Canterbury Tales Essay, Research Paper

Throughout history many changes have taken place and yet human nature remains unchanged. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, written in approximately 1385 is a collection of stories told by various people who are going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury from London. Chaucer makes the people seem real by telling about their many personalities. Even though the Canterbury Tales were set in fourteenth century England the same events still happen today. People still have affairs, they are still very foolish even though they believe they are more sophisticated, they are still greedy, and often they seek revenge.

In the Miller’s Tale, a woman was married to an older man and she had an affair with a young student who was a lodger in her home. Today, President Bill Clinton is a very famous example of someone who had an affair with someone younger than his spouse. The Carpenter’s wife warned the student, Nicholas, to keep the affair a secret, “?My husband is so full of jealousy, Unless you watch your step and hold your breath I know for certain it will be my death.’ ?So keep it well under your hat.” (91) Clinton warned his “friends” not to let the affairs get out because the consequences could be quite serious.

The carpenter was a gullible old fool. The carpenter was convinced that Nicholas had fallen into a fit of lunacy. He thought something had made Nicholas go crazy. Nicholas told the carpenter that there was to be a flood “twice as bad as Noah’s

flood.” (97) The carpenter hung three tubs from the roof. He believed they would all be saved “like Noah and his wife” (99) The media has many people worried that at midnight December 31, 1999 that all computers will shut down. People believe that the electricity will go out and they will not be able to live without it. They also believe they will not be able to buy food or gas. Some people worry about their money in the banks.

Alison and Nicholas made a fool of Absalon by having him kiss her buttocks when he asked her for a kiss. So he vowed to get revenge. “I’ll pay you back for it!” (103) Absalon had to have revenge because he felt like a fool. He thought, “I’ll bring him down! I wouldn’t let this go for all the town. I’d take my soul and sell it to the Devil to be revenged upon him!” (103) At Columbine High School two young men felt humiliated because they felt like outsiders. These two also sought revenge by going back into the school with guns. Not only did they kill and injure other students, but they also killed themselves. No matter what the cost they wanted to get even.

The Pardoner tells a tale of three knights who are greedy.

The Knights in the story find money and decide to divide it

equally. However, when one knight leaves the group to get

supplies, the other two knights plan together to kill the other knight. Meanwhile, the third knight buys poison, so that he can kill the other two knights and take all the money for himself. “Sell me some poison if you will, I have a lot of rats I want to kill.” (255) Today people lie and cheat and steal so that they can have the most and the best. People want to have more than anyone else and they are willing to do anything to have the best. At K Mart people get into fights to get some junk out of the clearance bin so that they can have a bargain.

As seen by comparing Chaucer’s characters with present day people, human nature appears to remain constant. The stories told by Chaucer could be stories found in newspapers and magazines today. Greed, revenge, foolishness, and adultery have come down through the ages and remain with us. It appears that nothing ever changes.