A look at the class and gender differences presented in 2 Japanese novels: "As I Cross A Bridge of Dreams" by Lady Sarashina and "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu.
1,432 words (approx. 5.7 pages), 4 sources, 2001, $ 47.95
Abstract This paper examines class differences as presented in Japanese Literature. The paper looks at "As I Cross A Bridge of Dreams" by Lady Sarashina and "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu. Several questions are raised in the paper, to examine the not only class differences but also gender differences. Are the upper-class male characters willing to risk their careers for the women they meet? What are the social codes and regulations, and what happens to these men and women who assault the social code and pursue forbidden relationships? Are the consequences enforced so the men suffer in their political careers? Are the women ultimately abandoned and destroyed? These questions are all brought up in the context of class and gender issues to illustrate that the two authors, from the same culture and heritage, use their different destinies and experiences to portray different opinions.
Abstract This essay is a thorough analysis of the Charles Dickens novel, "A Tale of Two Cities". It focuses on the numerous instances of class distinction, as well as the developing tensions between classes during the given time frame.
From the Paper "The historical context of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities directly alludes to the tense social, economic, and political climates in France and England during the beginnings of the French revolution. The aristocracy's grandiose lifestyle coupled with the lower classes' desperation formulates a conflicting juxtaposition throughout the novel. Dickens depicts a historically familiar atmosphere. He has a remarkable ability, however, to develop the consistent underlying social struggle between the well-to-do and the less fortunate. Whether he relies on blatant actions from certain characters or the outcry of citizens' sentiments, Dickens develops an accurate reflection of conflicting classes throughout the novel."
A look at the role of the Wife of Bath in the "General Prologue" and the portrayal of the carpenter's young wife in "The Miller's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales".
1,437 words (approx. 5.7 pages), 0 sources, 2009, $ 47.95
Abstract This paper examines the similarities between the Wife of Bath in the "General Prologue" and the the carpenter's young wife in "The Miller's Tale" in Goeffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales". It looks at how they are both named Alisoun and how their identities are arguably defined by their wifehood. Both wives are wealthy by default but not of noble class standing, rather they married their way up. Both can also be considered lascivious and both may be said to defy gender stereotypes and expectations of the time. The paper also discusses how the physical descriptions of women in "The Canterbury Tales" often seem to mirror their characters and how this sets up the two wives on the opposite spectrum of physical appearance.
From the Paper "Alisoun, the Wife of Bath, is best described as an old hag. The first thing the narrator notes about her is a sign of physical decay, her deafness on one ear, saying that "she was somdel deef" (446). Only she herself later reveals that this is not due to senility. Thus, she is immediately situated her as an older, if not elderly woman, though she may, in truth, be no older than forty. In the passage I studied in detail, this assumption is further underlined by the description of her five marriages and the multiple pilgrimages she has made to far-away places: "She had been three times at Jerusalem... at Rome, and at Boulogne, In Galicia at Saint-James (of Compostella), and at Cologne" (462-466). Since traveling in the Middle Ages was a lengthy, exhausting and dangerous process, the conclusion lies near that the Wife of Bath has lived a long, diverse life and is none the more attractive for it. "
Abstract This paper explores the satirical tone of the Miller's Prologue in "Canterbury Tales" and how it represents class conflict. The paper also explains how the Miller's Tale "quites" the Knight's tale.
From the Paper "The Miller's story of the foolish carpenter and his wife illustrate the Miller's personal views on jealousy and infidelity. According to the Miller, whether or not a man's wife is cheating is of no business to him. Furthermore, the Miller claims that men should never question God's will in matters of love."
Tags: knight, tale-telling, chaucer, monk, drunk, courtly, love
Abstract The paper describes how Margaret Atwood in "The Handmaid's Tale" suggests some of the failures in contemporary society by projecting these shortcomings into a future society. The paper explores Atwood's concerns about the nature of the family, the danger of pollution and the fear of women that the gains they have made will be taken away. The paper concludes that the novel highlights how much more has to be done to create the truly egalitarian society most people want.
From the Paper "Offred experiences not only the demands placed upon her to be a surrogate mother but also many other indignities as her society imposes its code upon her, forcing her to dress and behave in a certain way or be punished. Atwood develops a vision of the place of women in society today as well as in this future, using an extreme situation to comment on the secondary position women occupy in Western society today. The story is set in a future United States called Gilead. This new version of the U.S. came into being after the President was assassinated and the Constitution suspended, after which an authoritarian regime developed based on a return to traditional values and fundamentalist Christianity. Gilead has what amounts to a state religion and ruthlessly eliminates all who would take a different point of view."
Tags: Gilead, Christianity, religion, class, women
This paper studies "The Knight's Tale and Trecento Italian Historiography" by James H. McGregor and "Desire, Violence and the Passion in Fragment VII of the Canterbury Tales: A Girardian Reading," by Curtis Gruenler.
