Piers Plowman Dbq

While they were only getting richer with their corrupt methods, the poorer classes were getting poorer because of the money they spent on the capitalists’ goods. In “The Robber Barons of Today, 1889”, the robber barons are seen with their “knightly” attire while the poor pay “tribute” to them. (Doc D) It represents the poor paying the “amazing” capitalists and being subservient for the goods they need. Also, in Henry George’s Progress and Poverty, 1879, it said that the gulf between the classes is getting wider and wider. Because of the industrial tycoons taking the poor’s money, they are getting richer. They are also providing fewer jobs since the industries usually have one major company for a particular manufacturing, and so “the poorer class is becoming more dependent” on the capitalists to provide jobs and goods. (Doc A) The robber barons took the poor’s money to become wealthier and to feed their greed while worsening the gap between the social

An American writer, Susan Sontag, stated that capitalism is, “the ideology [which] makes us all into connoisseurs of liberty—of the indefinite expansion of possibility”. From 1850 to 1907, there was a mass immigration to America and the rise of ‘Gilded Age’ which the United States population and economy grew quickly. Capitalism is a social and economic system where both the means of production and any associate trades are privately owned. During 1850 to 1907, there were a number of factors which contributed to the rise of Capitalism such as: significant entrepreneurial figures such as Henry Ford; mass immigration and cheap labour; and Railway and telegraph lines expansion to transport goods to be sold.

Although the feudal system presented a mutually beneficial relationship at first, over time many burdens were placed on the vassals. A serf was bound to the land, thus resulting in a fixed income. Since he was unable to move to another lord, he was reliant on only what was originally agreed upon to provide monetary support. [Support was generally in kind, or in labor.] With no “right” to adjust the support needed for survival, the serf and his family experiences tremendous hardships.

Supposedly, both the individuals with ascribed statuses with hereditary wealth and the poor and homeless have equal chances to become successful although, Orestes Bronwnson in The Laboring Classes, pointed out that this is not true. “Do the young man inheriting ten thousand pounds and the one whose inheritance is merely the gutter, start even?” (219). As a result, the harsh separation of the rich and the poor, where capitalism thrives and,” the division of the community into two classes, one which owns the funds…the other provides the labor” (216). The inhumane apprehension of a capitalist society that keeps its workers “in a permanent system, [has] given preference to the slave system” (214) says a lot about the evils of capitalism corresponding with the false American Dream. An outcome of capitalism is the frustrating rivalry between the poor. “There’s more people! That’s what’s ruining the country. The competition is maddening”

Greed during the Gilded Age was not good, but was still very evident in strikes and lockouts, politics, and monopolies. Greed is an intense and selfish desire to be better and have more than others and it can often cause people to get hurt and be put into dangerous situations. During the gilded age, economy was expanding and most people were motivated by wealth and their own greed. While greed may be good for the greedy, it is not good for those who are in the way of the greedy and those who just simply are not greedy.

During a time with corruption being at an all time high during the Gilded Age, with a mass influx of new immigrants from Eastern and southern Europe, such as Scandinavians or Italians. Corruption as seen through political machines as seen through Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed; along with mediocre presidents during the time period. Art being one of the many ways people could express their true feelings in a time where corruption was at a high point. George Bellows with paintings like, “Cliff Dwellers” depicting life in an urban city with an influx of new immigrants in urban areas like New York. Along with the harsh conditions in the dense urban areas such as

The theme of inequality starts to develop in the first chapter where the peasants are depicted to be living in conditions, which are regarded to be wretched. These peasants only have scant clothing and the children are required by law to walk bare without any garments. Furthermore, the peasants live in filthy spaces, and they eat poor food. Iron collars are put on the peasant as an indication of slavery which is rampant among the common population (Hasty 22). The deplorable condition of the peasants sharply contradicts the life of the knights and the inhabitants of the royal court. In the royal court, there is a parade of knights residing in the

inferior to those of rulers, and far removed from manliness an uprightness” (Doc. 5). He

The population losses among the previously overpopulated peasant class, who at this time were underemployed due to this overpopulation, were able to haggle for higher wages and better terms when it came to working, renting, and owning land. At the same time, the sudden loss in population meant the nobles could not demand high prices for product which weakened their power of wealth. This coupled with the higher earning wages of the peasant class meant they could move up in the social order to become farmers themselves or merchants of equal social standing. This period of social mobility didn’t last long, but it allowed for the end of feudalism as it was known during the Middle Ages. The end of feudalism meant the end of kings and nobles being able to give land in return for anything they could ever need including food and protection from knights. While it was still an important part of social class, land was no longer in the very center controlling every decision. In the years before the Black Death, it was the peasants who gave food and work to the knights. The knights then gave protection to nobles which gave money and the knights’ protection to the kings. In return, the king passed down land throughout the social classes. Although, the lower classes had the opportunity to accumulate land for the services they provided, in the end

