The Purpose of the Characters in The Canterbury Tales
The characters introduced in the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales each represent a stereotype of a kind of person that Chaucer would have been familiar with in 14th Century England. Each character is unique, yet embodies many physical and behavioral traits that would have been common for someone in their profession. In preparing the reader for the tales, Chaucer first sets the mood by providing an overall idea of the type of character who is telling the tale, then allows that character to introduce themselves through a personal prologue and finally, the pilgrim tells their tale. Through providing the reader with insight about the physical and personal traits of the pilgrim and then allowing that person to come to life and tell an animated story, the reader is more prepared for the story as well as able to relate the physical description to the telling of the story. The physical and personal descriptions of the Miller, the Wife of Bath and the Merchant all aid in the telling of their tales. Chaucer was able to create tales that were perfectly suited for the characters that are presenting them. In having each tale told by someone who has a personal reason or motivation for telling that specific tale, Chaucer creates more of a reaction from the reader as well as provides the entire work with structure.
The Miller is large and imposing person who personifies a crooked, but likeable businessman. In "The General Prologue," Chaucer describes the Miller as having a "thombe of gold, (563)" which the footnote on page 32 of The Riverside Chaucer notes, "is an ironic reference to a proverb, with the implication that there are no honest millers." The descr...
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Works Cited
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales: Riverside Chaucer Third Edition. Ed. Larry D. Benson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,1987. 3-328 Secondary
Arrathoon, Leigh A. "For craft is al, whoso that do it kan: The Genre of the Merchant's Tale," Chaucer and the Craft of Fiction. Ed. Leigh A. Arrathoon, Rochester, Michigan: Solaris Press, Inc. 1986. 241-318
Beidler, Peter G. "Chaucer's Wife of Bath's 'Foot-Mantel' and Her 'Hipes Large'" Chaucer Review Vol: 34, Issue: 4. April 01, 2000. 388-397
Taavitsainen, Irma. "Personality and styles of Affect in the Canterbury Tales" Chaucer in Perspective. Ed. Geoffrey Lester.Midsomer North, Bath: Sheffield Academic Press Ltd. 1999. 218-232
White, Annie "Feminism or Anti-Feminism: Images of Women in Chaucer's 'The Wife of Bath,'" 20 Jan. 2001.
Richard Nixon was born and raised in California in 1913 and died 1994. He was our 37th president of the United States of America. He also was vice president, senator, a member of the House of Representatives, and even served in the Navy during World War Two. He seems like he could have been a great leader, but could he have been a perpetrator of espionage. He should have been known for success in ending American fighting in Vietnam, and improving relations with China and Russia; but he is really known for the tragic Watergate Scandal. He served one full term, and was elected for a second term, but resigned. Five articles of impeachment were written three had already been passed, making it almost a necessity to resign. This makes him the first and still to this day the only president to resign in office. Why would he resign? He was scared he would be impeached because of what was happening in what was called the Watergate Scandal.
Mexico declared its independence from Spain in Sept, 16, 1810, and for the next 100 years what followed was a period of political instability of rule under monarchies, federal republics and dictatorships. Finally in 1910, a revolt on the autocracy under Porfirio Diaz led to the start of the M...
The U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. 28 Sept. 2000. The U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. 25 Nov. 2000
Boardman, Phillip C. "Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343-1400)." Enduring Legacies: Ancient and Medieval Cultures. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Custom Pub., 2000. 430-54. Print.
Serrano, M. (1998). Governing mexico: Political parties. London: The Institute of latin American Studies University of London.
Richard Nixon served as the 37th president of the United States. He is well known for the infamous Watergate scandal and was remembered by the American people as the first president to resign from office. However, he is also undoubtedly one of the most influential political figures when it comes to guiding the nation through one of its toughest time periods in history, as well as breaking the ice on foreign diplomacy with socialist countries such as China and the Soviet Union. Despite his downfall involving the Watergate Hotel, he had dedicated a tremendous amount of effort in domestic and world politics; and made numerous contributions during his life as a politician, which would give enough reason for future historians to believe that the second half of the twentieth century is truly “the age of Nixon”.
Throughout its history Mexico has had many revolutions. The most famous perhaps is the Mexican Revolution from 1910-1920. The people of Mexico were getting tired of the dictator rule of President Porfino Diaz. People of all classes were fighting in the revolution. The middle and upper classes were dissatisfied with the President’s ways. The lower and working class people had many factors such as poor working conditions, inflation, inferior housing, low wages, and deficient social services. Within the classes everyone was fighting; men, women, and children all contributed to the fight for freedom from Diaz (Baxman 2). This revolution proved to be the rise and fall of many leaders.
The Vietnam War has had its effects on America, both good and bad. We can ridicule it, we can deny it, we can say it was for the best, we can say we shouldn't have even gotten involved, but the one thing we can't do is ignore it. Because it's become an unforgettable part of history, and we all need to remember Vietnam.
Carruthers, Mary. "The Wife of Bath and the Painting of Lions" The Geoffrey Chaucer Page. 30 June 2000
International Congress of Mexican History. Contemporary Mexico: Papers of the IV International Congress of Mexican History. Berkley, University of California Press, 1976
In 1972, Mexican President Luis Echeverría met with President Nixon and, along with several government agencies, developed The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). There has been much effort to fight the war on drugs such as: increase in law enforcement, allowing federal officials to access military intelligence, and training and much more including campaigns. A recent national drug survey, released last October, shows...
The legacy of our 36th president, Richard M. Nixon, whom was in office during 1969 to 1974 left a legacy that was mixed for the good and bad. Known as one of America’s most corrupt presidents and only remembered for one his greatest scandal, the Watergate Scandal. Nixon had numerous accomplishments, particularly in foreign affairs. His tactful solid vicious campaign made many believed Nixon to be an intelligent individual, which he was. “During his nearly six years in office, Nixon made improvements overtures to both China and the Soviet Union” (Roberts 51) Despite the accomplishments, Nixon was stained indelibly stained by his scandals. While covering up his scandals, Nixon was under the threat of impeachment, instead of facing the embarrassment he decided to resign.
The history of political instability in Mexico and its need for revolution is very complex and dates back to the colonization of Mexico by the Spaniards in the 1500s. However, many aspects of the social situation of Mexico when the Revolution broke out can be attributed to the thirty-year dictatorship of President Porfrio Diaz, prior to 1911. The Revolution began in November of 1910 in an effort to overthrow the Diaz dictatorship. Under the Diaz presidency, a small minority of people, primarily relatives and friends, were in ...
Rigby, Stephen Henry. (2000). The Wife of Bath, Christine de Pizan, and the Medieval Case for Women. Chaucer Review, (pgs 133-165)
In the “General Prologue” of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer indirectly denounces the church describing that they are corrupt, greedy, hypocritical, and selective. The people that have some sort of relation to the church are The Prioress, The Nun, The Priest, The Friar, The Monk, The Parson, The Summoner and The Pardoner. The “General Prologue describes each of the pilgrims and their general traits. Some characters are described more than others because of the fact that Chaucer likes people who are affluent, beautiful and noble. The problem with some of the characters that were described by Chaucer is that they were negatively viewed based on stereotypes and appearance. Overall, Chaucer wants the readers to know that the church people are corrupt and deceptive. Chaucer wants the reader to understand that most of the church people do not live their life by the holy book.