Chaucer has many pilgrims in his general prologue. With each person, he describes their personalities and characteristics. Chaucer describes what that person's clothing is like and how they live out their lives. All of them are from that certain time period. For example, Chaucer describes a monk, a miller, a knight, a squire, and many other characters from that time period. In the present time, Chaucer would have made different characters that live in today's time period. If Chaucer were writing today, three of his new characters would be a nerd, a gangster, and a police officer. The first new character would be a nerd. The nerd has recently become a common term in today’s society. Nerds are super smart characters that wear different clothes and talk about school work all the time. Their clothes could be described as somewhat unusual. They would wear polo or plaid shirts with tight jeans and Converse shoes. The nerds also have big glasses and slicked back greasy hair. Their voices would be high pitched and squeaky. All the nerds would hang out together at school and after school to do their school work together. Being beaten up by bullies would be a common thing for the nerd. Chaucer would most likely add the nerd to his list of characters because they are very common today. …show more content…
The gangster is very easy to spot in large cities across the United States. Gang members tend to hang out in dark alleys and in deserted parts of the city. They wear large plain t-shirts and loose baggy pants. The gangster would have lots of tattoos all over their face, arms and chest. Having knives and guns hidden under their belts would be a very common thing for the gangster. They would spend most of their time fighting with rival gangs in the city; always competing for territory of the area. There would be lots of shootings and drive byes against other gang members. The gangster would be a very popular character to add to Chaucer’s list of modern day
Well known article writer, Leonid Fridman, in his article, “America Needs Its Nerds”, describes the truthful idea that nerds and geeks, in our society, are ostracized while the kids who play sports and party are prominent. Fridman’s purpose is to impress upon the readers that nerds should not have to conform to society’s unimpressive values of what it means to be “popular”. He adopts an indignant tone in order to convey to his readers that the idea of nerds and geeks needs to fought. Fridman moves to the idea that children who would rather read and build model airplanes are the social outcasts compared to the ones who would rather play football and get wasted at parties.
Leonid Fridman wrote the article, “America Needs its Nerds” in 1990. At the time, he was the founder of the Society of Nerds and Geeks at Harvard University. He wrote this article pertaining to the fact that according to him “Nerds” and “Geeks” are looked poorly upon, but specifically in the United States. For liking books rather than football they are boring and become social outcasts because those who value football see nerds as hating “fun”. He is arguing against parents and kids who think nerd and geek are derogatory terms.
In our society today, the terms “nerd” or “geek” are used derogatorily instead of used upliftinglyin an uplifting manner to those who are more serious about their studies or education. In today’s world especially, we are quick to judge based on appearance or what certain people’s interests may be instead of supporting them. In a passage from Leonid Fridman’s literary work titled “America Needs Its Nerds,” he discusses the present issue relating to “geeks” and “nerds” and the positive affect they could have on our nation if they are supported. Fridman expresses his stand on the issue through definition, contrast and appeal to emotion.
Leonid Fridman’s passage “America Needs Its Nerds” examines how intelligent people are disgraced for being interested in academics. Fridman argues that “nerds and geeks must stop being ashamed of who they are” through effective comparisons and a repetition of ideas to inform the citizens of America about the importance of smart minds. Furthermore, Fridman reiterates the concept of nerds being viewed differently compared to others in the first half of the passage. The author implied that society favored people who focused less on academic activities and more on being social or active.
When you hear the word nerd, what image appears in your mind? Is it a lonely bairn with glasses, a bow tie, and suspenders who is extremely intellectual and enjoys computers and mathematics? This is the stereotypical nerd. A real nerd, however, does not necessarily need to fit this distinct mold that is set by society. I believe that due to this common portrayal of a nerd, the true definition is misunderstood and incorrectly applied.
This source will be helpful in my paper because the setting was made very Similar to the real thing. " Gangs of New York." Wikipedia. February 12, 2018.
The movies made car crashes, gunfire, and killing seem like wonderful things just because these gangsters had cool cars, girlfriends, and nice clothes (Lieurance 71). These gangsters were so glorified in the movies, but in real life, they were no joke. “During the first ten years of the 18th amendment, the murder rate climbed to 78% across the country and the arrests for drunken driving increased by 81%” (Hanson). One of the most popular and well-known gangsters in the 1920s was Al Capone (Lieurance 72). His most popular nickname was “Scarface” because when he was young he was attacked by a man named Frank Galluccio that cut his face three times with a razor (Lieurance 72).
Chaucer uses the “Prologue” knight to provide social commentary on the good in humanity. The Prologue knight “loved chivalry / Truth, honour, freedom and all courtesy / Full worthy was he in his sovereign’s war / Of mortal battles he had fought fifteen”
Gangsters are the very first people to start the crimes. Just because someone identifies as a police does not mean they always have the power to control or defeat a situation. Police often sometimes thought they were somewhat powerless when it came to gangsters: “The gangsters bought off whole waves of police and whole
There is a 25% increase of gang activity in Chicago as of 2009 to 2011. There are about 100 different types of gangs and a few of the most dangerous ones are in Chicago. For example you have the Latin kings, Bloods, Crips, Disciples, Folks, and many more. One of the most dangerous gangs in Chicago would be the Latin Kings. Each gang could have over 100 members or more in their
In general, people do not consider the commonly used words “nerd and geek” to be that deprecatory. Referring to them as “derogatory” develops his argument that intellectuals receive undeserved criticism. To make an additional point, Fridman uses the words nerd and geek throughout the remainder of his essay, further drawing the reader's attention to his view on the words and their disparaging
A respected author John Green questions, "Why is being a nerd bad? Saying I notice you 're a nerd is like saying, ‘Hey I knows that you 'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you 'd rather be thoughtful of them be vapid, that you believe that there things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan and why is that?” Many people who are passionate about their studies question the same thing. Leonid Fridman wrote a passage “America Needs its Nerds” in order to raise concern that our society does not value intelligence. Fridman uses compare and contrast to get his point across to the readers.
From 1870-1900, crime rate in New York hit its peak. Alcohol was very cheap at this time, and drugs such as cocaine were very easy to come by. Prostitution and gambling were not uncommon seeing as they were not illegal. The formation of gangs began in the city as well. These weren’t just common thugs though, a lot of young, working-class men began to join together to form gangs.
The main thesis of “America Needs Its Nerds” by Leonid Fridman is how the “so-called nerds” should embrace themselves instead of pretending to be someone they’re not. Nerds and geeks are shunned by not finding interest in the activities that most kids do. The time of making fun of them is now gradually disappearing because more people realize that we need the nerds to contribute to the growth of society. In our countries, the “nerds” are praised upon and held as an example, instead of being an symbol of ridicule for others in a classroom setting. In the U.S.A, we ostracized them instead of serving them an inspiration.
Geoffrey Chaucer, considered one of the greatest English poets in the Middle Ages, composed The Canterbury Tales in the late fourteenth century. In the novel twenty-nine men and women representing all aspects of Medieval society embark on a religious pilgrimage to the cathedral at Canterbury in southeast England. On their journey their host engages them in a storytelling contest with a free meal as the prize upon their return. Chaucer wrote the tales in Middle English, the vernacular of the Medieval period, making his work accessible to all classes of people.