The Wife Of Bath English Literature Essay

The Wife Of Bath English Literature Essay Writer Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1342, when he was born is still unknown. Chaucer became a knight and a member of the kings home. Chaucer ran many errands all around Europe. With increased knowledge of society, it paved the way for The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer died in October 1400 and buried in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer was one of the first to have gathered in what is now known as the Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey. The Canterbury Tales were written sometime between 1387 and 1400. Coming from all walks of life; It is a tale of a numerous of people traveling together, portrayed as pilgrims, to Canterbury. The Canterbury tales were incomplete even the completed tales were not revised. There is also no order to how the tales are to be told. As the printing press had not been invented, The Canterbury Tales have been read as hand written manuscripts. The Wife Of Bath She initiates her story by telling of her experiences she has had in her life. The Wife of Bath begins her story by making it clear that she has always followed the rules of experience. The wife could easily be classified as an expert (for lack of better words); because she has had five husbands consecutively, she surely has had enough experience to classify her as such. To her there is nothing out of the ordinary with having had five significant others and has a very hard time understanding Jesus rebuke to the woman at the well. In her own defense, the Wife refers to King Solomon, who himself had many wives, and as for the admonishment of St. Paul that it is better to be married than to burn in sin. Sexual organs are created for their normal functions and for the purposes of pleasure. And unlike many senile women, she has always been one to constantly have sex on her mindà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦naturally. She then goes on to tell of her past husbands and allows for how she was able to reign supreme when it came to each of them. Unfortunately, when she does thisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦he dies. She then goes on to tell of how she gained control over husband number five. At the funeral of husband number 4, she carried a lot of lust for a young man by the name of Jankyn, for which she had already had eyes on prior. They dated for a short period, she and Jankyn were married quickly as well, even considering the fact that she was much older than he. At the end of the honeymoon, she was taken back when she found out that Jankyn spent a lot his time reading, specifically from a set that downed on women. One night in particular, from this collection, he began to read aloud, He was reading the story of Eve, he read about all that he could find, like unfaithful women, murderesses, prostitutes, and so on, the wife of bath was unable to tolerate these stories for long, before she became enraged, took the book and hit Jankyn with it. She hit him so hard that he fell from being unbalanced, and into the fire he went. As he hopped up and he lunged at her, she fell to the floor from the strength of his hit, when she hit the ground she acted as though she were dead. When jankyn leaned over her, to examine the damage, she hit him one more time and once again acted as though she were dead. Infuriated, he promised her anything if she just would live, and this is how she was able to have control over husband number five. From that very moment until the day he passed away, she was the best possible wife she could be to him. Her story, restates her belief that a successful marriage is one in which the wife is to have complete control. In King Arthurs court there was a handsome yet deceitful young knight, who comes to and rapes a beautiful young woman. People are very angered at the young knights actions and vowed for the justice of the young lady. The law states, is written and demands that the perpetrator has his head cut off. For their own reasons the queen herself and some other maidens of the court pleaded for permission to have control over the fate of the knight. Inevitably, the queen gives the knight one year to figure out what the average womans wildest desires are. The time passes very quickly. The knight comes back to the court already knowing that he is going to die, He then sees a group of young maidens mingling around. As he gets closer to them, the run in fear, the only one left is an old angry woman, and she comes to him and is wondering what it is that he wants. The knight goes on to tell of his endeavors to her, and the woman guarantees him the exact response, he should give to the court, in return, he must do what she asks she saved his life. He obliges, and later, the queen asks him to respond, he comes forward with the right answer on that of what womens wildest desires are; it beingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦total control over their husbands. Because the old woman ended up giving the knight the right answer, she insists that she be his lover and his friend. The knight, hesitantly, obliges. The wedding night approaches, and he pretty much ignores his new wife, who is right next to him. He eventually lets her know that her age, as well as some of her other physical attributes disgust him. She reminds him simply that love is not pinpointed on how one looks but of true and honest understanding. The old woman tells him that her looks can be seen as an only a physical assetperiod. Now if she were good looking, plenty of men would be after her; with her existing state, just as she is, he can rest on the fact that he has an all-around good partner. The Wifes tale is quite interesting in the fact that it is lengthier than the actual story itself. The Wife of Bath uses the story to define knowledge about experience versus authority as well as igniting the points that she wishes to reveal in her story: What women really want is total control over their significant other. Due to the fact that she has had five husbands one right after the other, she feels as though when she talks it is with authority from all of the experience. In the prologue, she tells how she gained control over them all. In the church, antifeminism was a large contributing factor. Women were portrayed as almost like demons; they were very sexual, greedy, clingy, and a nagging pain and they were looked down on by the spiritual church. Women were unable to participate in church functions by any means. Also multiple marriages were considered suspicious. The Wife of Bath carefully remembers the words of the lord as stated in his written scripture. With her knowledge of his word, it shows that she is not a mindless human being. Furthermore, in Chaucers time, if you still had your virginity, you were highly thought of, especially when it comes to the church. Saints were glorified because they would rather be dead then to their lose virginity, or some suffered badly to keep their virginity later being considered as martyrs and at that point were blessed. After the Wife of Bath reserves from the word of the lord, she appears to gain common senseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦asking if all were virgins, she questions, then who would give birth to more virgins? This allows for the sexual organs to be used for pleasure as well as for the birthing end of it: She admits that she is full of life that enjoys sex and by no means is ashamed by it. The interesting part of story of the Wife of Bath is by far her argument on traditions or with the church, but the portrayal a living being. The wife is a woman of great emotion, and character. Preceding her five husbands and all of her hardships she has unfortunately lost her looks and her young nature yet, still she still lives on. With ease, he now has the ability to thoroughly enjoy her life. All throughout the Wifes tale, values and headships, are taken back or dismissed. During the start of the tale, King Arthur bows down to the ruling of Guinevere .Alternatively the women, over the men, are judges; and the knowledge of the books and the scriptures signifies a lot of experience. The knight, who was the rapist that jeopardized the purity of a young womans virginity, is saved by another woman, an old ugly woman at that. Lastly, the old woman gives the knight a choice, yet both choices are unbearable. When he allows her make the choice, he inevitably abandons his own freedom in courtesy of the womans power. Work Cited Reynolds, George Fullmer. The Staging of Elizabethan Plays at the Red Bull Theater 1605-1625. New York: Modern Language Association, 1940. Print. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Wife of Baths Tale. Canterbury Tales. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. 8th ed. New York: Norton, 2006. 226-234. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/canterbury-tales/geoffrey-chaucer-biography.html

