Thursday, December 9, 2010
Canterbury Tales
One of my favorite assignments this semester was Canterbury Tales. I think that Chaucer is genius in how he captures the essence of the human condition. In these stories he illustrates the social, cultural and personal aspects of people's lives during the 1300's. You really get a sense of how humanity was as a whole and as individuals. To put it simply, Chaucer seemed to just really understand people. I'm really interested in this topic; and my critical biography and presentation will be related to it.
Spiritual vs. Material
I wanted to elaborate on the spiritual vs. material topic that was brought up a while back during our reading of Everyman. I was on the side of “material” and I want to say, first of all, that I actually don’t think that either one of these aspects are very important in the grand scheme of life but I had to take a side and since I am not spiritual at all, by default I had to defend the material. In my opinion they are both trivial. Material things are great; I LOVE shopping and spending money when I have it. I mean who doesn’t? But I’m pretty sure everyone realizes that these things don’t go with you when you die. I also understand that having an excessive love for material things can also render greed and self-indulgence, among other undesirable traits. But it is just as possible to have an extreme feeling of spirituality that leads to corruption as well. One person’s spirituality may simply mean having a relationship with and a love for Christ and wanting to share that with other people. Well that’s just splendid and seemingly harmless but spirituality is not confined to Christianity. What about the person that has that same feeling of love for a different “holy” entity and their passion leads them to blow up hundreds of people? This stems from an individual’s spirituality as well. All I’m saying is a pair of shoes never went out and killed a bunch of people in the name of a god. I know that I’m using an extreme example and blowing up people isn’t usually associated with Christianity, but it’s the same concept. People become passionate about what they believe or love and spirituality, especially in the religious sense, almost always leads to one person judging another. Say what you want, but telling a person that they are incomplete, immoral and/or on their way to an eternal hell just because they don’t accept your god and what you believe, is judgmental. My point here isn’t to ridicule any religion, I actually think there are good aspects to religion as well but that’s not what the argument was. I just want everyone to realize that their opinion is one in a vast sea of billions. No matter how strongly you feel about something, it doesn’t mean you’re right…it’s just your opinion. You believe what you believe because of faith not fact. So I simply think that people should acknowledge that and respect people who don’t have that same faith.
#3
The Politician’s Tale
There was a small duckling sitting beside a tree with a sad look on his face. Noticing this cheerless little duck, a goose from a flock nearby stopped to see what his trouble was.
“I can’t fly,” said the duckling. “All of my brothers and sisters have learned and left to fly south.”
“Well you’re just in luck today little one!” replied the goose.
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that I just happened to have a magic elixir here that’s just for flying. All you have to do today is take one big drink and climb to the first branch in the tree. Tomorrow you will do the same and climb to the second branch. On the third day you climb to the third branch, jump off and you will be able to fly. Piece of cake!”
“Well it sounds easy enough,” the duckling said.
So he did exactly what the goose told him to and each day he climbed higher up the tree. The higher he went, the braver he became. By the third day he was at the top looking down at the grassy meadow that seemed miles below him. One, two, three…the duckling leapt out of the tree and started flapping his wings and much to his surprise he began gliding through the air. You see, the duckling had to learn to fly in order to survive, but he had no motivation. The goose’s elixir gave him confidence, and drove him to accomplish what needed to be done.
There was a small duckling sitting beside a tree with a sad look on his face. Noticing this cheerless little duck, a goose from a flock nearby stopped to see what his trouble was.
“I can’t fly,” said the duckling. “All of my brothers and sisters have learned and left to fly south.”
“Well you’re just in luck today little one!” replied the goose.
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that I just happened to have a magic elixir here that’s just for flying. All you have to do today is take one big drink and climb to the first branch in the tree. Tomorrow you will do the same and climb to the second branch. On the third day you climb to the third branch, jump off and you will be able to fly. Piece of cake!”
“Well it sounds easy enough,” the duckling said.
So he did exactly what the goose told him to and each day he climbed higher up the tree. The higher he went, the braver he became. By the third day he was at the top looking down at the grassy meadow that seemed miles below him. One, two, three…the duckling leapt out of the tree and started flapping his wings and much to his surprise he began gliding through the air. You see, the duckling had to learn to fly in order to survive, but he had no motivation. The goose’s elixir gave him confidence, and drove him to accomplish what needed to be done.
#2
After all of the passengers were seated and Carl made his “setting out on an epic journey” speech, they started on their way to Pennsylvania. The passengers seated at the front of the bus listened to the mundane drone of the road moving beneath them for about five minutes before Carl broke the silence.
“So, what made y’all decide to take a trip to Gettysburg?” he asked.
The first one to answer was the retired soldier, who was in his sixties, sitting diagonal to Carl.
“I’m going to pay my respects to the men that died fighting for what they believe. And what is your reason Mr. Hoffman?” A hint of cynicism could be detected in his voice.
The politician found this almost amusing and with a chuckle in his voice replied, “Are you kidding? I arranged this whole trip! I go almost every year!”
“Yes, but why are you going?” the soldier insisted.
“Well…because it’s a part of our history. You can’t understand or appreciate the present without knowing your past and where you came from,” Carl stated.
“Indeed,” was the soldier’s only response.
There was an awkward silence and the tension was thick in the air.
“You know, I get the feeling you’re not too fond of me sir,” the politician said, addressing the unspoken hostility on the bus.
“Well you’re just a regular Sherlock Holmes, huh? Look boy don’t take it personal. I think ALL politicians are full of it. It just irritates me to have to sit here and listen to you dribble bullshit that you’ve rehearsed and means absolutely nothing to you! All you politicians know how to do is lie and deceive.” the soldier retorted.
“I’m not a liar…” Carl didn’t even get to finish before the soldier cut him off again.
