Harry Potter and the Canterbury Tales

This was a short response written for a Humanities course so when I say 'we' I am referring to what was talked about in class. If you are familiar with the Canterbury Tales then you should understand what I am talking about. Although I have realized that the word limit forced me to condense a lot and so this might be hard to follow my train of thought. 

Recently, I was watching all of the Harry Potter movies when I noticed something quite similar between Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, specifically in The Pardoners’ Tale.

 The Deathly Hallows Part 1 follows Harry as he leaves school for the first time and sets out in pursuit of the knowledge needed to defeat Voldemort, and ultimately death. I saw Harry’s journey as very similar to that of a pilgrimage, although he is not on this journey because he sinned, he is doing it for life. In analyzing the Canterbury Tales we talked about a pilgrimage being like a road, a metaphor for life. The pilgrims are on their journey to repent for their sins and to find knowledge, much like Harry is on his journey to find knowledge and this is his journey to adulthood, to find life.

We also talked about human suffering being a result of human sin, and this directly applies to Voldemort, whom has ‘sinned’ multiple times not only with murder and torture, but also by cheating death. By this time in the film series you have learned much of Voldemorts past and you know that he suffered as a young child. In Deathly Hallows you can see the transformation this has caused him, he only cares for complete power and the ability to exact revenge on those who caused him to suffer. The Deathly Hallows film focuses a lot on death, and the consequences that can lead one to death, most importantly greed.

This is very similar to the tale that the Pardoner tells. And this is seen most clearly in “The Tale of Three Brothers” scene. The tale, read to Harry in the Deathly Hallows film, shows him what he must do to defeat Voldemort but it also shows him what the consequences would be if he were to choose the wrong path. When the three brothers are approached by Death they each have to make a decision and which decision, or ‘path’, they take will determine their fate. Two of the brothers act on greed and are later taken by Death, but the third brother who takes a different path lives a long life.

In basic terms the decision is black or white, good or bad, and it is very similar to the decisions Harry has to make, and it is much like choosing a path on the road of life. That decision determines what kind of person you are and what your fate will be. In being forced to make these decisions the three brothers and Harry are similarly on the same journey of self-discovery that the pilgrims are on. In the Pardoners’ Tale the three friends are all taken by Death because of their greed for wealth and power, just as two of the brothers from “The Tale of Three Brothers” are overcome with greed. This is also Voldemort’s downfall, his thirst for power and for greed lead to his death.

The themes presented in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, mainly The Pardoners’ Tale, are the same themes in the storyline of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, interwoven between Harry, Voldemort, and the three brothers. 

Brokeback Beliefs Deconstructed

A brief essay on the ideological values of the film Brokeback Mountain, directed by Ang Lee. This is strictly my own opinions and I am quite aware that I have left a great deal out of this essay.

In the film Brokeback Mountain (2005), directed by Ang Lee, the ideological beliefs of the viewer are deconstructed. Firstly, the image of a functional heterosexual family devolves into a marriage full of anger and misery. Secondly, the idea of a homosexual male being “manly”, which is not often portrayed, shows the viewer that being homosexual does not diminish a man’s strength. Both of these ideals, the common American belief, are taken apart to create a film in which acceptance of homosexuality destroys the happiness of not only the men involved, but also the people around them.

The image of the happy, heterosexual relationship is deconstructed and the audience is presented with violence and misery. The relationship between Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Alma (Michelle Williams) is seen as very dysfunctional. Jack’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) marriage to Lureen (Anne Hathaway) is portrayed in the same way. Both marriages are constantly overshadowed by the threat of violence, either from Ennis, or from Lureen’s father. The image of the perfect American family is taken apart in the way that wife and husband communicate with each other and also by their surroundings. Both Jack and Ennis are subjected to unhappiness because of societies image of the perfect family: “And for the rest of their lives, unhappily married with children.” (Bradshaw) When Jack and Ennis are on the mountain, vivid colours and vast landscapes of Brokeback surround them. Compared to the colourless surroundings at their respective homes, it is clear that their homosexual relations are much more fulfilling than their heterosexual ones. When Alma discovers her husband’s relationship with Jack the marriage begins to fall apart; “[Alma] has a powerful scene where she finally calls Ennis on his “fishing trips.” But she takes a long time to do that, because nothing in her background prepares her for what she has found out about her husband.” (Ebert) The knowledge that she has is what ultimately destroys their marriage, and leads to multiple arguments in which either Jack or Alma walk away from the situation. The ideology of a heterosexual relationship being the only one acceptable is seen vividly in how after his marriage has ended, Jack pursues another woman. Even though this makes him unhappy he continues with it because society has made him believe it is what is right.

Another ideology that is deconstructed in this film is the image of the homosexual male. This male is often portrayed as a feminine character, but this is not the case for Jack and Ennis. These characters are both seen as the “bread maker” of their families. Alma tells Jack that she would be willing to have more children if he would support them. When he drops his two daughters off at the grocery store his job is also portrayed as more important then Alma’s. Jack is also portrayed as manly when he is seen riding the bulls. The viewer sees both Jack and Ennis as strong men, Jack when he participates in the bull riding, and Ennis when he is working construction in which one of the workers replays a conversation he had about the work being hard on his back. Even the beginning of their relationship is not given the average love and passion that is seen in that of one between a man and woman; “The consummation of their relationship is a brief, violent, loveless episode that over their first summer together becomes an idyll of half-naked wrestling, nuzzling by the campfire and fistfights that inevitably end in an embrace.” (Hornaday) This further increases their “manly” image because even when they care for each other they do physical damage to each other and their consummation is raw and without passion. Their violence asserts their power as men and creates the image of what society would describe as normal men.

            The ideologies portrayed in this film are the downfall of the characters happiness. Neither Jack nor Ennis are happy in their marriages because they can’t be together. This unhappiness affects all the ones around them. Alma and Lureen are both left miserable because they know that their husbands don’t love them. And the children are left without their biological fathers. Even Lureen’s father is miserable, which he expresses with anger, because he wants better for his daughter, and he believes that Jack’s homosexuality is a bad thing. Ennis’ impassionate relationship causes misery for Alma when they are married and after they get divorced. Her knowledge of his relationship with Jack, and her disapproval of it, makes her miserable because she cannot accept it. These ideologies are what create the misery and loneliness of the film. This deconstruction makes the viewer rethink the issue of homosexuality as a stigma.

            Brokeback Mountain deconstructs two main ideologies in American society, first that the perfect family consists of a man and woman, and secondly that homosexuals cannot be “manly”. The film also portrays an image in which these ideologies can destroy a person’s life and their happiness. 

Bibliography

Bradshaw, Peter. Brokeback Mountain. 6 1 2006. 1 12 2012 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2006/jan/06/3>.

Brokeback Mountain. Dir. Ang Lee. Perf. Jake Gyllenhaal Heath Ledger. 2005.

Ebert, Roger. Brokeback Mountain. 16 12 2005. 2 12 2012

<http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051215/REVIEWS/51019006/1023>.

Hornaday, Ann. Lost in Love's Rocky Terrain. 15 12 2012. 5 12 2012 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/15/AR2005121502059.html>.