The Miller's Prologue and Tale

I found the Miller's Prologue and Tale to be quite funny.  It was probably the most humorous story we have read this semester. For me, it was a nice change from some of the more serious stories we have read throughout the semester. One of the things I took from the story was the amazing effect that young women have on all types of men. Alison, who was only eighteen years old was married to John who was much older than she was. John was very protective of his younger wife most likely due to her age and the fact that she might run off with someone younger than him.  Nicolas, the student who had been living with the couple was falling in love with Alison and confronted her professing his love he had for her.  Alison initially did not give into his demands for she was trying to be loyal to John, but eventually after enough begging from Nicolas she gave in and slept with Nicolas. Both Nicolas and Alison fell in love with one another, keeping it secret from John.  All the while Absolon, another clerk in the parish had a mad desire for Alison and would come try to visit her at night outside her window singing to her.

All three men in the story have a huge desire for Alison, but the only person Alison was interested in was Nicolas. It is as if all the men were in a daze because of Alison's beauty and the obsession they all shared for her.  John may have been better off in the beginning if he had not married someone so much younger than him and went for someone more of his own age. The same thing goes for Alison as she choose to marry a much older man. This story is filled with much trickery and humor, especially when Absolon is asking Alison for a kiss and she sticks her butt out the window and he kisses that instead.  The men in the Miller's Prologue and Tale all make attempts to try and trick the other man and some of those tricks work.  The trick Nicolas played on John with the flood that was supposedly coming worked out for Nicolas and Alison so they could sleep together.  That was successful for Nicolas, but when he tried putting his butt out the window to trick Absolon into kissing it his plan backfired and he got burned in the end.

The Broom Tree

Revised

The Broom Tree deals largely with the expectations that men place on women as their wives.  Genji sets out looking for the "perfect woman" having his expectations set as far as how their potential wives should behave and the numerous qualities a women should possess. Some of those qualities are a good personality, jealousy, being able to run the household and doing what their husbands ask of them. I think that in this story the men have over expectations of how women should be.  No where in the story does it mention how men should be for their wives which means one thing, that women were not looked up to in society.  The men seem to over analyze what womens behavior should be like.  They want their wives to be jealous, but not to jealous and possessing that type of qualitiy could either be a good thing or a bad thing to them. During this time it seemed as if women were merely just an accessory to men and had no real value other than to make the men happy. I interpret this because the men never discuss doing anything nice for their wives.  It is all just about what is good for the men.  There does not seem to be any equality mentioned of men and women in  this story. Throughout history it has always been about the men having all the power. To some extent this outlook on women has changed today in some areas of the world, but I'm sure that in some places there are men who act much like the characters of The Broom Tree.  I think that many of those types of men live in America today. Today men look for women who can cook, are supportive of them, loyal, respectful, and someone they can get along with. Women are looking for many of the same qualities but women tend to look more for stability in a relationship and honesty and loyalty.  In today's age almost half of all marriages end in divorce. There are so many various reasons why these marriages may end but I believe the top two reasons are infidelity and money. We are seeing an age where divorce rates are at there highest and more and more people tend to be unhappy in their marriage. Everything always varies from different peoples views, but it seems to me that my generation has been so de-sensitized that men do not respect women the way they should and are treated unfairly. Today women have a higher place in society than they did one hundred years ago or even one thousand years ago, but men will always be struggling to be the ones in total control of everything.

Original

The Broom Tree deals largely with the expectations that men place on women as their wives.  Genji sets out looking for the "perfect woman" having his expectations set as far as how their potential wives should behave and the numerous qualities a women should possess. Some of those qualities are a good personality, jealousy, being able to run the household and doing what their husbands ask of them. I think that in this story the men have over expectations of how women should be.  No where in the story does it mention how men should be for their wives which means one thing, that women were not looked up to in society.  The men seem to over analyze what womens behavior should be like.  They want their wives to be jealous, but not to jealous and possessing that type of qualitiy could either be a good thing or a bad thing to them. During this time it seemed as if women were merely just an accessory to men and had no real value other than to make the men happy. I interpret this because the men never discuss doing anything nice for their wives.  It is all just about what is good for the men.  There does not seem to be any equality mentioned of men and women in  this story. Throughout history it has always been about the men having all the power. I am glad to see that this outlook on women has changed today for the most part, but I'm sure that in some places there are men who act much like the characters of The Broom Tree.

