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Annaliese See 1 Annaliese See Mr. Moio English 12 1 December 2022 Canterbury Tales Final Not many people are familiar with the seven deadly sins in modern society, with them being more prominently known during the thirteenth and fourteenth century. In Western Christain heritage, the seven deadly sins are defined as “an offense against God and God’s laws perpetrated by an individual”. Under the notation of social justice in America, the seven deadly sins appear as forms of oppression. As society progresses they will disintegrate, but currently Racism, Ableism, Sexism, Ageism, Heterosexism, Classim, Bigotry, are primarily large problems in our society, differentiating from the Christain’s deadly sins: Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Ency, and Sloth. In The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the seven deadly sins are almost as concrete as laws with the characters being more aware of their morals than those in present society. Although a person should live by the seven deadly sins for their own morality to be preserved, society as a whole more realistically tends to follow their own rules, disregarding the deadly sins. Not following such increases problems within society, as well as people losing their values. The Canterbury Tales is a story of pilgrims’ travel, to and from Canterbury. The first sin, pride, can be defined as an excessive love of our own ability…, begetting in our souls of sinful ambition, vainglory, presumption, and hypocrisy, according to Devin Foley in The Seven Deadly Sins: Then & Now. The Friar makes a living for himself by begging others, specifically by spreading the word of God. He portrays that he is more focused on his own needs and wealth, Annaliese See 2 rather than spreading the God’s message. The Friar’s social priorities surround drinking in taverns, rather than spending his time giving to the poor: “He knew the tavernes wel in every toun- And everich hostiler and tappestere- Bet than a lazar or a beggestere”, (Prologue. II. 208271). In regards to being realistic, today and years ago, members of the church were and are required to follow specific rules regarding their own beliefs, which is absolutely viable. Although this does not mean that those within the church will abide by them, most do. This poses a question for society: not everyone is religious, so should we be expected to follow such beliefs? It alternates with perspective, and when push comes to shove, people will do as they please, with some following their morals, while others disregard them. If the entirety of society were to revolve around the seven deadly sins, people would not be inclined to use freedom of speech, which is highly looked upon and valued in America. Furthermore, the seven deadly sins were prominent before the Constitution, which if they were to be followed today, the idea would not be close to realistic. Modernly, lust is normalized, whereas people tend to confuse lust and love. In The Canterbury Tales, marriage is highly important in a variety of the tales. The tales highlight how human nature struggles with lust, with Arcite and Palamon being reunited, as well as “a hundred knights… well armed… to fight for a lady”, of whom has no interest in them (1241-1245). Ultimately, Arcite dies in the battle, with others risking their life, all in desire for a woman. Although in modern society, lust does not lead to such great extents, it is a large problem. Within the story, many look for fulfillment of their deepest problems through lust, which ultimately does not result in anything beneficial. Additionally, in The Wife of Bath’s Tale, Alison uses her body to gain financial benefits from men, and believes that through multiple marriages, though heavily forbidden, her sexual desires will be fulfilled. “I am free to wed, in God’s name, where it pleases me. He says that to be Annaliese See 3 wedded is no sin… I know well Abraham was a holy man, and Jacob, too, as far as know I can; And each of them had spouses more than two…”, (Wife of Bath’s Tale, Prologue 173). Moreover, she seeks satisfaction from others other than her husband, with her views going against church beliefs, portraying a view of lust on marriage. In this century, polygamy is considered normal to many, in contrast with the modern church’s morals. In essence, each individual has their own values and beliefs that they will face deep down over a span of time. Speaking within society, the views of lust differ, with more people than not believing that it is their body, and as a result, they can do what they want with it. This is contrary to the belief of the church, of which solely religious individuals follow. Realistically, humans have desires, and it is difficult to come into opposition with such, therefore it is not easy to abide by such beliefs. Morally, a person can do what they want, as it differs from person to person. If society were to be primarily based upon the church’s view of lust, evidently less problems would arise, although persons would have to battle this natural human desire daily. Anger is an issue that many individuals struggle with throughout their lifetime, both aware and unaware. Devin Foley defines anger as “... an excessive emotion of the mind excited against any person or thing, or it is an excessive desire for revenge … Anger begets in our souls impatience, hatred, irreverence, and too often the habit of cursing”. Characters and pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales focus on performing acts of revenge, rather than simply attempting to solve the problem. In The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, her fifth husband abuses her, and at one point, she explained that “he smote me on the head… And down I fell upon the floor for dead”, (Chaucer 279). When she woke up she rose to “smote him on the cheek” (Chaucer 280) and he promised to never hit her again. Today, if domestic abuse were to be reported, charges would most likely be pressed, and the individual punished so that it would not occur to another human. Annaliese See 4 In the era of this tale, women were expected to deal with such misfortunes, with no persecution of the abuser. Additionally, society was not as advanced as it is today, which is one of the pros that we have today. Chaucer describes anger as: “...a ful greet plesaunce to the devel; for it is the develes fourneys, that is eschawfed with the fir of helle. For certes, right so as fir is moore mighty to destroyen erthely thynges than any oother element, right so Ire is myghty to destroyen alle spiritueel thynges” (The Parson's Tale, Chaucer, paragraph 36). In the Parson’s Tale, the sin of anger is focused around how the devil correlates with such, being rooted in the church. As a modern society, people are quick to anger, with little to no consequence, unless it is to be grave. A person should absolutely attempt to limit their anger, as there will be more control over themself and a less negative outcome, but individuals have the tendency to not think about it, moving past. In the thirteenth to fourteenth century, acts of anger were highly frowned upon, specifically religiously, but today, everyone appears to be angry quite often, with no negative results. If society were to be grounded upon limiting anger, there would be less issues in the legal system, as well as a lesser amount of people battling their thoughts and actions. Realistically, it is difficult to limit anger, though larger actions of it can be easily controlled. As society progresses, it can not be easily predicted whether the seven deadly sins will become more prominent, or barely touched upon. In The Canterbury Tales, the seven deadly sins were followed by the majority of people, as religion was more important than it is today. Realistically, some of the seven deadly sins would be a joke to many individuals within society, though a variety of them deal with deep morals, which are evidently not prominent currently. If society were to be grounded upon the seven deadly sins, lesser issues would arise, but perhaps not as much freedom and individuality. If a person regarded the seven deadly sins as a major Annaliese See 5 importance to themselves, better outcomes would occur daily, as well as a decrease in moral battles.