that Ganondorf doesn’t hear about it. Nabooru, a Gerudo woman of considerable power, informs Link on Ganondorf, “With his followers, he stole from women and children, and even killed people!” (Legend). The fact that Ganondorf steals from defenseless people such as women and children is enough to show that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants, but he doesn’t stop there. He even killed people, just so he could get what he desired. This reflects Machiavelli’s principle of “utterly crushing” a rival, further making Ganondorf the ideal Machiavellian leader. Machiavelli also wrote that “it is far safer to be feared than loved” as a leader (Machiavelli 43). Ganondorf instills fear into his subjects in a way that makes them obey him. They are too afraid to rebel against him. On Death Mountain, Link the Goron tells Link, “Dad said that Ganondorf has revived Volvagia…As a warning to those who oppose him, Ganondorf is going to feed them [the Gorons] all to Volvagia!” (Legend). Clearly afraid for his own life, Link the Goron simply tells Link to save the Gorons from the vicious dragon, Volvagia, since he is too afraid that Ganondorf might catch him and feed him to the dragon as well if he goes. By making his subjects fear him, Ganondorf is also scaring them out of rebellion, so that his “Princedom” will sustain. Truly, Ganondorf is a true, ideal Machiavellian leader.

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