T`ao Chien

Begging for Food is about a character who was overcome by hunger and went away from home on a journey to try to find food so he could survive. As readers we do not know very much about the man or his background since it is a short poem but it does teach individuals about compassion and caring for others.  The owner of the home could have simply given the man some food and let him be on his way, but the owner invited the man in for much more. “The owner guessed what I was after And gave it, but not just the gift alone”. The other important gift that was given in the story was the gift of friendship. “Happy in our new acquaintance We san old songs and wrote new poems”.  These men had not previously known one another, but instantly bonded becoming friends. They drank wine together and sang songs together enjoying each others company. But the visitor could not repay the owner for all that he had done for him.  “I have no way to show my thanks And must repay you from the grave”. This leads us to believe that the man is either homeless or lives in poverty to where he has no belongings of his own. 

This story was very uplifting to me because it displays kindness between two people who are strangers, and it teaches people that they are meant to care for each other and be compassionate when others are in a time of need. The owner wanted to help this man while expecting nothing back in return other than the visitors company.  Today that is a rare thing to happen.

Rostam and Sohrab

Rostam and Sohrab is a tragic story of how father and son are separated for the majority of the son's life only to be reunited during the war between Iran and Turan. The circumstances that take a sad turn and end in the death of Sohrab.  There is great irony in this tragic poem as Rostam kills his son in battle. Unfortunately for both Rostam and Sohrab they do not realize they are father and son until Sohrab had been fatally wounded. 

The death of Sohrab is an outcome that we do not expect to see. Most stories similar to this result in the son killing the father, not vice versa. This goes against our traditional beliefs that the son normally kills the father at the end of a play. It is sad to see the two reuniting under these circumstances not even knowing the true identity of eachother until it is too late. This tragedy may have been avoided had they know they were father and son in the beginning of battle. 

Lysistrata

Lysistrata is a story about a woman who changes the result of a war by using her sexuality as a weapon in order to end the Peloponnesian war and bring peace to Greece. Lysistrata devises a plan against the male population which she believes is hurting their society. She finds a way to use sex as leverage against the husbands of these women by having the women sign a pact stating that they will not have sex with their husbands in order to manipulate them into finding peace between sparta and Athens. By this act it shows how much power women do have over men.  Lysistrate was looking for equal treatment of gender in a male dominated society. When the men in the story were not having sex with their wives because of the pact the women signed the men became angry and realized they would have to give in to the women. This story shows the enormous influence that women have. In this story the women had the power to end a great war by going on a sex strike.  The husbands basically had no choice but to give in to their demands in order to get what the wanted. Once Sparta and Athens reconciled and were at peace, the men and women had a large celebration and the wives gave their husbands what they all had been wanting. This story demonstrates the enormous influence that women have over men and how it only takes one person to start a movement that can end a war.

Antigone

Antigone's gender plays a significant role on the understanding of her actions. Creon states that the need to defeat Antigone is all the more vital because she is a woman. The independence of Greek women was tremendously limited during this era. The rules and regulations placed on them were immense, even for the ancient world. Antigone's uprising is particularly intimidating because it upsets gender roles and hierarchy in the story. By refusing to be submissive, Antigone overturns one of the essential rules of her way of life. Antigone wants her brothers body to be properly buried and will do what is necessary to make sure the burial is performed. Antigone tries to get Ismene to assist her in the burial of Polynices but Ismene is hesistant to go against Creon’s decree. Ismene is intimidated by the rule of men and believes that women should be obedient to them or fear their punishment. Ismene believes that men are stronger and more capable, as many women were taught to believe so women must do what men tell them. In the end we see that Antigone has simply given in to the challenges that Creon puts forth.  When Creon realizes he may be wrong, he changes his argument because he did not want to acknowledge loss to a woman.  That would display weakness for Creon by going back on his principles. It is this underlying lie that Sophocles' play tries to correct, largely through the punishment that the gods impose on Creon as a result of his simple minded, belief.

Analects

The Analects of Confucius is a collection of several books which teach individuals about how one should live their life.  Some of the important themes Confucius discusses are that of being well educated, contributing to society and living an honest life. Confucius taught virtues to his students as well.  In book two he says “The rule of virtue can be compared to the pole star which commands the homage of the multitude of stars without leaving its place.” The master goes on to say “The odes are three hundred in number. They can be summed up in one phrase, Swerving not from the right path.” Confucius teaches those to stay on the right path throughout life and to not let one be distracted from obstacles that may get in the way of doing what is important. 

