https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9 en-us 2021-11-10 15:20:14 UTC 2026-02-03 04:08:03 UTC hello@padlet.com john_ryan https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882981370 What are some aspects of Medieval society that Chaucer sees as problematic as demonstrated in his Canterbury Tales?]]> 2021-11-11 02:17:01 UTC https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882981370 john_ryan https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882981767 In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer expresses his disapproval for problematic values by mocking characters and their roles in society.]]> 2021-11-11 02:17:11 UTC https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882981767 john_ryan https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882982047 ⚫Quote #1: "What could it be that women wanted most?... Some said that women wanted wealth and treasure, 'Honour,' said some, some 'Jollity and pleasure,' Some 'Gorgeous clothes' and others 'Fun in bed,'"(Chaucer, pg. 283)
⦿ In The Wife of Bath's Tale the story has women and men having reversed roles in society. The Knight is working relentlessly to find the answer to the question: what do women desire? His life is in danger if he answers incorrectly, so the stakes are very high. Chaucer makes fun of the difficulty to find out what women want, but it leads to the reader learning a valuable lesson later on.

⚫Quote #2: "The queen gave order he should tell them all what thing it was that women wanted most. He stood not silent like a beast or post, but gave his answer with the ringing word of a man's voice and the assembly heard: 
My liege and lady, in general,' said he, 'A woman wants the self-same sovereignty over her husband as over her lover, and master him; he must not be above her.'"(Chaucer, pg. 286)
⦿ The Knight answers the question correctly, saving his life. He's very wise, saying men should "not be above her", very contrary to the societal value. The old wife then requests the Knight's hand in marriage. The Knight has no choice in the matter and is forced to marry anyway. Chaucer reversing the gender roles helps make the tale more relatable from a male's perspective and gives a new outlook on mistreatment based on gender. Chaucer clearly saw gender inequality as an issue within his society, a key reason why he would write something such as this.]]> 2021-11-11 02:17:19 UTC https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882982047 john_ryan https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882982431 ⚫Quote #1: "John wandered out and found their horse was gone. 'Good Lord! Help! Help! Come quickly!' shouted John, 'Wor horse is list, Alan! The devil's in it!'" (Chaucer, pg. 112)
⦿ John and Alan, two poor students, go to the Miller to seek his corn grinding services. In the Reeve's tale, the Miller is a crook and steals the corn from John and Alan. The Miller knows he can't just steal the corn so easily, so while John and Alan aren't looking, he releases their horse, distracting them and giving him a prime opportunity to steal. Chaucer's style of writing lets the reader identify who the victims and villain's are in this tale.

⚫Quote #2: “I heard this proverb when I was a kid, ‘Do evil and be done by as you did’. Tricksters will get a tricking,”(Chaucer, 119).
⦿ After John and Alan devise and act on a plan to sleep with the Miller's wife and daughter, they make a mistake. In order for John to sleep with the Miller's wife, he tricks her by moving the baby's cradle to his bed, making it look as if he was the Miller. Alan is not aware of this, leading him to get into bed with the Miller after just sleeping with his daughter. He brags to the Miller who at the time he believes is John, and the Miller retaliates with violent language. John and Alan overpower the Miller and beat him senselessly. The Miller was written as a extremely powerful man who you'd expect to put up a good fight against these two young men. Chaucer doesn't write the story for the Miller to win, instead, he has the underdogs win. This is a fine example of Chaucer's disgust for abuse of the two working class citizens, John and Alan.


]]> 2021-11-11 02:17:30 UTC https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882982431 john_ryan https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882982614 Chaucer is against obtaining unjustly acquired money

⚫Quote #1: “For when this priest had been deceived again And taken it all for gospel, right as rain, He was so happy that I can’t express In words his ecstasy of happiness.” (Chaucer, 552).
⦿ In The Yeoman's Tale there are two main characters, the Canon and the Priest. The Canon is employed by the Church. Canon's usually have a reputation as outstanding citizens, but this Canon does not abide by those stereotypes. The Priest is an honest and upstanding citizen unlike the Canon, but his good qualities are taken advantage of. The Canon offers to teach the Priest alchemy as a thanks for lending him money. The evil Canon uses a sleight of hand trick to make the priest think he turned mercury into silver.

