Roles And Expectations In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

Expectations are either set high or set low; and everyone who’s a part of society chooses to meet, exceed, or ignore those expectations. In the prologue of The Canterbury Tales, author Geoffrey Chaucer creates a diverse group of characters who are involved in several different roles of society. Throughout the prologue Chaucer humorously describes each person, and their position in their society and how they live their life; whether that be the way that is expected of them or not. Chaucer satirizes characters in the prologue by using exaggeration, hyperboles, irony, and imagery to represent through them the choices that different people make based on the expectations of society.
One way that Chaucer pokes fun at the characters in the Prologue

The extreme overstatements amplify the characters. One characters the Chaucer uses with this is the Summoner, a person who has the capability to excommunicate people from the Church. The Summoner was “as hot and lecherous as a sparrow/ . . .children were afraid of him . . ./ [he had] pimples sitting on his cheeks./ Garlic he loved. And onions too, and leeks/ and drinking strong red wine” (Chaucer 644-653). Chaucer really accentuates how gross and unpleasant the Summoner is. This gives the impression that he is a vile man and if one were to come upon him, he would not be someone who is involved with the church. This shows how society has the expectation for church members or leaders to have a certain appearance that brings comfort and happiness, which is the opposite of the Summoner who cannot change himself in that way. Another person that Chaucer overemphasizes is the Sergeant at the Law. The Sergeant is hard-working lawyer, “he knew every judgment, case, and crime/ ever recorded since King William’s time./ He could dictate defenses or draft deeds . . . / He knew every statute off by rote” (Chaucer 333-337). Chaucer calls attention to how dedicated and full of facts the Sergeant is; although he won several awards and money, the Sergeant was never as busy as he appeared to be because he likes to spend his time studying up on cases. The Sergeant

He uses the absurdity from the character’s life to point out how society’s expectations affect a person’s behaviors. One example of this is the Nun. A nun devotes themselves to being married to God and do not give into worldly things. She attempts to hide how she truly is, yet her appearance give it away: “She was indeed by no means undergrown/ . . .she wore a coral trinket . . ./ a set of beads,/ whence hung a golden brooch of the brightest sheen” (Chaucer 160-164). This shows how the Nun was not following the expectations that are set for nuns. Which is situational irony because you would expect her to behave the way that she is taught to behave, yet she does what she wants anyway. She believes in her religion and wants to be the best she can be, which is evident because she tries to hide her unlady like manners. But in spite of this she continues to wear her treasured jewelry and give in to the foods that she loves. Chaucer also shows the situational irony in the Summoner’s position. The Summoner will allow guilty people to avoid excommunication “Thus as he pleased the man could bring duress/ On any young fellow in the Diocese./ He knew all their secrets, they did what he said” (Chaucer 681-683). This is ironic because the Summoner works with the church to rid themselves of bad people; yet the Summoner is not only a bad person, he is making deals with them so they can stay and then blackmailing them.