Being American

In America, anyone can grow to be successful and all it takes is hard work. A lot of instances in the country have proven that the playing field is level. There is no reason that any person can be hindered by his or her background from achieving success in America. It is possible to find any individual in any position, even the most unlikely. In some countries around the world, there are positions that are left for the privileged in the society; schools for the rich and those for the poor, occasions for the rich and those for the poor, and opportunities for the rich and those for the poor.Watching the documentary, Spellbound reveals an entirely different scenario in America. The documentary is on eight teenagers who walk their way to the finals in the Scripps Howard national spelling bee championship in Washington D. C. , from regional level. With hard work and commitment, success is possible in America and nothing can hinder this from taking place. The freedoms and opportunities in America means that once a person has a dream, is committed and willing to sacrifice in order to achieve it, there is nothing that can stop him or her from achieving it.There are hindrances and failures, but the fate of every American is in an individual’s willingness to dream and put efforts in achieving the dreams. Every dream in the country is offered an opportunity to be nurtured to achievement. The truth of this statement is evident where we meet unlikely heroes, who against all odds, achieve beyond imagination. From interview with their parents and teachers, it is realized that the students are hard working. They practice on a daily basis and have to start by winning in regional competitions before proceeding. Success however does not come in a silver platter.There are challenges and pressures that are faced by those who dare to dream and work hard in achieving their dreams. However, these challenges cannot hinder those who are determined to succeed from gaining success. The students in the documentary begin competing in a large group of over 250 students from different backgrounds and socio-economic status. They face tremendous pressures and challenges as the words they are meant to spell gets more difficult. Against all these challenges and pressures, eight of the students from different backgrounds get to the finals.Unexpectedly, out of the eight, two have single parents and three are children born of immigrants. This might seem a peculiar situation since in most cases; children who would be expected to win in such a tough competition are children from privileged families who are able to access private school education and other privileges like computers and television. The students who compete in the finals are talented and work hard to win the prize. As I watch the finals, I realize that any of the students is likely to win the prize.One of the parents, an immigrant dad, comments that in America, hard work brings success. This means that one d oes not have to be financially or socially privileged to become successful in the country. This is one country where one can grow to be a President, a Congressman or a Senator. There is an equal opportunity for all and all it requires is hard work. Every person in the country is entitled to become what he or she wishes and is provided with a level playing ground to compete with others eying the same opportunity. Work cited: Blitz, Jeffrey. Spellbound. Blitz/Welch, 2003.

