Canterbury Tales Answers – Flashcards
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In "The Wife of Bath's Tale", how does the answer the knight found relate to a woman's role during that time?
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Women did not have self-same sovereignty then.
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In "The Wife of Bath's Tale", the knight's quest is to find out what women want most. What is ironic about that?
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He did not give the young woman he raped the power to say no.
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Explain how the Knight's response to his "bride" after she chastises him for being so mean shows he has matured during the story. ("The Wife of Bath's Tale")
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When he first found the answer to the riddle, he was only interested in saving his life, not what the answer actually means. After his "bride" chastises him for being mean, he gave the power to choose back to her.
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List 9 qualities of the Wife of Bath.
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9 qualities of the Wife of Bath include witty, intelligent, opinionated, sensual, determined, strong willed, expert, vibrant, and irrepressible.
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What is the Wife of Bath's opinion of the churches' workers, in particular the friars?
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She thinks that they are evil spirits.
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List 9 traits of the Code of Chivalry (conduct) for Knights, from the "Wife of Bath's Tale."
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9 traits of the Code of Chivalry include protective, honest, loyal, accountable, trustworthy, serving the king, noble, rescuing people, and brave.
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What act has the knight in the "Wife of Bath's Tale" committed, and what is to be his punishment per the order of the KING?
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He raped a young woman, and the king said that he was going to chop off his head.
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Under what condition does the queen in the "Wife of Bath's Tale" say the knight may save his life? How long does she give him to find the answer?
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The queen says that the knight may save his life by answering a question, "What do women desire the most?" He has a year and a day to answer this question.
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In telling her tale, Dame Alice digresses and includes the story of Midas' secret. What is her point in telling this story?
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She is trying to prove that women can't keep secrets.
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In the "Wife of Bath's Tale," after fruitlessly searching for a year for the answer to the Queen's question, who does the knight finally get an answer to the Queen's condition from? What is the answer and why is it ironic?
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He gets the answer from an old woman in the woods. The answer is that women want self-same sovereignty. This is ironic because he is in trouble for denying a young woman that self-same sovereignty.
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What does the old woman in the "Wife of Bath's Tale" make the knight promise before she will give him the answer to the question?
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He promises to do whatever she says to do next.
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After he goes back to the Queen and gives her the correct answer to save his life, the knight in the "Wife of Bath's Tale" very reluctantly keeps his promise to the old woman. But what does he refuse to do and why?
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He promised to marry the old woman. He refuses to sleep with her. He says she's old, ugly, poor, and low-bred.
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Summarize what the old woman in the "Wife of Bath's Tale" tells the knight about his criticisms. Be specific.
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She says that if it's good enough for God to be poor, it's good enough for her. Actions, not ancestry, make a gentleman. She says that although she's old, she will never cheat on him.
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What choice does the old woman in the "Wife of Bath's Tale" offer the knight? What choice does the knight make and what are the results of his choice.
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She can be old and ugly, and he can be worry-free, or she can be young and beautiful, and he can worry. He gives the choice back to her. The result is that he is giving the power to make the choice back to her.
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What is the relationship between the moral of the "Wife of Bath's Tale" and the point of Dame Alice's prologue?
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Don't judge a book by its cover; therefore, treat everyone equally.
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How does the Pardoner describe his own character and morals in his Prologue?
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The Pardoner is extremely greedy and selfish. He refuses to live in poverty, and in order to gain wealth, he steals from the most needy people. He doesn't care if the people he steals from are starving.
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For what or whom do the three rioters in "The Pardoner's Tale" go looking, and why?
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The three rioters go looking for Death. Death has killed some of their friends in the plague, and stabbed their friend in the heart.
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Whom do the three rioters in "The Pardoner's Tale" meet while they were looking for Death, and how do they treat him?
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The rioters meet a poor, old man. They treat the old man poorly. They are disrespectful, rude, and mean to him.
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Where does the old man in "The Pardoner's Tale" tell the three rioters to go, and what do they find when they get there?
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He tells them to go to the grove of trees and find an oak tree. They found a lot of gold there.
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In "The Pardoner's Tale," while the other two are guarding the gold, what does the younger rioter do to try to keep everything for himself?
