The Canterbury Tales The Reeve's Tale

An Eye for an Eye

During the 1380’s a miller, who is the person who grinds flour, only made twenty dollars a year, while the cost of flour was 56 cents per pound. This might make it difficult to stay honest, because stealing 40 pounds of flour would be worth more than he made in a year. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale, is a story told by Oswald, the reeve, because he is angry about the miller’s tale. Oswald decides to tell this tale to embarrass the miller. The Reeve’s Tale, is a tale about a miller who stole flour and grain for profit. Symkyn, added cheaper grain to the flour, and stole the good flour for extra money on the side. Not only was Symkyn a thief, but he was also morally challenged. This tale crosses the line of immorality, while comparing street smarts and book smarts, but most importantly discusses an underlying desire for revenge.

“Book smarts” are seen every day, whether it

The miller, “saw no man show any grief at the tale except maybe Oswald, the reeve. Because he had once followed the craft of a carpenter, a little annoyance lingered in his heart” (253). Oswald is embarrassed by the tale, he took his revenge by telling a tale about a thieving miller. This tale begins with revenge, the professor is mad because he was cheated by the miller. He sent John and Alan to seek revenge on the miller. Since the Miller knew the professor was ill, he outright “stole grain and meal a hundred times more than he did before” (261). Symkyn is known as cheat around town because he stole flour and replaced it with bran, but since he actually stole from the ailing professor’s, therefore he is an outright crook. After John and Alan are bamboozled, they want to seek their revenge, because they are made to look like fools. They get their revenge by sleeping with the miller’s daughter and wife. This last act proves a good education does not lead to good