The person who is willing to give up their love and desires for the happiness of others is the most generous of all. The Franklin's Tale in The Canterbury Tales revolves this point. In my recasting of the Franklin's Tale, although I am unable to preserve the old, classic sense that surrounds this tale of romance and mor
als, I aim to redecorate the tale making it more appealing to today's audience, and its message is able to reach more people. Chaucer describes the Franklin as a wealthy landowner who "live[s] in delight" and whose house "rained...of meat and drink" (Chaucer 21). Chaucer also elicits that the Franklin has a bit of a temper and easily yells at his servants—"woe to his cook unless his sauces were pungent and sharp"—which reveals that he is somewhat hypocritical, since in his tale he preaches generosity and kindness (Chaucer 21). Thus, Chaucer uses the Franklin to satirize people who tell others to do the right thing but commit the same vices they speak against.
In my recasting, the franklin will be a similar character in personality and in class, but my Canterbury Tales will set in the future, which explains upgrade from the horse to the hover bike.
He will retain his wealth and intolerance for those beneath him, and the plot of his tale will generally remain the same with a few moderations to suit the modern audience and so that it adapts into the futuristic setting.I replace Averagus, a noble knight who falls in love with Dorigen, one "fairest under the sun," with a Spartan from the game Halo (Chaucer 379). The Franklin portrays the knight as a chivalrous character, for he agrees to take both "lordship and servitude" in marriage, protecting as well as obeying his wife (Chaucer 383). This is a very radical notion to be proposed in the thirteenth century, since women possessed very few rights, and men always held power over their wives. Nonetheless, it reveals that the Franklin believes that a husband should be kind to his wife and that the husband should give his wife sovereignty over him; I intend to preserve this idea, especially since people nowadays are much more supportive of the idea that men and women should be treated as equals. Averagus is called off to war in England's war agains
t the French, which I have readapted into a space war against aliens and droids. While the Franklin does not go into detail about the battles the knight fights through, partly because this story is more about delivering a moral and also because it was rather difficult to vividly describe a battle using only words back then, with the help of video technology, I am able to illustrate the battles for an audience more interested in the employment computer graphics.
When a " joyful squire " Aurelius falls in love with Dorigen and asks her to marry him after Averagus has left for several years, Dorigen tells him that if he can "remove all the rocks" from the shore--which I have recasted as a black hole in space--so that ships may pass safely through, she agree to love him (Chaucer 391, 393). This is perhaps the first display of generosity. She fears the rocks will cause Averagus's ship to capsize and
she is willing to give up her happiness for the safe return of her husband.
Aurelius tries many ways to achieve this task, and eventually he finds a magician, whom I have replaced with Yoda from Star Wars, who will remove the rocks for a heavy price of a thousand pounds. The magician removes the rocks and two days later, Averagus finally returns from two years of war. He tells Dorigen that she must keep her promise and is willing to give up his happiness to preserve Dorigen's honor. Once again, the Franklin portrays the knight as a chivalrous character and establishes the idea that if a man truly loved a woman, he would be willing to let her go—an idea that has survived and is even more prominent in today's stories.
Surprisingly, Aurelius sees the love between Dorigen and Averagus and decides to release her "of every oath and every bond" she has made him (Chaucer 423). With this turn of events, the Franklin reveals that generosity and chivalry is not restricted to knights but can be displayed by any person regardless of class or occupation. When Aurelius returns to t
he magician to inform him that he is unable to pay off all of his debt, the magician, touched by his story, releases him of his debt, which is consistant with the image of the character I have chosen to play this part, since Yoda is also a wise and understanding character. With this plot twist, the Franklin implies that generosity spreads and if one person is generous to others, the generosity will find its way back to that person.