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He is going to a chemist to get some poison for some "rats." He plans to kill the other two men.
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In "The Pardoner's Tale," what is the plan of the two rioters who stayed behind to guard the gold?
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The two rioters who are guarding the gold plot to kill the younger one when he comes back from town with the food and drinks.
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Describe what happened to the three rioters in "The Pardoner's Tale," after the younger one came back with the food and the wine.
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The two who were guarding the gold stabbed the young one to death. Then they drank from a poisoned wine bottle and got poisoned.
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What is the moral of "The Pardoner's Tale?"
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If you are greedy, you might die.
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Why do the Pardoner and the Host argue at the end of "The Pardoner's Tale?" Who patches up their argument?
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The Pardoner and the Host argue at the end of the tale because the Pardoner says that the Host is the biggest sinner and should pay the Pardoner, and the Host says he will not pay him. The knight patches up their argument.
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Why is it ironic that the Pardoner preaches a story with the particular moral that he preached in "The Pardoner's Tale?"
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The Pardoner is preaching against greed, when he himself is greedy.
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To what category of Middle Ages Society does the KNIGHT belong?
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The Knight belongs to the Feudal Society.
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To what category of Middle Ages Society does the PARDONER belong?
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The Pardoner belongs to the Church Society.
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To what category of Middle Ages Society does the MONK belong?
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The Monk belongs to the Church Society.
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To what category of Middle Ages Society does the NUN belong?
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The Nun belongs to the Church Society.
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To what category of Middle Ages Society does the SQUIRE belong?
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The Squire belongs to the Feudal Society.
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To what category of Middle Ages Society does the DOCTOR belong?
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The Doctor belongs to the Professional Society.
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To what category of Middle Ages Society does the YEOMAN belong?
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The Yeoman belongs to the Feudal Society.
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To what category of Middle Ages Society does the MERCHANT belong?
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The Merchant belongs to the Professional Society.
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What was the KNIGHT'S occupation?
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The Knight practiced the code of chivalry, was a soldier, and was a jouster.
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What was the PARDONER'S occupation?
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The Pardoner relieved people from their sins.
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What was the MONK'S occupation?
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The Monk was a hunter and a part time priest.
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What was the NUN'S occupation?
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The Nun was a prioress (caretaker).
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What was the SQUIRE'S occupation?
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The Squire served in the cavalry and was a servant to his father.
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What was the DOCTOR'S occupation?
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The Doctor worked with medicine, surgery, and astrology.
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What was the YEOMAN'S occupation?
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The Yeoman was a servant to the knight and a hunter.
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What was the MERCHANT'S occupation?
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The Merchant was a trader.
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Describe the KNIGHT'S physical appearance.
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The Knight does not dress fancy, and he wears a fustian.
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Describe the PARDONER'S physical appearance.
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The Pardoner's hair is as yellow as wax; he has really long hair, he wears no hood, he has bulging eyeballs, and he has a smooth chin.
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Describe the MONK'S physical appearance.
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The Monk was dressed well, was personable, had gray fine fur, had flashy clothing, and was strong.
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Describe the NUN'S physical appearance.
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The Nun wore jewelry, had a big head, had an elephant nose, had a unibrow, wore veil, and had a high forehead.
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Describe the SQUIRE'S physical appearance.
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The Squire had curly hair, was strong, was 20 years old, and was fashionably dressed.
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Describe the DOCTOR'S physical appearance.
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The Doctor's clothes were blood red.
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Describe the YEOMAN'S physical appearance.
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The Yeoman carries a lot of weapons, had a head like a nut, had a brown face, and had a green hoodie.
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Describe the MERCHANT'S physical appearance.
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The Merchant had a forking beard, a colorful dress, a beaver hat, and daintily buckled boots.
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What were the MONK'S flaws, weaknesses, or vices?
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The Monk was more modern than most monks and liked to eat and have fun.
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What were the NUN'S flaws, weaknesses, or vices?
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The Nun had a soft spot for animals, had fancier clothing than she was supposed to, and had pets.
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What were the SQUIRE'S flaws, weaknesses, or vices?
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The Squire was a lover instead of a fighter, sang, wrote songs, danced, and partied.
