Passūs 6-9
I've come to the conclusion that Piers is basically the worst. At first, I saw him as a solid guy who was just trying to help the people find Truth, but then I realized that wasn't the case at all. Piers' motives for helping people are solely self-centered; he does good things only to be rewarded for them. He also just annoyed me when he suddenly asked Hunger to leave as if he didn't call upon him himself. It's like really, now you realize that was a bad idea? He messed up and there was just no coming back from that: "He shall bygge and beg, and no man bete his hunger" (A.7.20). Piers just isn't a good person and it makes me wonder why the author would choose to name the book after him. All he does is be selfish and then plague the city with famine, so he's clearly not a title-worthy character.
I was happy in Passus 8 when the Priest called our Piers because honestly someone had to do it. You should want to do good things to contribute to society as a whole, not to save yourself. I really hope the Dreamer understands the different between these two things because at the end of the Passus he just kind of grouped the concept of doing good in your life into one large idea: "Suche werkes to worche, while we ben here, That, after oure deth-day, Dowel reherse That, at the day of dome, we dude as we aughthe" (A.8.183-185). However, it's not as simple as just doing well, it's all about doing well for the right reasons.
In the 9th Passus, the narrator is looking for Dowel and is told that he is constantly with the friars, which implies he never sins. To this the Dreamer says that that's impossible because everyone sins. I completely agree. I'm pretty sure there's something called Original Sin where just by being born you have sinned? So I don't get what point the author was trying to make by introducing Dowel. Even if you "do well" all throughout your life it is impossible to not sin ever unless you literally aren't human. So maybe he just isn't human. Are any of these characters even human? But is that relevant to the plot? I just feel like these dreams are starting to get more and more illogical so who knows where this novel will end up.
I was happy in Passus 8 when the Priest called our Piers because honestly someone had to do it. You should want to do good things to contribute to society as a whole, not to save yourself. I really hope the Dreamer understands the different between these two things because at the end of the Passus he just kind of grouped the concept of doing good in your life into one large idea: "Suche werkes to worche, while we ben here, That, after oure deth-day, Dowel reherse That, at the day of dome, we dude as we aughthe" (A.8.183-185). However, it's not as simple as just doing well, it's all about doing well for the right reasons.
In the 9th Passus, the narrator is looking for Dowel and is told that he is constantly with the friars, which implies he never sins. To this the Dreamer says that that's impossible because everyone sins. I completely agree. I'm pretty sure there's something called Original Sin where just by being born you have sinned? So I don't get what point the author was trying to make by introducing Dowel. Even if you "do well" all throughout your life it is impossible to not sin ever unless you literally aren't human. So maybe he just isn't human. Are any of these characters even human? But is that relevant to the plot? I just feel like these dreams are starting to get more and more illogical so who knows where this novel will end up.
I love the honesty of this blog post because it is very relatable. I know some of our classmates are not too fond of Piers either, but I feel indifferent towards him. However, I, too, am wondering why this story was named after him. This story seems to jump all over the place, so I do not know if the rest of the poem will provide more explanation. I also like your questions and thoughts regarding Dowel. The author seems to bring up the idea of forgiveness through Christ and the importance of good works, so I wonder how those topics will play into one another and what statement the author will try to make by the end of the book,
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of your comments about Piers; he sometimes seems like a good guy, but then at others you cant justify his actions all the time. He is self centered to an extent, but then also worries about the poor and needy (sort of). I think that passus 9 is just completely introducing a new side of the story, kind of like Valley of Fear part 2, which is why it seems so weird considering we just read 3 passus about Piers and his antics.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! I am not too fond of Piers; he seems self-centered and a little bit patronizing. I think he might just be a little misguided, because it does seem like he cares at least somewhat about the beggars and the poor.
ReplyDeleteWhat is "doing well" then, if not striving to always do the right thing?
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