Canterbury Tales Essay

Ryan Sebastian
Mr. Laverty
British Literature
March 23, 2012
A Tale with Meaning Throughout history, books have always been a popular form of entertainment. Ever since the days of the first writing systems in ancient Mesopotamia, writing has always entertained us with stories and indulged our minds by taking us on adventures—some of which we would never be able to go on in our earthly bodies (as well as being used to relay valuable information). Writing has always told the story of a people and of a time period. Although billions of stories have been written throughout the years, there are only a few that stand out from the rest. These stories are universal and not only tell the story of a time period or a group of people, but tell the story of Earth, as a whole. These books are timeless stories whose meanings are relevant in any time period. The Bible, The Diary of Anne Frank, and Romeo and Juliet are just a few of those timeless stories. What separates these books from other books is the authenticity of the characters, the ability of the books to relate to our lives, and the morals they carry with them. This is exactly what separates The Wife of Bath’s Tale from two other stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer—The Miller’s Tale and The Reeve’s Tale. The Wife of Bath’s Tale has genuine characters, a meaningful moral, and has modern applications in our lives, while The Miller’s Tale and the Reeve’s Tale are merely comedies whose only purpose is to degrade human nature in various ways. One reason The Wife of Bath’s Tale is a greater story than The Miller’s Tale and The Reeve’s Tale, is because of the authenticity of its characters. Both of the main characters in The Wife of Bath’s Tale seem to be genuine and realistic. The old woman is like many women in the world today. She wants to be independent and does not want to have to rely on a man to fulfill her. Like most women today, she wants to reverse the common stereotype that men are in-charge and she believes that she should be in-charge in her relationships. The knight in the story is like most men. He is much more interested in the visual appeal of a woman and how a woman can please him sexually, rather than what the woman’s personality is and how compatible he is to that woman. With the indirect characterization used throughout the story, it is revealed that the knight is a foil character to the old woman just as all women are in a way, foil characters to men. Through this indirect characterization, the different perspectives of men and women, in the modern world, are highlighted. In contrast to the characters in The Wife of Bath’s Tale, the characters in The Miller’s Tale and The Reeve’s Tale both seem fake and unrealistic. In The Miller’s Tale, the carpenter is portrayed as unrealistically gullible, while his wife is much happier that she should be, to get away from the man who she supposedly loves. In The Reeve’s Tale, the carpenter is far too eager to fight anyone in his sight, while the students unreasonably risk their lives, just to get an extra couple handfuls of grain for their school. The unauthentic characterization in The Miller’s Tale and The Reeve’s Tale make the characters look as though they are part of a children’s movie; a children’s movie that over-magnifies characteristics, so much as to make the characters seem like they are part of some out-of-this-world fantasy. Another reason The Wife of Bath’s Tale is a better story than The Miller’s Tale and The Reeve’s Tale, is because of the ways that it can apply in our lives today. Even after almost 700 years after it was written, The Wife of Bath’s Tale deals with a common modern dilemma—choosing between interior beauty and exterior beauty. The story also deals with the issue of how people should be punished for certain crimes. It deals with the question of whether justice should be more punitive or more rehabilitative. Queen Guinevere orders the knight to find out what women desire most, instead of

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