The Canterbury Tales through written during the 14th
century , tells the story of characters with the same traits, values and
characteristics of people we may know today or have read about in history. I
will describe the characteristics, values, and beliefs of three characters,
namely; the Franklin, the Knight, the Parson. I will attempt to show that as
the world turns, people seem to remain the same.
Chaucer in his writing of this story used feudalism when
identifying his characters. He placed each character in a class status as was
common during this area. Today, many are still identified or accepted based
on their education, financial status.
Let's start with the Franklin. Chaucer begins the
description of the Franklin by saying that white as a daisy-petal was his
beard. As we all know, Santa is known for his signature long white beard.
Although there is no other real physical characteristics of the Franklin
given, I envision him with a bright outfit, may be red or orange to go along
with his cheerful personality. The Franklin is a sanguine man, high-colored,
benign. This means that the Franklin was often laughing, high-colored,
flashy, good-natured fellow.
As we think about Santa, I think of someone being jolly, festive,
and a very content fellow which seems to be quite compatible with the
personality of the Franklin.
The Franklin and Santa Claus also share a very
interesting trait. They both love their food. Chaucer does not tell us, I
think that the Franklin was a heavy man, considering all the references which
he makes about the Franklin and food. His table was always filled with the
best food and wines, and bake-meat pies.
Santa on the other hand consumes lots and lots of cookies
each year during while passing out Christmas gifts to those who were good
during the year. I am sure this accounts for Santa's weight problem.
The Franklin and Santa are both friendly, joyful and
pleasant men. The Franklin made his household free to all in the county.
Santa spends all of his time greeting young children and taking their
Christmas wishes. They both have big hearts and big appetites. They both are
model men. Chaucer calls the Franklin a model among landed gentry. Santa is
also well-known and respected among the masses. If only these two could have
known each other, I am sure they would have had a great time among all of the
festivities surrounding them.
Now let's look at The Knight. Here is a man who is of the
highest social standing on the pilgrimage, though his clothes do not show
this. Chaucer describes the knight as a worthy man who had fought in the
Crusades. He was filled with chivalry, honor, truth and generosity. The
person in this century that comes to mind is the Honorable General Colin
Powell. He too wear the armor of chivalry, honor, truth and generosity. Like
the Knight, General Powell is a recipient of numerous U.S. military awards
and decorations, such as the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army
Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Soldier's Mdeal, Bronze Star
Medal and the Purple Heart. His civilian awards include two Presidential
Medals of Freedom, the President's Citizens Medal, and many other
distinguished awards can be added to this list.
Also, the Knight had participated bravely in fifteen
mortal battles. General Powell served two tours of duty in Vietnam and served
as a battalion commander in Korea. He later commanded the 2nd Brigade, 101st
Airborne Division (Air Assault) and V Corps, United States Army, Europe. As
you can see, the Knight and General Powell have a lot in common. I bet they
would have some real wartime stories to tell.
The Knight and General Powell share great dignity and
both embodies the character of the ideal man created by Chaucer.
Along with the Knight is the Knight's son the Squire who
is the total opposite of his father. He indeed had some military experience,
his motive for being in the military was to impress the ladies and not God.
He loved to dress, very cultivated with social graces and is quite aware of
his obligation to serve his father the Knight. Chaucer's squire is much like
Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty. Prince Phillip is the man who, knowing
not that Sleeping Beauty is hiding in the forest, falls in love with the
little peasant girl. Once he finds out who she is he kills the evil fairy to
win the chance to kiss her and save her life.
Prince Phillip is like the Squire because he is willing
to do anything for the love of a lady. The Squire is a young man of about
twenty. He is a "lover" and "lusty bachelor." He is
"courteous, humble," and subservient to his father. He can sing and
dance, joust, and write songs and
poems. He seems to be just what every lady dreams of. He
has great strength. He is
compared to the description of spring, "as fresh as
the month of May."
Prince Phillip follows these lines almost exactly.
Phillip is told as a young boy that he will marry the Princess Aurora, but he
does not grow up knowing her and comes to fall in love with her by mere
chance. Before he realizes who she is, he insists upon marrying her, showing
his father that he loves "hotly" just as the young Squire. He is
willing to do anything for her, even battle and
kill the evil fairy. He is obviously worthy of any young
lady's dreams, because he has the dreams of Aurora, and also seems to shock
the dwarves with his charming looks as soon as they lay eyes on him. He is a
prince, and therefore very well bred and knight-like. He however, falls in
love with the princess by mere looks and by watching her sing - a flaw that
also appears in the Squire - he cares more for beautiful natural things than
he does for higher ideals.
Prince Phillip and the Squire are both meant to be good
guys, and they both are in many respects. They are well bred and chivalrous
and fight well for honor. They both have the flaw of falling in love for
beauty and passion however, and although Disney does not seem to look down on
the Prince for this, Chaucer seems to hold it against the Squire. Chaucer
seems to be using the
Squire to point out this flaw in the world, and uphold
the righteousness of the Knight that the Squire may someday become.
Now let's take a look a a good guy, the Parson who serves
as a cleric or pastor. He seems to be almost perfect, but as we know, none of
us are perfect. However, this is a saintly man who was from a small and poor
parish in the country. He had a heart for the lowly class, for he never
forgot from whence he came. He is not physically described, maybe because he
is such an ideal person. The work that he did proved his love and
Christianity. His character reminds me of Mother Theresa. Beyond the obvious
difference in gender, their lives were very much the same. Both worked hard
to better the lives of others around them. Both worked in absence of the
comforts that tend to come along with fame and glory.
The Parson is ideal of what a traveler on the journey to
Canterbury should be. He is learned and possess much virtue. He practices
what he preaches, knowing that he must set the example for the common people.
He realizes that if the priest that the people trust is foul, that no one can
ever expect the people to be righteous citizens. The Parson is different from
other priests because he does not run off to bigger and better places and
rent his parish to someone else. His ideal qualities definitely make him more
approved of than anyone else on the journey, especially spiritually.
The Parson is somewhat like Mother Theresa in many of
these areas. Mother Theresa worked as a teacher in Calcutta. During this time
she lead such a strong example that the children began to call her
"ma." She prayed with them and went to visit them in the slums on
the weekends. The classes rose from near one hundred to three hundred. She
was the perfect example for creating
good citizens out of the children, and not only taught
them what they needed to know, but showed them how to live by modeling.
Mother Theresa was also like the Parson in the sense that she did not run off
to a more luxurious lifestyle in another place. She stayed in Calcutta and
learned to speak fluent Bengali. She slept with the Sisters of the Poor and
each day returned to give the children a cup of milk, a bar of soap, and a
lesson about God and life. She definitely set a strong spiritual example for
children who otherwise would have had little or no religious direction.
As Chaucer intended, the Parson is portrayed with a
somewhat saint-like capacity. Both Mother Theresa and the Parson acted out of
the love of God to improve the lives of those around them. They brought the
scripture, St. John 13:35 to life, "by this shall all men know that you
are my disciples that you have love one TO another."
As we look at each of these characters, I am sure that
though they may have been fictitious, and was created in the mind of Chaucer
many years ago, we can identify someone now, or someone in past history that
each of these characters reminds us of.
Though the world may change, time may change, seasons
change, our lives change, but in every generation from the beginning of time
to the present, the characteristics of people never change. Someone we know
will always remind us of someone else. I believe it is true, that there are
generational traits, (some call them curses) that are passed down from
generation to generation. This indeed attribute the title of this paper,
"As The World Turns, People Remain The Same."
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