The peasants in Germany were “aggrieved by the appropriation by individuals of meadows and fields which at one time belonged to a community” (1) because what was shared land was now taken exclusively by the landholders to grow cash crops and to prevent the peasants from supplementing themselves in a time of shortages. The Little Ice age had made crops more unreliable, and although it was a natural event that caused this dearth of food, the landholders required the peasants to toil much harder. This increase in already strenuous labor caused disease, death, and overworked peasants, which lead to decreases in production and population. The infectious and fatal Black Death also caused people to be more susceptible to disease and inevitably death. The peasants in Bohemia worked laboriously because Eastern Europe was heavily dependent on agriculture sales to Western Europe. The productivity on farms was imperative for economic balance in Europe, due to the current increase in urbanization. Document 4 does show that the government was interested in investigating these severe conditions, although they were unaware that the nobles did not “have the best intentions” (4) for the peasants. Originally, the government agreed to this serfdom, because it was returned with loyalty for the ruler, but the labors have gotten much worse.

During the Middle Ages a peasant’s life was, indeed, very rough, there were anywhere from ten to sixty families living in a single village; they lived in rough huts on dirt floors, with no chimneys, or windows. Usually one end of the hut was given over to storing livestock. Furnishings were quite sparse; three legged stools, a trestle table, beds softened with straw or leaves and placed on the floor; the peasant diet was mainly porridge, cheese, black bread, and a few homegrown vegetables. Peasants had a hard life, yet they did not work on Sundays, and they could travel to nearby fairs and markets. The basic diet of a lord consisted of meat, fish, pastries, cabbage, turnips, onions, carrots, beans, and peas, as well as fresh bread, cheese, and fruit. This is by no means equivalent to the meals the peasants ate, a lord might even feast on boar, swan, or peacock as well.

There are many reasons why he feels as if they are unfit to rule. Towards the end of part 1, he starts to talk about slavery and he explains how they are seen under capitalism. I think he really contradicts himself because you either feel like the bourgeois should be praised or should not be praised.

The third and final way in which the master/servant relationship comes about according to Millar is in the sentence of a judge. Where the servant is ordered to perform service duties for those that were offended in the means of compensation by his own authority, and assigned the labor and service of the criminal as an indemnification to the sufferer for the loss he had sustained. By paying for a committed crime for the period time that a judge has sentenced (245).” Millar says this happens in more civilized ages. For the purpose of maintain the orders of the population.

He makes clear the definition of the peasantry as a “Social Class” (pg. 11): as working within a hierarchy of lower class farmers, artisans and manual labourers as opposed to the upper class landed elites who held control over their produce. It is the existence of these social differences which “Inevitably generate antagonism” (pg.11) in the lower class workers. This idea of ‘inevitability’ in his language is important: to Hilton, the peasant’s revolt was not primarily spontaneous, but more due to long lasting friction between the proletariat and bourgeoisie. The changes in land usage, the wage rises, and labour scarcity that succeeded the Black Plague were all factors that increased certain social imbalances; workers were forced to move closer to towns, became more dependent on their landlords, and local industrialisation efforts had begun. The 1381 revolt was symptomatic of such discontentment, and stands as a singular case of the kind of action that necessitates such a ‘Seigneurial regime’.

We cannot read the CT as an honest criticism of 14th century English society without examining the entire picture - and this picture includes Chaucer's ideological contradiction. To better understand Chaucer's real message - criticizing the Three Estates system in order to encourage acceptance of his own Estate, the merchant or middle class - I will briefly discuss the Three Estates system and Chaucer's role in the system's shift to include a Fourth Estate (and how this shift influenced the CT). Then I will examine four stories from the CT (The Wife of Bath's Prologue, The Friar's Tale, The Summoner's Tale, and The Pardoner's Tale) in which Chaucer seems to denounce elements of the social paradigm. I will then examine four stories from the CT (The Knight's Tale, The Man of Law's Tale, The Second Nun's Tale, and The Parson's Tale) in which Chaucer contradicts his criticism of his society. Finally, I will discuss how the dominant social paradigm influenced Chaucer's view of the lower classes, and how the classist structure led to ideological contradictions within the CT. Before we discuss Chaucer's ideological contradictions, however, we must first examine the system he was attempting to change, the Three Estate system.