The Franklin establishes this ideal world where people are willing to sacrifice their own happiness for the happiness of others and claims that as a result of this exchange of generosity, there will always be a happy ending for everyone. At the end, the Franklin makes a final question: "who was the most generous" (Chaucer 427)? The magician only gives up his money and services, so it is fair that he is rewarded with just the thought of helping out a generous man. Although Aurelius ends up losing his love, I would say Dorigen, Averagus, and Aurelius were all equally as generous, each willing to give up their own happiness for the happiness of his or her love. Generosity is not measured after everything has been resolved but at the moment it is given. In the end, Aurelius is compensated with the freeing of his debt for the loss of his love, but still, love can never be replaced with money; however, if this tale were about Aurelius, it would not end there, and Aurelius would eventually find happiness. Generosity eventually finds its way back to those who are generous and will always reward them with happiness in the end.
t the French, which I have readapted into a space war against aliens and droids. While the Franklin does not go into detail about the battles the knight fights through, partly because this story is more about delivering a moral and also because it was rather difficult to vividly describe a battle using only words back then, with the help of video technology, I am able to illustrate the battles for an audience more interested in the employment computer graphics.When a " joyful squire " Aurelius falls in love with Dorigen and asks her to marry him after Averagus has left for several years, Dorigen tells him that if he can "remove all the rocks" from the shore--which I have recasted as a black hole in space--so that ships may pass safely through, she agree to love him (Chaucer 391, 393). This is perhaps the first display of generosity. She fears the rocks will cause Averagus's ship to capsize and
she is willing to give up her happiness for the safe return of her husband.Aurelius tries many ways to achieve this task, and eventually he finds a magician, whom I have replaced with Yoda from Star Wars, who will remove the rocks for a heavy price of a thousand pounds. The magician removes the rocks and two days later, Averagus finally returns from two years of war. He tells Dorigen that she must keep her promise and is willing to give up his happiness to preserve Dorigen's honor. Once again, the Franklin portrays the knight as a chivalrous character and establishes the idea that if a man truly loved a woman, he would be willing to let her go—an idea that has survived and is even more prominent in today's stories.
Surprisingly, Aurelius sees the love between Dorigen and Averagus and decides to release her "of every oath and every bond" she has made him (Chaucer 423). With this turn of events, the Franklin reveals that generosity and chivalry is not restricted to knights but can be displayed by any person regardless of class or occupation. When Aurelius returns to t
he magician to inform him that he is unable to pay off all of his debt, the magician, touched by his story, releases him of his debt, which is consistant with the image of the character I have chosen to play this part, since Yoda is also a wise and understanding character. With this plot twist, the Franklin implies that generosity spreads and if one person is generous to others, the generosity will find its way back to that person.The Franklin establishes this ideal world where people are willing to sacrifice their own happiness for the happiness of others and claims that as a result of this exchange of generosity, there will always be a happy ending for everyone. At the end, the Franklin makes a final question: "who was the most generous" (Chaucer 427)? The magician only gives up his money and services, so it is fair that he is rewarded with just the thought of helping out a generous man. Although Aurelius ends up losing his love, I would say Dorigen, Averagus, and Aurelius were all equally as generous, each willing to give up their own happiness for the happiness of his or her love. Generosity is not measured after everything has been resolved but at the moment it is given. In the end, Aurelius is compensated with the freeing of his debt for the loss of his love, but still, love can never be replaced with money; however, if this tale were about Aurelius, it would not end there, and Aurelius would eventually find happiness. Generosity eventually finds its way back to those who are generous and will always reward them with happiness in the end.
Works Cited
The Canterbury Tales Pilgrims dining at The Tabard Inn. 1997-2002 . Gode Cookery. Web. 20 Feb. 2010.
Echard's, Siân. Dorigen and Aurelius in the Garden. N.d. Faculty Arts. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .
Hooper, W.D. The Franklin. 1868. Woodcuts of the Ellesmere Portraits. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .
Lucas, George, dir. Star Wars Episode III: Battle over Coruscant (Part 1). Youtube. N.p., n.d. Web.20 Feb. 2010. .
Lucas, George, dir. Yoda vs Count Dooku. Youtube. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .
Magejutsu. "Army Strong Theme." Youtube. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .
Prologue to the Franklin's Tale and the beginning of the Franklin's Tale. 1405. Pius XII Memorial Library, Saint Louis University. Facsimiles of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .
Sgtelzilcho. "Halo 3 Theme." Youtube. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .
Sly0894. "The Franklin's Tale Halo 3 Machinima." 29 Sept. 2008. Youtube. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .
Yoda Wallpaper. N.d. Star Wars Wallpaper. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2010.
In my works cited, for some reason, the blogger would not let me put lines between the sources, and if one line got too long, it would not include all of it.
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