Creation and Evolution Essay - 3027 Words

Creation and Evolution Thesis: Through both scientific reasoning and consideration of personal belief, conclusions concerning the issue of creation and evolution can be reached that do not conflict with personal beliefs or scientific theory. Introduction The issue of origins has been long debated over the past century. Groups exist who believe anything from strictly the Bible creation account to abiogenesis to anything in between. Proving and/or adapting theories on the origin of the Earth and the universe, has been an ongoing process since the beginning of the twentieth century. The debate concerning what children should be taught in school has been ongoing for nearly as long. Christian scientists have both Christian beliefs†¦show more content†¦By 1925, states such as Oklahoma, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky had all passed laws prohibiting the teaching of evolution (1994, 27). Almost immediately, groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union began to oppose laws such as these, saying that this was infringement on personal rights. Movements continued and in 1963 the Creation Research Society was founded. This groups goal was essentially to obtain scientific evidence to back Creationism tha t could be used to dispute the evidence that other scientists and unions were using to refute the teaching of creation in the science classroom. In 1972, Dr. Henry Morris and Dr. Duane Gish established the Institute for Creation Research with the purpose of meeting the need for an organization devoted to research, publication, and teaching in those fields of science particularly relevant to the study of origins (Gish, 1993, 17). Evolution Over the next forty years, the laws prohibiting the teaching of evolution were invalidated or modified. Some states adopted laws requiring equal teaching time for creation and evolution. In most cases the courts determined the prohibition of teaching evolution unconstitutional on grounds that the First Amendment does not permit a state to require that teaching be tailored to any particular religious sect or doctrine (NCSE Court Cases, 1996, paragraph 1,2). Later, in 1982 andShow MoreRelatedControvery of Creation vs. Evolution in Inherit the Wind, by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee624 Words   |  3 PagesIn Inherit The Wind, by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, is about a big trial in a small town, and a controversial Creation versus Evolution debate. There are many characters with flamboyant and powerful personalities. Among them are: Matthew Harrison Brady, and Henry Drummond. Although all of these influential people are powerful, not all of them have the same amount of power, not only over other people, but over themselves as well. Matthew Harrison Brady is a very powerful, and revered man atRead MoreCreation Vs. 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Top Benefits of Going to a Large School

When people think of college, several images frequently come to mind: Football games. Students sitting in the quad. People attending classes. Graduation day. And while these events are common no matter where you go to school, different kinds of institutions understandably offer different kinds of experiences. If youre interested in going to a large school, then, just what are the top benefits you should consider? (Note: This list addresses general benefits. There are also many  academic benefits.) Diverse Community Whether its in the classroom or in your residence halls, big schools offer an enormous set of resources and perspectives. The more people there are in your community, after all, the larger the pool of knowledge. The way you interact with your fellow college or university community members doesnt have to be formalized and in the classroom; many students have life-changing, perspective-altering conversations in casual places like residence hall common areas or the campus coffee shop. When youre constantly surrounded by a diverse community of smart, interesting, engaging people -- whether theyre faculty, staff, or students -- its nearly impossible not to learn and grow from those around you. Live in a Metropolitan Area Even though there are exceptions to every rule, large schools tend to be in major, metropolitan areas, thereby offering a fantastic theater for you to further engage with during your college experience. Whether you take classes that connect you with the history and resources of your city, you volunteer in the local community, or you simply take advantage of the museums, community events, and other jewels that your town has to offer, going to school in a major, metropolitan area offers unique and significant benefits. Additionally, in contrast to a small school in a small town, you may have more opportunities for things like internships, student jobs, and other work experiences that can help prepare you for the job market once you graduate. A Degree from an Institution with a Well-known Reputation While small schools can offer an education of equal caliber to your large school, it can sometimes be frustrating -- if not awkward -- to constantly have to explain to people (and potential employers in particular) where your college is and what kind of experience you had. When you attend and graduate from a large school, however, you often receive more name recognition of the institution behind your degree. An Incredible Event-filled Experience While college students everywhere complain of being bored, larger schools seem to have a nearly-24/7 event calendar. At larger schools, there is virtually always something going on. And even if its across campus, at an on-campus theater, or in the lobby of your residence hall, big schools constantly offer experiences that can both supplement and complement what youre learning in the classroom. A Large Community to Connect With After Graduation If your school has thousands of students graduating every year -- if not every semester -- than the alumni network will be quite extensive. Whether youre watching football games at a local pub or trying to build professional connections, larger schools can offer both depth and breadth when it comes to finding other graduates who share your student -- and post-college -- experience and alma mater pride.