As The World Turns Essay, Research Paper
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."