Paramount's Tulsa King begins with Sylvester Stallone's Dwight "The General" Manfredi at the end of his 25-year prison sentence, during which he read a number of books, each of which reveals different aspects of Dwight's life. According to Dwight, he read a bunch of good books and wrote some bad poems in order to keep his mind from deteriorating in prison. Notably, all the books that Dwight read in prison are considered to be literary classics. The Tulsa King pilot only briefly shows Dwight's books, and though he leaves them in his cell, it's clear that they carry some significance for Dwight for how they helped him to not only keep his mind intact but also avoid getting stabbed for a second time.
Dwight's books are the following: Othello by Shakespeare, Middlemarch by Mary Anne Evans, Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzche, Faust by Goethe, and The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene. Similar to other Taylor Sheridan shows like Yellowstone, Tulsa King is filled with symbolism which reveals what the dialogue and events cannot, which is why Dwight's books are briefly but very clearly shown to audiences. As not everyone is familiar with some of these literary works, here's everything that Dwight Manfredi's prison books reveal about the Tulsa King.
Dwight Made A Deal With The Devil Like Faust
As an oathbound mafia capo, Dwight believes that like Heinrich Faust, he has sold his soul to the devil. In the Tulsa King pilot, Dwight himself wonders whether the life he chose is worth the 25 years he spent in prison, and immediately concludes that it's not even worth 25 seconds. When Dwight finally finds out that he is being banished to Tulsa, Dwight confirms his fears about his family abandoning him after he gets out of prison, even though he spent 25 years taking the fall for the boss without breaking the New York mafia's silence and honor code. Just like Faust, Dwight is extremely intelligent, is being watched and manipulated by powerful entities, and would do anything to gain more power, knowledge, or influence in the world.
Dwight Challenges Tradition Like Zarathustra
Like the prophet Zarathustra who challenged ancient religious practices in Iran around 500 BC, Dwight is a made man with a bone to pick about mafia traditions in modern times. Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a fictional philosophical novel about the historical Zoroaster, the central figure of the spiritual movement of Zoroastrianism. Dwight's story arc is highly evocative of Nietszche/Zarathustra's concept of the Übermensch, "the last man," someone who can abandon traditions and create his own purpose and sense of values with respect to his own moral interpretation of the world. This also somewhat echoes how Midnight Mass explains religion and human nature.
Tulsa Is A Community Facing Unwelcome Change Like Middlemarch
Mary Anne Evans' Middlemarch is about a provincial 19th-century English town facing severe and unwelcome changes, with themes like marriage, self-interest, and political upheaval, not unlike the setting and central themes of Tulsa King. In the show's case, Dwight is the unwelcome change turning the town upside-down. The drama between the residents of Tulsa also somewhat reflects the intrigues between the residents of the town of Middlemarch.
Dwight Is A General In A Foreign Land Like Othello
Similar to how the noble Moor Othello is a general of the Venetian Republic assigned to the Island of Cyprus, Dwight "The General" Manfredi is a mafia capo from New York assigned to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Moreover, the way Othello married the much younger Desdemona, against her rich Venetian father's wishes, is somewhat mirrored by Dwight hooking up with Stacy, who gets freaked out by finding out their age gap and is actually a federal agent for the ATF. Curiously, Tulsa King evoking William Shakespeare's Othello, one of his most infamous tragedies, could be an indication that any attempts by Dwight at romance will end messily.
Dwight Understands The Laws of Human Nature
The least surprising book on Dwight's stack, The Laws of Human Nature is a comprehensive guide about the biology of the human brain, emotional detachment, dealing with narcissists, reading people's hidden motivations, and understanding the dark side inside every human. Dwight needs and uses these skills as much as he throws haymakers. These skills no doubt helped Dwight survive prison, and in Tulsa King, they are integral to his goals of establishing his own personal kingdom.
More than a self-help book, The Laws of Human Nature is a deep dive into accepting, understanding, and working with the inherent irrationality of the human brain. Dwight having read this book in prison explains how he is able to take calculated risks, deal with extremely dangerous individuals, and turn his banishment into the biggest opportunity of his life. Like John Dutton in Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan's flagship series, Dwight in Tulsa King uses his keen understanding of human nature to command loyalty, make logical decisions under duress, and stay one step ahead of his enemies.
New episodes of Tulsa King release Sundays on Paramount+.