Canterbury Tales

 [Written circa 1991. I have a  separate version from the 2013 audiobook]

Through The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer exposed his distrust in the organized religion of the middle ages. He believed that a true, humble faith was far more important than the illusion of religious service. He respected the high ranking church officials, who did nothing more than mechanical reproductions of archaic ceremonies, about as much as pagan infidels. To show his abhorrence toward organized religion, he created pseudo-christians, such as the pardoner and friar, along with one sterling example of a true religious zealot, the parson.

Chaucer has absolutely no respect for the Pardoner's character. He noted the pardoner had the "same small voice a goat has got" and a "chin no beard had harboured, nor would harbour". However, Chaucer did not perform a one-sided attack on the pardoner's masculinity. He also used his ignominious character to paint a bleak picture of the church. The pardoner "made monkeys of the priest and congregation" when he sauntered in through the town. The willingness of the churchgoers to accept this treatment indicated they lacked true faith in their deity, and instead were peons ready to cling to anyone claiming divine authority. The pardoner could, in one day draw more money than the parson could "in a month or two." How did he do it? Not by powers from heaven, but instead with his "honey-tongue". He also is referred to as "a noble ecclesiast" to the church. Instead of condemning this thief, the church praises him. Chaucer subtly says that any church willing to hold insolent embezzlers in a high position was obviously not in touch with its deity.

The friar characterized the degradation of the medieval church. He had used the church as launching pad for his pursuit of carnal pleasures. To pay for his escapades, he gathered money in the name of the church. He was no slouch, in fact, "he was the finest beggar of his batch." He also gathered money when he would "arbitrate disputes... (for no small fee)." What did he do with all this money gathered in the name of the church? It was not used to help the poor. Instead he flaunted it on the town. He was no stranger to the bars, for "he knew the taverns well in every town." That was just the beginning. He also knew "every innkeeper and barmaid... better than lepers, beggars and that crew." He ignored the people that needed his help, and instead focused on himself. He was the epitome of the pseudo-Christianity that Chaucer so abhorred.

The parson was the one church figure that the Chaucer genuinely trusted. He was trusted because of his loyalty to the people instead of the Catholic bureaucracy. "He hated cursing to exhort a fee." Instead, he "preferred beyond a doubt giving to poor parishioners... both from church offerings and his property." Unlike the other religious figures, the parson was loyal to the scriptures and his people, not the central church or wallet. He did not "leave his sheep encumbered in the mire or run to London for easy bread." Instead, he cared for his own flock. He also followed his own teachings; "He taught but followed it himself before." This dedication to serving represented the true essence of religion.

By employing a sophisticated sarcastic tone, Chaucer attacks the medieval church that gave legitimacy to such crooks as the pardoner and friar. His faith in the organized church was fast fading, and he was slowly loosing his religion. However, his faith in the scriptures still was strong. He was a protestant on earth just a little too early.

Teddy and Catcher in the Rye

Catcher in the Rye (1951) and Teddy (1953) by J.D. Salinger

[originally from 1991-1992]

Most literary works delineate the lives of superhuman characters: people who achieve monumental goals in the face of great adversity, yet still respect the idiosyncrasies of man. Salinger's characters, however, follow a different path. They keep in touch with reality, and rarely accomplish anything extraordinary in the eyes of men. They attack the rules of society, and become victories only by escaping from its confines.

The character that comes closest to achieving public prominence is Teddy, the ten year old prodigy. The world's major universities interview him, tapes of his mediational thoughts are played at parties, and he corresponds with many distinguished professors. Even though he has a cult falling, Teddy is oblivious to the world. He is dressed in a tattered shirt that's too big for him, coupled with non matching pants; he attempts to avoid conversation by choosing an isolated seat. He is fascinated by the orange peels floating out the 'window', and feels no need to correctly refer to his looking spot as a 'portal'. Through meditation, Teddy has achieved peace with himself, and has no need for the world's knowledge. His philosophy entails the deletion of all knowledge to achieve a greater state of consciousness where a square is not necessarily a square. He has fought and won the war against the world, and rejoices the opportunity to leave the battlefield.

