Free Canterbury Tales Essays: The Knight and the Wife of Bath :: Wife of Bath Essays

The Character of the Knight of the Wife of Bath  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The knight from the "Wife of Bath's Tale" is not a very likable personality. His actions suggest he is just an abstract character, a receiver of the actions, who is used to give the tale's plot a meaning. Neither he nor other characters in the story are even mentioned by name. However, the traits of his character are very real and do exist in the real world. Brought together, they create an un-exciting personality of a man without a purpose in life. The knight is not very smart; he does not think about the consequences of his actions. Raping the girl is one example. In this act, he is guided only by his desires, without considering how right they are. But he doesn't think about the punishment either. The knight lives only for the present moment. Another example is the rash promise that he gives to the old hag. He agrees to do anything she wants in return for hearing the answer he is looking for. True, if he doesn't get an answer, he will lose his life. However, he doesn't think about the possibility that what the hag will want may turn out to be even worse, considering the fact that honor and personal integrity were valued more than life in those times. A thoughtful person, such as Sir Gawain from Morte Darthur, would have inquired more about the woman's wish, before making such an agreement. The knight is also an ungrateful person. The hag saves him from a certain death and then requests that he marry her. In light of the events, the knight should be grateful to escape death, but instead he views the marriage to his savior as another form of the same punishment. He agrees only because he is bound by the promise, and the chivalric code forces him to keep it. In addition, the knight's thoughts are easily influenced by other people. Apparently, he recognizes the fact that he is often wrong and listens to the opinions of others. But he adopts those opinions without thinking them through for himself. This happens when the old hag says she knows what women most want; the knight doesn't question that knowledge. However, by the time he meets the hag, he has listened to many other women who weren't very consistent in their suggestions.

Killing Custer Book Review Essay

From time to time, a book of true historical significance is written on a subject that has been written on almost endlessly. The Battle of the Little Big Horn is one of the most written about, speculated on, celebrated, talked about, and glorified events in American History. Popularly known as â€Å"Custer’s Last Stand†, it has been the subject of many films, documentaries, novels, and was even re-enacted at every Wild West Show put on by Buffalo Bill Cody. In the work Killing Custer: The Battle of Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians, Welch and Stekler do an excellent job in the subject matter at hand, and come to the correct conclusion that this battle, which was a huge military disaster for the United States, directly resulted in an even greater disaster for the Indian victors who won it: that is, total defeat and total subjugation. The first chapter sets up the massacre of the Blackfeet on the Marias River, James Welch and Paul Stekler have done a magnificent job in researching and putting forth, a new book on this subject that has been so written about. Citing much of the new discoveries, that is archeology, and the Indian accounts, Welch was originally contacted by Stekler to do a script for a documentary for PBS’s â€Å"American Experience: Last Stand at Little Bighorn†. They worked on it together, and that particular one hour documentary was excellent. Feeling that he hadn’t exhausted the subject, Welch delved more deeply into it, and wished to write a book on the subject. â€Å"Killing Custer† was the result, and it is quite excellent indeed. It is a stunning and thrilling read from cover to cover. The information is not wholly new, but Welch and Stekler combine all of the newest discoveries into one stirring volume, and they stress the narratives, which in the past were largely discarded and disclaimed, of the Indian accounts of the battle, after all, they were the ones who survived it! The authors rightly put the battle into its historical perspective, pointing out that this huge defeat of the United States Military led directly to the total subjugation and defeat of the Plains Indians, putting them on reservations once and for all, with the final defeat and insult at Wounded Knee, the massacre that was so unnecessary and so tragic.

The Genocide Of The Holocaust - 1313 Words

Genocide is the destruction of an ethnic, racial, or religious group. The most famous genocide, conducted by the Germans, is the extermination of the Jewish population known as the Holocaust. There are other genocides such as the Armenian or Darfur genocide, but the Holocaust is the one talked about and studied the most around the world today. Museums exist in Washington D.C, Los Angeles, and parts of Europe that focus primarily on this dark time in history. Vast amounts of books, movies, and documents concentrate on the Holocaust. Why is this chapter, between 1939 and 1945, discussed and examined? The answer lies within people who experienced the Holocaust such as Elie Wiesel, Jay Frankston, and Franks Shatz. These men have gone through hell and back, but they believe in one thing. That is, the notion of never again. The goal is to educate future generations on what really happened, so history does not repeat itself. Never again should people of any race, religion, or ethnicity, go through the horrific past of the Holocaust. In their writing, Wiesel, Frankston, and Shatz do a great job using pathos, logos, and ethos to convey their message of never again for future generations. Through pathos, logos, and ethos, Elie Wiesel’s essay, God is God Because He Remembers, convinces the people of today that memory is important to reveal the message of never again. Wiesel starts by stating, â€Å"I remember, May 1944: I was 15 and a half, and I was thrown into a haunted universe whereShow MoreRelatedGenocides And Genocides Of The Holocaust1455 Words   |  6 PagesGenocides Occurring After the Holocaust The Holocaust was a mass murder of millions of individuals’ primary to and during World War II. â€Å"Only 54 percent of the people surveyed by the Anti- Defamation League (ADL) in a massive, global poll has ever heard of the Holocaust† (Wiener-Bronner). 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There are 8 stages of genocide and the first stage is Classification. Classification is putting people into groups based on race, ethnicity, and religion. These groups usually are separated into the superior people and the inferiorRead MoreThe Genocide Of The Holocaust1372 Words   |  6 PagesYailene Gaona 7th Period Genocide Have you ever wondered how would it be like to experience being killed because of your hair , skin, eye, color? If you had to be killed for any of that it would be called genocide? By genocide they mean destruction of a nation, race, religion, or ethnic group. For example, in 1933 The Holocaust was occurring. Adolf Hitler was the one who began an army of Nazi s and they were the ones that would target Jews. They placed all of the Jews in concentration campsRead MoreThe Genocide Of The Holocaust1823 Words   |  8 Pages Genocide Genocide a word that brings forth the morbid image of barbed wire fences, trenches overflowing with bodies, malnourished men, women, and children, a depressing black sky. Genocides definition is â€Å"the deliberate killing of people who belong to a particular racial, political, or cultural group† (Merriam-Webster.com) True to its name genocide is a word that has the ability to cause war and leaves a hellish vision in its victims. Despite all of this the seeminglyRead MoreThe Holocaust Genocide1325 Words   |  5 Pages The Holocaust is one of the most gruesome and inhumane events to ever happen in the history of the world. The Holocaust took place during World War II. WWII was one event that was categorized as strictly good vs evil. At the beginning of the war America wanted to remain neutral because we had just come out of WWI and were working on rebuilding our economy. The United States was successful in remaining neutral until Japan bombed Pearl Harbor early on the mo rning of December 7. 1941. The United StatesRead MoreThe Holocaust And The Rwanda Genocide1629 Words   |  7 PagesThe mind of a survivor of genocide can be various, violent, confused, or blank, it can scar the mind indefinitely or not. Not only are the conductors of the kill-spree are scary, but even the victims can be just as terrifying. Two examples of genocide are the Holocaust and the Rwanda Genocide, both of which gives off long ranges of psychological effects on the mind of those who survive. Survivors struggle through the tragic events with the hope they would soon find and be with their loved ones. So