University of Makati

J.P. Rizal Ext. West Rembo, Makati City, 1215

College of Education

Name: Nieva, Angel Ann T. Course: II-BSED English

Topic: “The Canterbury Tales” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” Name of Activity: Individual Task

“Remembering the brutality of slavery, discrimination, and inequality in the Canterbury

Tales and Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

The Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer (1387-1400) and Uncle Tom’s Cabin of

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1851-1852) are two of the greatest books because of their

realistic stories, knowledge, and moral lessons that they imparted around the world. In

the Canterbury Tales, the tales of the pilgrims gave insights into the experiences and

the life of the people living in Canterbury or in England (Encyclopaedia Britannica,

2011). Hence, Chaucer gave each character their right to freedom of speech which

cannot be seen in the novel of Stowe in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It entails the story of Uncle

Tom, as an enslaved person, and the people who experienced slavery and

discrimination during those periods (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2011). Hence, Stowe

opens the eyes of people around the world through her novels that no one should

experience slavery and discrimination like the person behind her novel, Josiah Henson

(1789-1882). Through this paper, the fascinating story of the two greatest books will be

written, and the journey of the characters will be relieved.

The Canterbury Tales entails details about the society that England has during the

14th Century, hence it was narrated by each tale by the pilgrim who travels to
Canterbury Cathedral. Each pilgrim in the story is of a different class which provides the

insight that in England, social classes are relevant, such as nobility, clergy, and

peasants (Schultz, 2022). Thus, with these social classes, those in the higher rank have

the power to provide voices and hence never listen to people under them, and peasants

regard them as being the lowest and will never have the right to their speech. For

instance, Christians are portrayed as pessimistic, with the friar, monk, summoner, and

pardoner being portrayed as having greater sinfulness than the general populace in the

Canterbury Tales (Andres, 2021). Those who have power over their ruling and consider

themselves as the leader of religion are the ones who are committing sins with their

greed, and being brutal to those people under them. However, regardless of these

social powers, in the Canterbury Tales each voice can be heard: may you be a noble,

clergy, or peasant pilgrim (The Canterbury Tales: The Purpose Of A Narrative -

Edubirdie, 2022)Thus, this portrays that Chaucer wants to interpret the importance of

freedom of speech for everyone. The freedom to express thoughts, stories, ideas, and

perspectives in the Canterbury Tales are highly visible, hence it depicts that each

individual may be in different classes but has their own unique experience and

perspectives that are important to display to prove that everyone has human rights and

access to freedom of speech in the society.

On the other hand, Uncle Tom’s Cabin drew the attention of the readers due to its

intriguing story on slavery and discrimination. The literature of Stowe depicts how

American society worked during the 16th to 19th centuries. Thus, it resonates that

slavery has been a part of culture and traditions in the United states because of its

benefits to their economy. They were dependent on them, especially the African slave,
to work on their crafts, especially on land cultivation, and production of tobacco, rice,

and sugar plantations according to the statistics of Nations Geographic on “How Slavery

Helped Build a World Economy” (2021). Enslaved people, like the portrayal of Uncle

Tom, do not have freedom of their own, which entails that in the mid-19th century,

people did not have equal rights as human beings. They are being discriminated

against, oppressed, and violated. Americans are brutal to them hence the law called the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was established. This law of the United States stated that it

is illegal to offer aid or assistance to a runaway slave (Slavery in Colonial America.,

2021). Imagine the hopelessness of the enslaved people during those periods, they are

working, being oppressed, and discriminated against but society will never let them do

things as a normal human being should experience. Hence, these became Stowe’s

inspiration in her work, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the objections to the law, discrimination, and

slavery pushed her to publish a book that aims to reach people to end these inhumane

acts. Stowes’ literary work influenced society not just in America but all over the world

that slavery is evil, un-Christian, and should never be tolerated in a civil society.

The literature of Stowe and Chaucer included metaphors, symbols, and analogies

that immerse the readers in better ideas and concepts of the story and each tale in the

Canterbury Tales and Uncle Tom’s Cabin. For instance, symbols such as the clothes of

the people, and the season or the settings of the story relive. The clothing during that

time defined each character; those who wore extravagant clothes and dresses depicted

that they had power or were in noble families or clergy, and when they wore plain and

dirty clothes they were part of the peasant class. Furthermore, the symbols of birds

chirping, and the flowers blossoming depicts that the story happens in springtime (The
Canterbury Tales: Symbols | SparkNotes, n.d.). Meanwhile, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the

Cabin served as a symbol of freedom to the slaves, and also as an analogy for a place

of love and support for Uncle Tom’s family (LitCharts, n.d.)..

The Canterbury Tales and Uncle Tom’s Cabin are two of the greatest books in the

world as they bring knowledge and moral lessons to people around the world. It entails

the experiences of the people during that period. These books both engraved into the

reader's mind and heart that inequality and discrimination among people's classes are

relevant in the past and are passed down in the present. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, it is

visible how slavery is still prominent today, these are the forces of labor, sex trafficking,

human trafficking, and the like that use force on the workers. Hence, this will never

change if not everyone is willing to change these setups or the whole tradition. Work is

a vital force for a person to survive, but it is also important to achieve human rights

beside it. Thus, in the Canterbury Tales, each may have the ability to represent their

ideas and perspectives using their tales, however, the social classes are still visible

thus, in the present it can be seen as those who have the power only have the best

experience and those who are in lower classes demonstrate the hardship of life.

Regardless, everyone should still hope that slavery, discrimination, and inequality

should halt and no single soul shall experience the life of Mr. Josiah Henson.
References:

Andres, K. (2021, December 8). The Portrayal of Christianity in Beowulf and The

Canterbury Tales. Medium.

https://medium.com/@kennethandres/portrayal-of-christianity-in-beowulf-and-the-

canterbury-tales-38f58505cbf3

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2011, March 18). The Canterbury Tales | Summary,

Characters, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Canterbury-Tales

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2011b, November 14). Uncle Tom’s Cabin | Summary, Date,

& Significance. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Uncle-Toms-Cabin

How Slavery Helped Build a World Economy. (2021b, May 4). History.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/how-slavery-helped-build-a-w

orld-economy

LitCharts. (n.d.). Uncle Tom's cabin symbol analysis. LitCharts. Retrieved March 27,

2023, from

https://www.litcharts.com/lit/uncle-tom-s-cabin/symbols/uncle-tom-s-cabin

Slavery in Colonial America. (2021, March 25). American Battlefield Trust.

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/slavery-colonial-america#:~:text=The%2

0history%20and%20growth%20of,rice%20(in%20the%20Carolinas).

The Canterbury Tales | Encyclopedia.com. (n.d.).

https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/canterbury-tales
The Canterbury Tales: The Purpose Of A Narrative - Edubirdie. (2022, June 16).

Edubirdie.

https://edubirdie.com/examples/the-canterbury-tales-the-purpose-of-a-narrative/

The Canterbury Tales: Symbols | SparkNotes. (n.d.). SparkNotes.

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-canterbury-tales/symbols/