⚫Quote #2: “'It’s dear,' he said, ‘but at a sacrifice, Since you’re a friend/and really want to bid, God help me, it is yours for forty quid. But for the kindness that you showed before In lending me a mark it would be more.’” (Chaucer, 554).
⦿ Once the Priest pays for an alchemy lesson, he attempts to further turn mercury into silver. Obviously, this does not work because the evil Canon completely manipulated him and scammed him out of money and time. The Canon gets out of the story without consequence, leading the conclusion to be that you shouldn't try to make money especially if it's in an unjust fashion.]]> 2021-11-11 02:17:35 UTC https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882982614 john_ryan https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882982809 ⚫Quote #1: “Thomas, that joke’s not good. Your faith is brittle. You’re ill because you’ve given us too little.” (Chaucer, pg. 371).
⦿ The Friar blames Thomas's illness on him strictly because he hadn't given enough to the church in donations. The Friar does not do any good by telling Thomas this other than to put him in further distress. The Friar's role in society is to preach, educate, and treat the sick, none of which he follows.

⚫Quote #2: "The sick man said, 'and if you grope behind, Beneath my buttocks you are sure to find something I've hidden there for secrecy.'...Into that friar's hand he blew a fart."(Chaucer, pg. 316).
⦿ Thomas retaliates against the Friar for his selfish remarks. There is some back and forth between the two where the Friar breaks character and calls Thomas a "'treacherous lout'"(Chaucer, pg. 316) and claims he'll, "'pay dearly for that fart...'"(Chaucer, pg. 316). The overall nature of the exchange satirizes the role of the Friar and makes him look a fool. Chaucer despises corruption and greed, which is why the Friar go from the trickster to the tricked, a technique he uses several times throughout the novel.]]> 2021-11-11 02:17:40 UTC https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1882982809 john_ryan https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1884236100 The Canterbury Tales is full of satirized characters. Chaucer's uses these satirized characters to portray what he think some problematic societal values are. In tales such as The Reeve's Tale, The Wife of Bath's Tale, The Summoner's Tale, and The Yeoman’s Tale, Chaucer embeds societal issues such as gender inequality, abuse of the working class, religion, and obtaining unjustly acquired money. Chaucer's intentions of bringing these key issues to light through his writing is truly effective as it gives the reader an entertaining way to learn about a corrupt society.]]> 2021-11-11 14:01:10 UTC https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1884236100 laura_brill1 https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1907056722 I feel like for this paragraph, you focused too much on the plot summary and not on the point that Chaucer is trying to make. The point you have here is valid that thievery and trickery was a part of Medieval life and this tale uses the characters to highlight this but also mocks them at the same time or uses exaggerated situations. In this case we have 2 students who essentially commit a rape and see nothing wrong with this simply because they feel that they need to get back at the Miller. You also could have focused on the fact that women are not seen as anything other than objects in this tale which is a common value that is part of this society, which Chaucer does not agree with. ]]> 2021-11-22 21:53:16 UTC https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1907056722 laura_brill1 https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1907058029 This is done better than the first paragraph. The reversal of gender roles is indeed the purpose of this here. ]]> 2021-11-22 21:54:24 UTC https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1907058029 laura_brill1 https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1907060064 I think you started off a bit shaky bu this certainly got stronger as you got going. By the end, I think you proved your thesis and were in a much better spot. You used text better and explained yourself in a clearer and more concise way focusing more on analysis than on plot summary. 
A-]]> 2021-11-22 21:56:37 UTC https://padlet.com/john_ryan/89km7r63t3l6jfb9/wish/1907060064