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  • Essay / The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer - 1322

    The Canterbury Tales are more than an amusing assortment of stories; it is an illustration of the society in which Geoffrey Chaucer lived. It depicts the culture and class system of the medieval era in microcosm. All layers of human life of the time were represented by the many characters whose stories are told. Each character's basic human nature also plays a role in their stories, and each has within them the strengths and weaknesses that make up all of humanity. Each character illustrates their life and reputation through the stories they tell. The Pardoner uses his story as a money-making ploy. His story embodies every mortal sin, and every reader can identify with his story and feel the guilt of his characters. The Wife of Bath's story expresses its own ideals in the way her character is given a second chance after committing a crime. Franklin's story, because of its simplicity and honesty, is a direct representation of Franklin's simple and joyful life. Each character tells a story that matches their personality. The tales of these characters represent themes prevalent in the Middle Ages, including greed, corruption of religious clergy, violence, revenge, and social status. In Chaucer's society, the traditional feudal system was losing its importance and the middle class was beginning to emerge. The middle-class characters in The Canterbury Tales, with their personal lives and interactions with members of different social classes, provided an understanding of the growth of society, particularly the rising middle class, in medieval times. The Canterbury Tales examines many important qualities of being human. nature. In the Middle Ages, pilgrimages were for personal reflection, atonement, and spiritual restoration...... middle of paper ...... connecting them to their individual lives and their own thoughts and opinions on the world. Many of the characters were part of the middle class, of a growing social order, and showed that throughout the tales, they had the same level of importance as the higher social classes, despite the difference in wages and social status. The Middle Ages was a time of merging societies and paved the way for the importance of camaraderie that did not yield to social order. Works Cited Corrick, James A. “The Early Middle Ages” Lucent Books, Inc., 1995 Lynch, Jack “The Canterbury Tales (Critical Insights)” Salem Press, 2010Bishop, Morris. “The Middle Ages” Mariner Books, 2001 Ashton, Gail. “Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (Text Analysis)” Palgrave Macmillan, 1998 Mann, Jill. “The Canterbury Tales” Penguin Group, 2005McAleavy, Tony. “Life in a medieval castle” Books of the Enchanted Lion, 2003