Oswald, the overly-sensitive Reeve, is none too happy with the Miller and his tale. The drunken Miller tells an embarrassing tale about the Reeve indirectly. In defense, the Reeve tries his best to punch back, but his attempt is weak. The Reeve shares a story of a dishonest Miller, looking to avenge the Miller himself. The Reeve’s Tale begins as The Reeve assures the Miller he will get him back for his tale. The Miller in the story lives close to a college. Each day, the Miller robs the mill of wheat and corn. One day when the supervisor of the college becomes ill, the Miller takes the opportunity to take more than he usually does. Two students at the college, John and Aleyn, are shocked and angry with the news and they volunteer to
As the Miller’s personality is developed by his dissimilarity to the Knight, so is the Reeve by the Miller. Therefore, Robin’s enjoyment of life shows just how little Oswald receives from the same. For instance, the Miller’s large frame and excessive drinking show his delight in small pleasures. The Reeve, however, is “a sclendre colerik man” who controls his beard and hair (in opposition to the unruly strands that grow on a wart on the miller’s nose) as manipulatively as the accounts of the farm on which he works (I 587). The Miller mastered the bag-pipes for entertainment in his spare time while the Reeve trained with more practical tools: “In youth he had learned a good myster: He was a well good writer, a carpenter” (I 614).
The Miller tells his tale momentarily to amuse and and embarrass (the Reeve and his own cameo appearance), while the Knight tells a story strong on "sentence" or meaning. The two different motives reveal the fundamental differences between the two men: the noble Knight can still believe in a higher beautiful world, while the Miller cannot accept it ever existed.
When Christopher finds Wellington dead on Mrs. Shears’ front lawn, he picks up the dog and strokes it. Christopher is determine to find out who killed Wellington because he likes dogs. Father tells Christopher to leave the dog alone and do not poke into other people’s business. But Christopher has to find out who killed him, thus he decides not to listen to father and go find out and investigate Wellington’s murder. Christopher’s courage began to show when one Saturday, he decides to go around his block and ask questions. Christopher does not like to be around people he does not know and he is scared of some of the people on his block, but he faces his fears--not out of fear, but because he knew it was something he had to do. Christopher mentions that talking to people on his block was brave. He knows what courage is and he knows that he has to be brave. Notice how Ch...
In the book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, I claim that Ed Boone, Christopher's father, was justified in lying to him about the death of his mother. Despite the fact that he lied to him about something critical, he did so with the best intentions.
The narrator is the first element of humor Chaucer uses in his story. The Miller is rude and drunk but generally a jolly fellow. This sets the tone of story as being fun and even a bit coarse, just like the Miller himself. He tells a few jokes before he tells his story: "One shouldn't be two inquisitive in life? / Either about God's secrets or one's wife. / You'll find God's plenty all you could desire"(53). As well, the Miller wants to punish the Reeve, a ...
...nd Money In The Miller's Tale And The Reeve's Tale." Medieval Perspectives 3.1 (1988): 76-88. Web. 16 May 2013. [ILL]
Each pilgrim claims to have a tale good enough to match, or "quite," the previous tale told. The constant presence of competition in the tales—which often takes on an odd tone, as the combatants treat it more as a debate over whom the gods will or should choose to support and guide to victory— is echoed by the "route" of travellers telling them. And yet, as each character boasts of his or her tale, they constantly hedge their own bets, warning of the possibility that they might err in some way as they tell their story, and asking their company to absolve them of their flaws in advance. The most striking example of this is the Miller. The drunk, boorish Miller interrupts the pecking order, leaping over "better" men such as the Monk and the Man of Law in order to share a tale with which he plans to "quite the Knightes tale." When told by the Host to know his place, he threatens to leave the company unless he is permitted to tell his tale, and has to this point come across as brash and very confident in his abilities. However, when the Host relents and allows the Miller to have the floor, he backtracks: "But first I make a protestacioun, That I am dronke--- I knowe it by my soun." While the Pagans in the Knight 's tale blame failures on Fortune, the Miller, far more plain and earthly than the Knight or any of his characters, has a more practical scapegoat in mind: the
tells the story as it should be told and comes under the utter annoyance of the
We soon learn that the narrator heartlessly kill the old man. The narrator had already planned the murder of the old man. Before the murd...
The Host felt the need to apologize for having to retell such an absurd story, and said “And I regret I must repeat it here,” (88). The tale included vulgar words, as well as actions that may have offended some readers, but the Host made sure to mention that “So was the Reeve, and other some as well,” (88). This does not demonstrate the pure morals that were held throughout “The Man of Law’s Tale.” Since the Host saw necessary to apologize for “The Miller’s Tale” and “The Reeve’s Tale” they would fall behind in the storytelling contest, despite The Cook stating in “The Cook’s Prologue” the joy of laughter he received from “The Reeve’s Tale”
The relationship between the Miller and the Miller’s Tale is close, for the tale is a reflection of the teller. The Miller’s tale is a fabliau, a genre best described as a short story full of ribald and humor. The Miller’s tale consists of events of “cuckoldry” (Chaucer 1720), “foolishness” (1718), and “secrets” (1719). Telling such a story, the Miller can immediately be classified as a man of low social status with a vulgar sense of humor full of shrewdness. However, as the tale continues, it reveals the unexpected soft side of the Miller as he sympathizes with the distressed woman trapped in the norms of society. Thus, the Miller’s characteristics of obscenity, deception, and sympathy drive the plot of his tale.
“Miller tries both to offer a disclaimer about the imaginative aspects of his work, and to claim a higher level of veracity for the play’s authority.” (133)
The Miller's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer is a mirror of medieval society particularly in the way it depicts the relationships between men and women as well as giving a realistic portrait of working class people during the middle ages. Alison, the main character illustrates how a woman was able to use her sex through her actions of deceit to many characters. Popular belief holds that courtly love was prevalent during the medieval period; however The Miller's Tale provides a more realistic look into sexual relationships through its use of infidelity and sexual humor. Chaucer's characters are typical middle class workers rather than elite nobility. In addition, many of the characters seem heartless and corrupt. Alison's character is far away from most others in her mere selfishness followed by inappropriate humor leading to Nicolas and his "injury." She responds to her husband's jealousy and protective nature by a flirtatious demeanor. As most literature does, The Miller's Tale has a moral even though it's slanted and the punishable party is no t appropriately disciplined.
The classic comic book character Batman, played by Christian Bale in the motion picture has an astonishingly complex character that is illustrated well with Aristotle’s perspective. Batman has two distinct characters, the one under the mask, Bruce Wayne and the one covered by the mask, Batman. Both have different sets of virtues that the other does not necessarily have. To explain these virtues, I will attempt to do an analysis of Batman based on Aristotle’s virtue. Then I will determine if he has a good life and whether others should mimic it.
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” explores a fundamental struggle of the human conscience. The reader is transported into the journey of a man who recognizes and acknowledges evil but still succumbs to its destructive powers. The character of Macbeth is shrouded in ambiguity that scholars have claimed as both being a tyrant and tragic hero. Macbeth’s inner turmoil and anxieties that burden him throughout the entire play evoke sympathy and pity in the reader. Though he has the characteristics of an irredeemable tyrant, Macbeth realizes his mistakes and knows there is no redemption for his sins. And that is indeed tragic.