Social Slights

Social Slights

Humans, by nature, crave what they do not have and it is in human nature to then try and obtain said thing. Often, the craving can be called “ambition” and the characteristic is not always seen as a negative attribute. However, being ambitious in nature has the potential to become negative. This may occur when the yearn to obtain something overtakes a person's yearn to keep their various commitments. Characters of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales do just this as they consistently ignore significant social obligation in favor of personal gain.

A number of those in Canterbury Tales are bound to each other through a sense of community, however, this bond does not stop them from actively pursuing their own interests – often at the expense of their community. “The Reeve's Tale” tells of a miller, a sly, thieving villain that was “as proud as any peacock and as gay”. The miller steals “outrageously” from a college manciple who laid “sick in bed” and from “all the and land about”. This land includes a college called “Solar Hall” (Chaucer 125-127). The miller feels no guilt when he steals for his own personal gain as can be told from the fact that he stole things in great number from the various members in his community including the sick. Two young men of the college felt significantly slighted and craved revenge. All of this resulted in the the miller having his wife and his daughter “plumped”, the two men having half of their flour initially stolen and the miller being viciously beaten. It was not only the miller in the Canterbury Tales that disregarded his communal obligations, though. In “The Miller's Tale” the carpenter had allowed a student, “Nicholas the Gallant”, to lodge in his home. This student of the star...

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... my cousin and sworn friend”, Palamon and Arcite still engage in a vicious battle over the object of both their affections, Emily (Chaucer 50). Both Arcite and Palamon put their familial obligations to each other aside as they “fought each other at amazing length” (Chaucer 63). It was then decided by the king that “a year later.../Each shall return.../Ready to battle to decide his claim/To Emily” (Chaucer 69). This ended with “Arcite...[being] swept/ Out of the saddle and pitched upon his head” (Chaucer 91). Arcite perished because of this destructive fight and it was due to both Palamon and Arcite's disregard of their familial obligations to each other.

Works Cited

Anderson, Robert, et. al. Elements of Literature: Sixth Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1989. Print.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. London: Penguin Books, 1977. Print.