Abstract In this article, the writer introduces, discusses and analyzes two essays on "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer. Specifically, the writer summarizes and compares the two essays "The Knight's Tale and Trecento Italian Historiography" by James H. McGregor and "Desire, Violence and the Passion in Fragment VII of the Canterbury Tales: A Girardian Reading," by Curtis Gruenler. The writer notes that these two essays discuss different aspects of Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales," from what inspired "The Knight's Tale" to his use of violence and history in the work, and what that means for readers. The writer concludes that these essays open up new worlds and ways to explore "The Canterbury Tales," and they make the epic poem more interesting and compelling to the reader.
From the Paper "Both of these essays bring up aspects of "The Canterbury Tales" that casual readers might not recognize or understand. They show how the history of the day influenced Chaucer, and how he used other, older works as inspiration for his own tales. They show how events at the time also inspired Chaucer, and that he was writing largely against violence in most of the tales, and that shows in many of them, including the "Knight's Tale." Each of the tales is humorous or satirical in some way, and one essay discusses new fragments of the manuscript that contained differences in the accepted version of some of the stories. All of this information helps enlighten the reader and gives them another layer of understanding the work, and it makes reading it more enjoyable, too, because there is background and foundation for some of the tales and their meaning."
Abstract This is a short analysis of the form, structure and some of the messages inherent in the Miller's Tale, one of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The writer describes that The Millers' Tale is the story of a young wife with an older husband, and how he is tricked and cuckolded by the wife's young lover, Nicholas. The writer points out that the tales provide a curious moral message, but are primarily intended as humour or fable.
From the Paper "In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, one of the basic premises is that the class, position and character of each pilgrim determines the type of tale that he tells. The miller distinguishes himself by his common, rude and bawdy nature, and his tale is in keeping with this. That having been said, it is also one of the most amusing tales in the collection, involving a hilarious set of coincidences, trickery, rudeness and slapstick humor. Though we can certainly examine the social implications of the tale and the fact that Chaucer seems to blame certain characters while acquitting others, we should also remember that this is a fable, and as such its purpose it to amuse and titillate."
Abstract This paper uses various examples from the text of "The Canterbury Tales" to illustrate Chaucer's implied opinions regarding men as the cause of their own destruction. The paper also compares this view of men, as masters of their own demise, with female characters in the text, who are often misjudged as being poor examples of literary feminism. The three tales on which this paper focuses are "The Miller's Tale", "The Pardoner's Tale" and "The Nun's Priest's Tale".
From the Paper "Women are generally depicted in Medieval art and literature as the root of all evil and the source of all man's weakness. Chaucer, being the revolutionary writer that he is, sheds a slightly different light on this commonly-held notion of female wickedness. In his collection of stories, The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer suggests, as opposed to the idea that women tempt men to sin and, ultimately, to self-destruction, that man's own stupidity and moral flaws are the result of his various failures and misfortunes. This radically new approach to writing about the downfalls of male characters is best illustrated in The Nun's Priest's Tale, The Miller's Tale, and The Pardoner's Tale. Each tale demonstrates a different male personality flaw that leads one or more of the main characters to his own demise. The Nun's Priest's Tale illustrates the stupidity associated with the vanity of both Chauntecleer and Randall the Fox (who, although animals, are still male), whereas, The Miller's Tale plays on the jealousy and gullibility of the carpenter. Finally, The Pardoner's Tale focuses primarily on the arrogance and avarice of three, young men."
Tags: ages, medieval, middle, miller, nun, pardoner, priest, tale
Abstract This is an in-depth juxtaposition and analysis of Oscar Wilde's "The Happy Prince" and a Buddhist tale "The Biography of the Buddha". It details the plots and main characters of both tales and tries to compare them, and find similarities between them. The comparison is done by examining the narrative construction of both stories. It compares both main characters: the prince and Buddha and manages to find many similarities between their characters and behaviorisms. It details Buddhism outlook on life as well as the happy Princes' outlook, both optimistic.
From the Paper ""The Happy Prince? tells the story of a prince, whom, while he was alive, was always happy and lived in a great, walled palace. When he died he was fashioned into a statue of gold and placed where all could see him in the middle of the town square. The story of the Buddha, or Naropa, or Siddartha Gautama, as he is sometimes known, tells the tale of young Brahmin (one step down from the priests in the Indian caste system) who was highly sheltered from the world. One day, he was taken out of the walled confines of his home. There, he witnessed three sights: old age, sickness, and death. Then he sees a holy man and is struck by the obvious "sincerity" of the man's bearing. These sights spurred him to renounce the world and enter into a life of contemplation. The results of these years of contemplation was Buddhism, an epiphany he struck upon when a young girl presented him with a bowl of rice after many years of fasting. (Saunders 23; Mitchell 39-40)"
Abstract This paper looks at how, in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales", many of the stories seem to use the idea of marriage as a symbol of greater moral, as well as religious, themes. In particular, the individual stories of "The Miller's Tale", "The Wife of Bath's Prologue", and the "Franklin's Tale" give a fascinating glimpse into the world of marriage in Chaucer's day; an institution, the reader notes, that is not so different from today in many respects. It also shows that, in addition to the nature of marriage, which, admittedly ,is turned up to the point of parody, the reader also catches a glimpse into the social and religious world and its flaws.
