Analysis Of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

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What would a good tale be without consisting of a moral lesson and some entertainment? As one can see in The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, there are many tales told that consists of both values. In this book many different pilgrims are on their way to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. As they travel they are told to tell four tales, two on the way there and two on the way back. The pilgrim that presents the tale with the best moral education and the greatest entertainment value wins the contest. The judge of the contest will be the host and the winner will receive a free feast when they return home. Two tales that are compared at the beginning are the Knight’s Tale and the Pardoner’s Tale. Despite the tales being different each tale consist of the different values. The Knight’s Tale contains a greater lesson; which, in this case the Knight’s Tale would win between the two. Each tale contains something called moral education. This consists of having a lesson behind the whole story. Each lesson can either be positive or negative depending on the outcome of the tale. In the Knight’s two men named Palamon and Arcite fight along each other as fellow brother knights and even spend time in prison together, until they both catch the sight of a young woman named Emily. Each knight fall in love at first sight causing conflict between the two men. Later in the tale both men end up battling each other for the love of Emily. Arcite ends up winning, but