In literature,Chaucer was known for his great descriptions of characters due to his exposure in all things. In the Canterbury Tales, he portrayed the three most predominant classes during the fourteenth century. He especially did a great job during these tales to show the reader that not all people are good just because of their background. During the fourteenth century, the court was mostly not a good example, the common people were very unfriendly besides the Oxford Cleric and Plowman, and other than one person the Church was corrupt. The court, as described by Chaucer, was not the chivalrous one that readers have learned about, besides the example of the Knight. The Reeve was very corrupt and was a very money hungry man. In the “Prologue”,
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The Friar made the people in this period pay for the right to receive confession. Chaucer says that, “... with pleasant absolution, for a gift…” which means that he would abolish their sins for a price. He would tell the people that the more that you pay to him, the more that God would forgive the person's sins, which Catholics know that this is not the case. The Pardoner led the people of this time down a very bad path and sold the people fake papal indulgences. Chaucer says in the “Prologue” that he would lie and say that he had pieces from Peter’s sail and would sell them for such high price that he could afford lavish gold items. The reader knows that this is not how the people of the religious life should act and that they should be the good examples in the world. The Parson was very loyal and generous, and he really did live out his vocation and helped the people. Chaucer described him as someone who found the enjoyment in the little things. He always wanted to give to the poor parishioners and give offerings to God. The Parson was really the only good Church example during this time period: everyone else was a bunch of schmucks. All in all, the people of this time really had no good examples or role models to look up to at any level besides these 4 people. There were only four really good people that Chaucer ended up describing in the “Prologue”. Sadly, these sort of things have not changed. People today still really do not have that many people who are good role models, or good examples of what they do. The reader can see that some things that happened a great time ago can still apply to the world that we live in
The Friar made the people in this period pay for the right to receive confession. Chaucer says that, “... with pleasant absolution, for a gift…” which means that he would abolish their sins for a price. He would tell the people that the more that you pay to him, the more that God would forgive the person's sins, which Catholics know that this is not the case. The Pardoner led the people of this time down a very bad path and sold the people fake papal indulgences. Chaucer says in the “Prologue” that he would lie and say that he had pieces from Peter’s sail and would sell them for such high price that he could afford lavish gold items. The reader knows that this is not how the people of the religious life should act and that they should be the good examples in the world. The Parson was very loyal and generous, and he really did live out his vocation and helped the people. Chaucer described him as someone who found the enjoyment in the little things. He always wanted to give to the poor parishioners and give offerings to God. The Parson was really the only good Church example during this time period: everyone else was a bunch of schmucks. All in all, the people of this time really had no good examples or role models to look up to at any level besides these 4 people. There were only four really good people that Chaucer ended up describing in the “Prologue”. Sadly, these sort of things have not changed. People today still really do not have that many people who are good role models, or good examples of what they do. The reader can see that some things that happened a great time ago can still apply to the world that we live in