Paired Texts > Napoleon Bonaparte

by Mike Kubic 2016

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

Excerpt from The Prince
Excerpt from The Prince
Niccoló Machiavelli

Niccoló Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian Renaissance historian, politician, and writer based in Florence. His masterpiece, The Prince, published in 1532, advises new princes on how to get and retain power by any means necessary.

Pair “Excerpt from The Prince” with “Napoleon Bonaparte: Revolutionary or Tyrant?” and ask students to apply the ideas of the former to their discussion of the latter. Did Napoleon utilize ideas and techniques similar to those presented in Machiavelli’s work? How did Napoleon and Machiavelli approach the concepts of power, cruelty, and justice?

11th Grade Political Theory 1370L
Japan's Quest for Empire
Japan's Quest for Empire
Jessica McBirney

This article provides a brief history of Japan's age of imperialism throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Pair “Japan’s Quest for Empire” with “Napoleon Bonaparte: Revolutionary or Tyrant?” and ask students to compare the two texts. How does Japan’s desire for an empire resemble or differ from that of France (or more specifically, Napoleon’s desire for an empire)? What were the effects of these attempts at imperialism? How does history reflect or frame these empires—positively, negatively, differently, etc.?

10th Grade Informational Text 1110L
Stalin: A Brutal Legacy Uncovered
Stalin: A Brutal Legacy Uncovered
Mike Kubic

In "Stalin: A Brutal Legacy Uncovered," this informational text provides insight into the historical rise of Joseph Stalin, one of the most brutal tyrants in Soviet and world history, detailing the purges and other such tragedies of his bloody regime.

Pair “Stalin: A Brutal Legacy Uncovered” with “Napoleon Bonaparte: Revolutionary or Tyrant?” and ask students to compare these two historical dictators. How did they exert influence or control over their states? What sort of legacies did they leave after them?

11th Grade Informational Text 1380L
The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution
Mike Kubic

In "The Russian Revolution," this informational text explores the causes of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which led to the complete upheaval of Russian government and society.

Pair “Napoleon: Revolutionary or Tyrant?” with “The Russian Revolution” and ask students to discuss revolution and the rise of tyrannical leaders. Compare and contrast the characters of Napoleon and Lenin. How did men like Napoleon and Lenin rise to power? What were some of the consequences of their leadership?

12th Grade Informational Text 1320L
The Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror
Jessica McBirney

In the informational text, "The Reign of Terror," Jessica McBirney discusses the circumstances surrounding the violent period during the French Revolution. 

Pair “Napoleon Bonaparte” with “The Reign of Terror” to provide students with information about the leader of France following the Revolution. Ask students to discuss how Bonaparte’s leadership of France compares to the leaders discussed in “The Reign of Terror.” Do students think that Bonaparte’s impact on France was more positive or negative? Why?

9th Grade Informational Text 1110L
Napoleon
Napoleon
Miroslav Holub

In this poem by Miroslav Holub, students share how little they know about the famous French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Pair “Napoleon Bonaparte” with “Napoleon” and ask students to consider the circumstances in France before Napoleon’s reign. How did Napoleon rise to power? What were some of the consequences of his leadership? In the context of the poem, should Napoleon Bonaparte be an important part of a school’s history curriculum? Explain your thinking.

8th Grade Poem