No New Tale to Tell

                I feel that the Canterbury Tales presents a foreign idea to the representation of the setting in the story.  Essentially, what we see in the Wife of Bath is that women are given power and equality, which is a thought that is unheard of.  Women fought for years in fairly recent history to be equal, yet the equality is shown in a time setting long before.  The women in the story are given power and equality and it is demonstrated a couple of times.  For example, the first time we see a woman having authority is when the queen is given the decision to choose the Knight’s punishment.  In other stories and tales, the king is the one with power and the queen serves more as a spouse, whereas in this tale, the queen is given direct power.

                In addition to the equality of women being shown through the power of the queen, it is also shown through the old woman.  The old woman is able to use her knowledge to overpower the knight twice.  The first time, she bribes him with the answer to his question but asks for a favor in return.  The second time, she outsmarts him again and shows why she should be his wife and what he should really want, which in turn forces the knight to give up his decision and put it into the hands of his wife.

                All in all, the idea of equality is a revolutionary process which begins with this story.  The decisions are put into the hands of what is seen as the minority, and good results come from their choices.

Truth

                Grendel has very mixed feelings when he hears the Shaper’s songs.  The first time he hears them, he is so overwhelmed that he begins to cry, yet he still goes back to see the Shaper.  Grendel listens to the Shaper because even though he has no beliefs in relation to religion, he still wants to find emotional and spiritual satisfaction.

                Throughout the story, Grendel is torn between the things in life that he knows are true, and the things in life that he wants to be true.  Grendel knows his world to be a “mechanical” place that has no pattern or laws, and he knows that all the ideas that the Shaper sings about are not true, but because he is isolated from all of the animals and humans, he wants it to be true. 

                Grendel wants to feel welcomed and he wants to believe what the Shaper is saying, but this all changes after he meets with the dragon.  The dragon tells Grendel how the Shaper is not telling the truth, and how the world and future is all set, and there is no such thing as a God.  Grendel does not want to believe him, but he has no choice.  After the meeting with the dragon, he comes to the reality, “It’s one thing to listen, full of scorn and doubt…it’s another to know what is.” (pg. 75) Grendel listens to the dragon, and finally realizes that what the Shaper teaches and sings is not true. 

Modern Day Beowulf

Modern Day Beowulf

            Beowulf is a very self-confident individual, and he is also very strong and powerful.  Beowulf is known for protecting his people and helping others in battles, but what would it be like if he lived in modern day?  One person that Beowulf is very similar to from recent history is Muhammad Ali.

            Muhammad Ali is a very famous boxer, and is regarded as one of the best boxers of all time.  However, although he was a great boxer, he was also known for his trash talking and his cockiness in and out of the ring. 

            Due to Muhammad Ali’s characteristics, he is almost a perfect fit for what type of person Beowulf is.  Beowulf is a man who is also very cocky, and he likes to show off for his followers that are watching.  For example, when he kills Grendel, he hangs up his arm for all the people to see and be reminded of him when they see it.  Beowulf bragging about all of his battles to his people is similar to Muhammad Ali’s trash talking.

            Not only do Muhammad Ali and Beowulf have similar attitudes, but they are both hands-on workers.  Muhammad Ali is a very good boxer, so he is skilled and he fights using his hands.  Beowulf is a very confident fighter, and he does not like to use weapons when fighting, he likes to use his bare hands and strength to defeat his enemy.