Similarly, Holden Caulfield was fighting his own war. Throughout Catcher in the Rye, Caulfield figuratively spat upon the world of sycophant conformists. However, unlike the most nonconformists, he shows a great deal of respect for true followers of organized religion. The catholic nuns he meets are among the few outsiders he respects. He feels obligated to provide them with a monetary assistance, because he realizes that they are doing what they feel they believe in, and are not 'fake' (like the man who played Christ in the Christmas pageant). In addition to disliking the actor who "couldn't wait to smoke a cigarette after he got down from the cross", Caulfield despised the majority of the prep school personnel. They were phony, thrilled by there own bombastic tautology, and reluctant to impart any useful knowledge to the students. Indeed, Caulfield was much like the Dead Poet's Society students: he was inspired by a few thought-provoking teachers, and thus decided to drop his sycophancy in favor of an expression of true thoughts. Unfortunately, society was unwilling to accept someone critical of its fallacies, and he was not ready to completely ostracize himself from it.

Holden's younger brother, Allie, had the strength to remove himself from the binds of society. Unlike other baseball players, who felt it was necessary to bore themselves waiting in the outfield, Allie occupied himself with poetry inscribed on his glove. In addition to meditating upon his 'baseball glove' poetry, he also pursued many other avenues of learning, and was (in Holden's eyes) a 'perfect child' before he was abruptly taken from the earth. He was probably good friends with Teddy, and felt great relief that he could be taken from the earth to join his friend in a place more fitting to their intellects. However, he probably turned over in his grave when he saw all the unknown relatives, who waited for a supposed catastrophe to pay homage to him.

Salinger's characters were constrained by the rules of society, and attempted to overcome them. Some, such as Holden, had stayed too long, and were overcome by enticing facets of society and forced to stay. Others, like Allie and Teddy, had completed their trial on earth by overcoming the uselessness of society, and were taken away.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

[Retro from around 1991]

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an excellent example of Mark Twain's humorous style. His humor, coupled with his satire make this novel one of the best ever written.

Mark Twain's style is best exemplified by his humor and satire. Twain style allows him to place examples of the things that he loves in positions that require everyone to like them. He also uses his talents at satire to criticize his enemies in such a manner that sneaks past the readers realm of immediate recognition, to find a place of eternal dwelling inside their brain. From it's origin, the setting of this novel made it difficult for it to be anything but a comedy. But Even though there are many occasion in which Twain details serious occurrences, they are quickly followed up by humorous events.

Satire, too, is an integral part of Twain's style. The omnipotent Catholic church is one of Mark Twain's prime target of satire. Mark Twain is a strong believer in personal freedoms, thus he is against an established church. Twain's strong protestant beliefs are the background for his satire against the Roman Catholic church. He believes that the catholic church is not only teaching untruths, but is also destroying the lives of many innocent people. Through his satire, Twain portrays the church as a group of pit- bulls, ready to obey everything their master says, and destroy anyone that gets in their way.

The king, even though he is portrayed as a friend of the yankee, is one of Mark Twain's targets. Once as a freeman, the king is reduced to the less- than-average person that Twain believes all kings really are. Once his crown and cape are stripped from him, the king no longer has the great power that he had before. He is shown to lack some important skills, along with some basic farming knowledge that is common to all peasants. The king also is difficult to teach. Even with the extended coaching of the yankee concerning how a peasant should act, the king still reverted to his kingly ways.

Twain is also satirizes the beliefs of the middle age people. He is strongly against the middle age people's belief in magic rather than technology and facts. At the conclusion of the yankee's knightly trek to rescue princess, Sandy informs him that some pigs are actually princesses. Sandy, a typical middle age citizen, still believes that they are princesses, even though they are most certainly pigs. Finally, Twain's satire attacks the populace's resistance to change. Even with the great advancements that the yankee has given the people, they still revert back to their medieval war methods.

In the beginning, this Twain was set on creating a completely humorous novel, but gradually, he changed course, and ended up with a serious criticism of the period of King Arthur. Other than this minor flaw of inconsistency, Twain created a superb novel. In their works, Tennyson and Malory paint a picture of the middle ages being filled with brave, and almost god-like knights. On the other hand, Twain paints a picture of how life really was in the middle ages. He also allows common sense to prevail among his star character, the yankee. Instead of having him use dress in armor, and fight with medieval weapons, the yankee fights his duel wearing tights, and using modern weapons. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court one of the finest pieces of literature ever written.