My group decided to the read The Monk's Tale. The Monk told a religious story as a warning to the rest of the characters to be careful because at a given moment you can experience misfortune:
"Let no man trust in blind prosperity;
Beware by these examples true and old."
He first describes very short stories from the bible such as Lucifer falling from heaven and Adam eating the forbidden fruit. Then he tells a prolonged story about Samson and goes on to tell many different stories about well known characters from the bible.
1.Indirect Characterization
From the previous quote, "Let no man trust in blind prosperity;Beware by these examples true and old." we can gain the fact the the Monk does not believe that humans are evil but that bad things happen to everyone. This quote shows his faith in the church and shows he lives by the bible.
When the Monk is made fun of by the host in the story he simply reacts in this way, " This worthy Monk took all of this in patience," which shows the Monk does not believe in violence.\
" tragedies I'll tell, Of which I have a hundred in my cell--," this quote exemplifies the idea that the Monk spends countless hours studying the contents of the bible.
"As they may come back now to my remembrance, That you'll excuse me for my ignorance." this quote gives the idea that the Monk is a bit older and therefore forgetful. It also shows that he is wary of those around and wants them to listen to his story.
2. I believe Chaucer told this story in a way to satirize society. By giving the Monk to tell the people ANY type of story and he chooses tragedy it gave the church a pessimistic characteristc. But I do also believe that Chaucer told this story for the same reason the Monk told it," For surely when Fortune may choose to flee, There is no man who may her course withhold." Because the Monk makes a very logical point that sometimes actions happen to us not because we are bad people but simply because we are unlucky, we are human. we make mistakes.
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