“Pick your word and call it what you want but a lie is a lie.”
“Look,” Carl argued, “lying is bad, we all know that, but sometimes being a little dishonest is necessary to protect and even motivate people.”
“So you get heaps of people to follow you, make them trust and respect you, and put all their hopes in your hands, and you’re telling me that your method of protecting and motivating them is through deceit?” The soldier was livid.
“You are taking me out of context,” Carl answered. “Listen; let me tell you a story to make my point a little clearer.”
The soldier rolled his eyes in disgust, but relaxed in his seat as the politician began his story.
“So, what made y’all decide to take a trip to Gettysburg?” he asked.
The first one to answer was the retired soldier, who was in his sixties, sitting diagonal to Carl.
“I’m going to pay my respects to the men that died fighting for what they believe. And what is your reason Mr. Hoffman?” A hint of cynicism could be detected in his voice.
The politician found this almost amusing and with a chuckle in his voice replied, “Are you kidding? I arranged this whole trip! I go almost every year!”
“Yes, but why are you going?” the soldier insisted.
“Well…because it’s a part of our history. You can’t understand or appreciate the present without knowing your past and where you came from,” Carl stated.
“Indeed,” was the soldier’s only response.
There was an awkward silence and the tension was thick in the air.
“You know, I get the feeling you’re not too fond of me sir,” the politician said, addressing the unspoken hostility on the bus.
“Well you’re just a regular Sherlock Holmes, huh? Look boy don’t take it personal. I think ALL politicians are full of it. It just irritates me to have to sit here and listen to you dribble bullshit that you’ve rehearsed and means absolutely nothing to you! All you politicians know how to do is lie and deceive.” the soldier retorted.
“I’m not a liar…” Carl didn’t even get to finish before the soldier cut him off again.
“Pick your word and call it what you want but a lie is a lie.”
“Look,” Carl argued, “lying is bad, we all know that, but sometimes being a little dishonest is necessary to protect and even motivate people.”
“So you get heaps of people to follow you, make them trust and respect you, and put all their hopes in your hands, and you’re telling me that your method of protecting and motivating them is through deceit?” The soldier was livid.
“You are taking me out of context,” Carl answered. “Listen; let me tell you a story to make my point a little clearer.”
The soldier rolled his eyes in disgust, but relaxed in his seat as the politician began his story.
#1
So, considering I have no blogs done for British Lit., I guess I better get to it. Here is my story that we were assigned to write for Canterbury Tales. It will be in 3 installments.
Pennsylvania Parables
It was a miserably humid day in North Carolina as the group assembled for their trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in remembrance of a notable battle in United States history. There were about fifty people gathered in the parking lot waiting to board the bus in hopes of getting some relief from the sweltering heat. Among this crowd there was a politician, who organized the trip, a preacher, a cook, a journalist, a professor, a musician, a student, a writer and a retired soldier, to name a few. After about half an hour they began to shuffle onto the bus, which was owned by the politician, and the heat induced rosiness of their cheeks began to fade as the cool air from inside the bus struck their faces. The preacher and the cook ended up directly behind the politician, who was driving. Adjacent to them was the professor and the soldier. It was a group of many backgrounds, values and opinions; and it did not take long for these differences to surface in conversation.
The politician was a conservative man of about twenty-six. His name was Carl Hoffman and there were not many people who didn’t know that. He was widely recognized for his pious and traditional views which he expressed frequently on television and radio shows. To most folks he was either a revolutionary pioneer for the Republican Party, or he was simply a self-righteous hypocrite. Either way there was no denying that he was charismatic and appealing. Society’s perception of him played a vital role in the success of his career, so these traits were essential. Illustrating this point even further was the sophistication and style of his attire. He was sharply dressed in a tailored suit and leather cowboy boots, with an expensive-looking black, suede cowboy hat to polish it all off. He walked tall and proud, demanding respect and beseeching trust. His appearance was almost intimidating but as soon as Carl Hoffman spoke, people listened, letting his words ring through their ears like a pleasant melody, full of charm and wit. But his words, so full of integrity, were accompanied by eyes full of deceit.
Pennsylvania Parables
It was a miserably humid day in North Carolina as the group assembled for their trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in remembrance of a notable battle in United States history. There were about fifty people gathered in the parking lot waiting to board the bus in hopes of getting some relief from the sweltering heat. Among this crowd there was a politician, who organized the trip, a preacher, a cook, a journalist, a professor, a musician, a student, a writer and a retired soldier, to name a few. After about half an hour they began to shuffle onto the bus, which was owned by the politician, and the heat induced rosiness of their cheeks began to fade as the cool air from inside the bus struck their faces. The preacher and the cook ended up directly behind the politician, who was driving. Adjacent to them was the professor and the soldier. It was a group of many backgrounds, values and opinions; and it did not take long for these differences to surface in conversation.
The politician was a conservative man of about twenty-six. His name was Carl Hoffman and there were not many people who didn’t know that. He was widely recognized for his pious and traditional views which he expressed frequently on television and radio shows. To most folks he was either a revolutionary pioneer for the Republican Party, or he was simply a self-righteous hypocrite. Either way there was no denying that he was charismatic and appealing. Society’s perception of him played a vital role in the success of his career, so these traits were essential. Illustrating this point even further was the sophistication and style of his attire. He was sharply dressed in a tailored suit and leather cowboy boots, with an expensive-looking black, suede cowboy hat to polish it all off. He walked tall and proud, demanding respect and beseeching trust. His appearance was almost intimidating but as soon as Carl Hoffman spoke, people listened, letting his words ring through their ears like a pleasant melody, full of charm and wit. But his words, so full of integrity, were accompanied by eyes full of deceit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)