General Argument
When you consider anything like this, your first step is to figure out what or who the middle class is. Start with yourself.
Is your family a member of the middle class. How did you decide? By income? By activity? By possessions? By neighborhood? By clothes? By church and your position in it or that of your family? I'll do this for myself, and you'll get the idea how to go about doing.
I do go to church, but I'm more of a spectator 4 out of 10
We are not wealthy, but we have enough to get by 5 out of 10
We have savings, but if a catastrophe came we'd sink 5 out of 10
There is nothing in our house which has outstanding
value. My tools are about the most expensive possession 4 out of 10
We have a 10 year old Honda Fit Best Car ever (It's paid for)5 out of 10
We used to travel. We stayed out a couple of months/time 8 out of 10
We own our own home. Paid for. 8 out of 10
If we qualify for the middle class, it is just barely, but then I'm retired. I do't have to impress anyone.
So what is the middle class? Who are they? Do they include clerics. Don't think so. Are they wealthy? No! They have enough but not super enough. If we are careful we can do what is most important to us. Our travels are to children except when I get to choose, then it is what appeals to me (sunshine eating out once a day).
What I'm pointing out is what are the characteristics of your middle class where you are. How does that compare with the Chaucearean middle class. All middle classes have much the same characteristics.
After you decide your criteria for a middle class, see how many of them fit the criteria you have chosen. Some may not, but somehow they are. That would be a very interesting discussion.
Then google Chaucer Rise of Middle Class. Use any of this as background. Never take the word of a scholar over your own feeling for the subject. But you have to respect what scholars have to say. They have dug deeply into the subject. Listen, but don't copy.
Chaucer has a view all of his own. Do you agree with it? Why or why not. Somehow you have to bring yourself into it without bringing yourself directly into it. But you have to understand exactly what a middle class is and what they do and most of all what Chaucer thinks of them (he does not find all of them very likable). I think he respects some for their skills (that's how they make their living) and others because they are likable scoundrels. Being a guy, I like the wife of Bath, although I've heard women tear her to bits. I think Chaucer liked her. Is she a member of the middle class? Does marriage qualify her? Each time you mention a character you have to classify him or her and why.
That should keep you busy!!!
Thesis Statement
There are pilgrims on the way to Canterbury. Of these are members of the middle class. Chaucer sees them as in some cases, and in others. This paper will discuss exactly how he uses each character to represent a point of view about the middle class. This is not an exhaustive study and reasons will be given for each choice. Others not included will be part of the concluding remarks.