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What were the DOCTOR'S flaws, weaknesses, or vices?
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The Doctor was greedy, a liar, and sly (tricky).
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What were the MERCHANT'S flaws, weaknesses, or vices?
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The Merchant was in debt, hid his debt, and was a bragger.
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The _________________ is chivalrous, truthful, honorable, generous, courteous, noble, gentle, distinguished, wise, modest, and brave.
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Knight
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The _________________ is gentle, noble, graceful, and has a small voice of a goat.
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Pardoner
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The _________________ is personable outgoing, and non traditional
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Monk
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The _________________ is simple and coy, friendly, a good singer, and not graceful.
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Nun
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The _________________ is courteous, serviceable, loving, intense, and brave.
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Squire
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The _________________ is glib (good with words), superstitious, and not religious.
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Doctor
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The _________________ is obedient, loyal, strong, organized, and prepared.
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Yeoman
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The _________________ is convincing, intelligent, and good at bargaining.
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Merchant
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True or False (Correct the sentence if false): The Canterbury Tales is an example of a frame story because it has several stories within one major story of a journey.
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True
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True or False (Correct the sentence if false): The author, Geoffrey Chaucer, wrote the Canterbury Tales in Middle English, not Latin or French, because he wanted all of the people of England to be able to read it.
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True
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True or False (Correct the sentence if false): "The Prologue" of the Canterbury Tales consists of descriptions of a group of people who were travelling to Westminster Abbey for a musical holiday.
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False; "The Prologue" of the Canterbury Tales consists of descriptions of a group of people who were travelling to Canterbury Cathedral to get their sins resolved or to get healed.
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True or False: Chaucer's descriptions of the people who were traveling were revealing in that they showed Chaucer's critical opinion of the representatives of the church.
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True
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True or False (Correct the sentence if false): "The Pardoner's Tale" is a story about the Plague and its effects.
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False; "The Pardoner's Tale" is a story about greed.
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True or False (Correct the sentence if false): To introduce his tale, the Pardoner preaches against avarice (greed), and this is ironic because he is especially greedy.
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True
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True or False: In "The Wife of Bath's Tale" prologue, the Pardoner is sarcastic towards the Wife of Bath because she claims to be an expert wife, even though she has outlived 5 husbands.
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True
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True or False: "The Wife of Bath's Tale" is a tale about a knight who is chivalrous; in other words, he is a stereotypical knight in shining armor who protects everyone.
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False
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True or False (Correct the sentence if false): A summary of "The Wife of Bath's Tale" would include the sentence of death for the knight because he chose to run away from a battle.
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False; A summary of "The Wife of Bath's Tale" would include the sentence of death for the knight because he raped a young woman.
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True or False: It is ironic that the knight is being forced to do something he does not want to do because he did the same thing to a young woman.
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True
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True or False: The three men in "The Pardoner's Tale" are looking for Death and immediately find him at the top of the hill under an oak tree.
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False
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True or False: In "The Pardoner's Tale" the three rioters plot murders of each other after they find bushels of gold.
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True
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True or False: The Nun, the Monk, and the Squire are all parts of the church society in The Canterbury Tales prologue.
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False
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True or False (Correct the sentence if false): The term "pilgrimage" refers to the people who travel to the Americas.
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False; The term "pilgrimage" refers to a religious journey.
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True or False (Correct the sentence if false): "There was a knight, a most distinguished man, who from the day on which he first began to ride a broad had followed chivalry, truth, honor, generousness, and courtesy." This statement is an example of direct characterization.
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True
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True or False (Correct the sentence if false): Indirect characterization is revealed through a character's dress, action, and private thoughts, as well as another character's thoughts about him.
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True
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True or False (Correct the sentence if false): The indirect characterization of the three rioters is revealed in their rude and insensitive behavior to the old man that they meet while trying to find Death.
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True
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True or False: The moral of the story of "The Wife of Bath" is that it is OK to behave inconsiderately as long as no one is hurt.
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False
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True or False: "The Pardoner's Tale" moral is that greed can lead to horrible consequences as well as death.
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True
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True or False: The Pardoner's actions are so abominable after he tells his story that he and the Host get into an argument about whether or not the Host should buy pardons to absolve his sins.
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True
