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."