Confucius also taught basic principle which are still being taught to this day to many.  These principles are taught to us at a young age, when we start school. Confucius talks about benevolence in book twelve. "Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire. In this wayyou will be free from ill will whether in a state or in a noble family."  In modern day terms we would be told to treat others the way we want to be treated.  This principle comes from confucius' teachings and is very commonly known.   I enjoyed reading the Analects and gained valuable insight of Confucius' teachings.  Much can be learned through Confucius’ teachings that can be applied to our day to day lives.

Ramayana: Sita's Love For Rama

Two major elements in the story of the Ramayana are the love and loyalty shared between Rama and Sita. Sita is the ideal wife that anyone could ask for. Sita shows her loyalty when Rama was banished into the forest for fourteen years; Sita choose to accompany him on his journey. Their love is tested many times throughout the story, most importantly when Sita was kidnapped by Ravana.  Rama would stop at nothing to rescue Sita from Ravana, Rama loved Sita so much that he would do anything to get her back. During Sita’s captivity, Ravana gives her one year to marry him and if she does not, Ravana threatened to kill Sita and eat her. Sita knew that Ravana could not touch a human and would not allow Ravana to touch her for as long as she lived.  Sita’s loyalty of course is to Rama. Sita wanted to save herself for Rama and maintain her purity. Rama does everything to try and rescue Sita from Ravana. Sita would only allow Rama come to save her, and if he did not come she contemplated suicide.  To Sita, if she could not be with Rama she would rather chose death than live in Lanka with Ravana. Once Sita was rescued Rama was not sure if Sita maintained her purity.  To prove her purity, Sita stepped into a fire and was protected by the fire god. The fire god told Rama of her purity and loyalty to him and Rama accepted her. Rama and Sita’s love never failed throughout the story, but continued to grow stronger for one another.

Ramayana

One theme of Ramayana can be seen as the fight between Good and Evil.  The fight is between Rama and Ravana. Ravana tries to steal Rama’s wife Sita away from him.  Ravana created a plan to abduct Sita. Ravana shapeshifts into a deer which Sita desired. Rama and Lakshman go off to hunt the deer for Sita.  They draw a protective circle around Sita to keep her safe.  Ravana soon appears as a begger trying to trick Sita.  Sita steps outside the circle to give him food and Ravana grabs her and takes her away to his kingdom in Lanka. Rama is shocked when he returns  and cannot find Sita.  Ravana wants Sita to become his wife, but Sita is loyal to Rama.  Ravana cannot force her to be his wife so he threatens her to try to get her to marry him. Sita can only think about her love, Rama.  Hanuman, the general of the monkey army flies to Lanka and finds Sita in the grove. He comforts her and tells her Rama will soon come save her.  Hanuman flies back to Rama to tell him where Sita is. Rama, Lakshman and the monkey army build a walkway from the tip of India to Lanka and cross over to Lanka. A great battle ensues between Rama and Ravana. Rama kills several of Ravana's brothers and then Rama confronts the ten-headed Ravana. Rama finally kills Ravana and sets Sita free. After Sita proves here purity, they go back to Ayodhya and Rama takes back the throne and becomes king. As in most stories good always conquers evil as it does in the story of Ramayana.  This story portrays Rama as the hero trying to save his true love from being taken away from him.

Gilgamesh

One common theme of the epic of Gilgamesh is Love.  Love, both erotic and spiritual, inspires change in Gilgamesh. Enkidu changes from a disorderly man into a decent one because of Gilgamesh, and their friendship changes Gilgamesh from a persecutor and an oppressor into an commendable king and hero. Because they are evenly matched, Enkidu puts a restraint on Gilgamesh’s restive, powerful energies, and Gilgamesh pulls Enkidu out of his egocentricity. Gilgamesh’s relationship to Enkidu makes it likely for Gilgamesh to recognize with his people’s interests. The love the friends possess for each other makes Gilgamesh an enhanced man in the first part of the epic, and when Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh’s heartache and horror push him onto a unsuccessful search for immortality. The classic may be short of a female love interest, but erotic love still plays an important part. Enkidu’s education as a man starts with his sexual beginning by the temple harlot, and the two heroes’ dilemma begin with their denial of Ishtar, the goddess of love. Humanity renews itself through the female life force, which includes sex, fertility, domesticity, and nurturance, not through an random gift of the gods. When Gilgamesh at last sees that his place is here on Earth and returns to Uruk to resume his kingship, Ishtar goes back to her place of tribute.