From the Paper "In his essay, ?Concepts of Marriage and Pilgrimage,? Morton Andrew notes that the idea of marriage during the time of Chaucer closely mirrored the theological symbolism of the unbreakable "marriage" bond cemented between the Church and Christ (Andrew, 88). Not only was marriage considered holy, and closely tied to the teachings of English Christianity and moral society, but the varied transgressions possible within the institution were still regarded as spiritually, morally, and symbolically immoral. Although The Canterbury Tales often uses satire to make its point, the harsh immorality of adultery?the ultimate dishonor of the symbol of Christ-centered union, is on full display."
Abstract This paper examines Chaucer's "The Miller's Tale" as a fable or fabliau and explains why it is a tale that has a moral to it as well as bawdy humor.
From the Paper "The Miller's Tale is a little fable or fabliau a medieval verse tale characterized by comic ribald treatment of themes drawn from life and is one of several such stories in The Canterbury Tales Fabliau. Most of the tales are ..."
Tags: Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, The Miller's Tale, fabliau, moral
Abstract The paper relates the story of the fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast", and highlights the fact that it is unique in that it contains societal elements not commonly found in fairy tales. The paper relates how the original tale of "Beauty and the Beast" by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve has been adapted through time and has been made into several film versions with the basic story and an adapted plot.
From the Paper "The first print version of the story surfaced in 1740 by author Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. However, the tale and variations of it was popular throughout Europe prior to its first print publication. The tale generally involves a story about a rich merchant who lives with his four daughters, one being named Beauty. Due to certain circumstances, the father looses his wealth and his daughters are forced to live in the rural country. One day the father becomes lost in the forest and takes shelter in the Beast's palace. The next day, as he is leaving, he plucks a rose for Beauty. The Beast sees this act and accuses the father of stealing from him, denouncing him as a simple thief and ordering him to die. The Beast gives him amnesty so long as one of his daughters comes to suffer in his place. Thus, Beauty goes to the Beast's castle and is made the mistress of the magical place. Eventually the two marry and the Beast is transformed into a handsome prince and Beauty's family comes to live with them."
Abstract This paper compares the ideals of courtly love in the "Knight's Tale" with those in the "Wife of Bath's Tale". The Knight and the Wife of Bath are two very divergent characters, with equally divergent outlooks on love. The paper shows how these two wildly different characters share some ideas of the time in order to fit into their society.
From the Paper ""The Knight's Tale" is one of the most memorable in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." It tells the story of two young knights, Palamon and Arcite, who are imprisoned together in a tower, and both fall in love with the same girl, Emelye. "The Knight's Tale" is the first story in Chaucer's book. That he began his story with the tale of this knight gives some weight to what an important role they played in society. Regarding the book, critics often say, "The Knight is often called one of the 'ideal' pilgrims along with the Parson and sometimes the Clerk because unlike the other portraits, Chaucer offers no attack or satire against them" (Lambdin 2)."
Tags: parson, clerk, wife, bath, knight, tale, pilgrim, character
Abstract This essay discusses how "The Knight's Tale" illustrates the character of the pilgrim who tells it. The tale is very much a story about a romance of chivalry, and the Knight symbolizes this well.
Abstract The paper examines the Middle-English text of the 'Franklin's Tale' by Chaucer and concludes that it is derived from Breton Lai, a style most famously used in the popular fiction of Marie de France in the Twelfth Century. Over the two hundred year period between the work of Marie de France and Chaucer, literature naturally progressed and it attempts to show that the "Franklin's Tale" is a text that has developed from the characteristically refined and escapist genre of Breton Lai.
From the Paper "Chaucer is true to Breton lai convention in that he sets the story in a vague, but chivalrous pre-Christian past. The open ended and somewhat psychological dilemma posed at the end of the romance cannot thus be solved by means of Christian intervention. Hypothetically, the fourteenth century church would have advised Dorigen that keeping her promise to Aurelius and thereby committing adultery would be a far greater sin than breaking her promise to him. Arveragus, however, believes that his wife should keep her promise, which again deviates from the traditional allegiance to the loyalty of the lover in Breton lai."
Tags: arveragus, canterbury, christian, dorigen, france, lanval, marie, pre, tales
