response to Bloom’s argument

The paper is an answer to Bloom's assertion in his novel, Genius, that most movies and novels, even if published hundreds of years ago, still matter. The idea differs from the belief that most movies made today will be forgotten in a hundred years, and that most books were written hundreds of years ago will be forgotten in a hundred years. Notably, there is a close relationship between the past and the present, since certain written documents are written hundreds of years ago still contain incidents and experiences that are still observed today. The Canterbury Tales authored by Geoffrey Chaucer is a collection of twenty-four stories, and they were estimated to be written between the years, 1387-1400. The stories are compared to the character Joker in the movie “Suicide Squad,” a character who tries his level best to save his lover from death. Despite the fact that the Tales and the film were set at different historical times, there exists a strong relationship between the two pieces of literature. Notably, the reason behind the tales is the ultimate price of getting a reward for the best story teller. The reward was a meal Bailey’s tavern. All the pilgrims put the effort in winning the prize by narrating different captivating tales, and it is out of these tales that plot of the book. On the other hand, the movie, “Suicide Squad” captures convicts who are promised of the ultimate reward of their sentences being reduced if they assisted in saving the world from the various dangers that faced humankind (Sellen and Chaucer 684). The squad had to take different missions, but their ultimate goal is to work together and achieve their objective. The Joker, who is one of the crew members, works hard in an attempt to rescue his lover from imminent danger. Therefore, the two different pieces of literature though they were composed at different times in history illustrate the spirit of sacrifice to attain freedom and grace.Remarkably, the content of most of the stories in the tales depicted contemporary issues that affected the society back in the days. Many of them represent social evils that engrossed the societies. Also, the movie,’’ Suicide Squad” illustrates the evils that exist in the world today. The world in the present days is experiencing a war that threatens to eliminate the whole world as a whole. Notably, the same evil is propagated by the government using Officer Amanda Waller, to put the lives of the citizens at the risk of death in the name of saving the world. The suicide squad has no option but to join in the war and the process, many of them end up losing their lives.The tale of Knight illustrates relationships that can develop in the context of jail. The prisoners end up developing relationships that are mutual to improve solace and comfort from each other. The prisoners depicted in the story ended up falling in love with the same woman, and they try their level best to win the girl over. Remarkably, the rivalry is aroused among the two friend prisoners, and they sought to eliminate each other. In the end, one of them dies, and the other marries the girl. The story illustrates that in the years of 1400s, love was a controversial issue and people were willing to sacrifice a lot for the sake of attaining it. In the movie, the character Joker risks his life so as to save his lover, Hartley from danger. He tries his level best to disarm her bomb through the help of Dr. Vann Chris who in the end disarms the bomb. Notably, in the process of finding the way forward in disarming the bomb of his lover, Joker causes the torture of Belle Reve who was the security officer. The two scenarios illustrate the fact that love was an issue that could have brought disasters is not handled in the right way. The quote “Theseus apprehends them and arranges a tournament between the two knights and their allies, with Emelye as the prize” illustrates that the battle between the two knights was an Arranged affair and the chief protagonist sister in law was the ultimate price (Sellen and Chaucer 325). In the same way, the woman, Joker was pursuing was the final price of his rescue missions. Therefore, an element of love as depicted in the two different periods does not seem to change much since the desire to live with relatives is illustrated in the two periods. The miller’s prolog and tale additionally represent a social evil that existed in the days. Nicholas, the impoverished student plots to persuade the wife of his landlord. The chief protagonist in the story uses his wisdom to take advantage of the foolishness of his owner, in the end, he succeeds to lay with the wife of the landlord. After Absolon discovers the act of the two lovers, he decided to expose them, but the two unite to dissuade Absolon. The action brings out the idea of evils that existed in the circles of marriage. The wife of the carpenter was not supposed to consider having an affair with Nicholas and was expected to enlighten his husband about the fallacy of Nicholas. Instead, she decided to cheat on her husband and hide the act. On the other hand, due to the love of humanity and putting public safety as the priority, the government decided to use prisoners to execute deadly missions to secure the world. Consequently, the lives of the subjects are put at risk but in the end, they succeed in their mission. The tale of Miller illustrates that back in the days, when one was determined to achieve a particular goal in life, definitely got it. Nicholas was determined to win over the love of his landlord’s wife, and in the end, he succeeded in convincing her. The government is passionate to protect its citizens, and thus it does the imaginable of using prisoners to execute the deadly mission. The two scenarios illustrate that in the two events though depicted at different times, there was not space for the weak and the fool. The carpenter was a foolish man, prompting Nicholas to take advantage of his foolishness. On the other hand, the world was under attack by a supernatural creature that sought to destroy the world, but the government stood up to out the evil forces and in the end succeeded in saving the world. The world is not a place for the week, and only those that know how to maneuver through the challenged have the ability to survive. Out his ignorance, the carpenter ended up breaking an arm and also out the government’s efforts to rescue the word, Enchantress was ultimately defeated (Sellen and Chaucer 345). The quote “Nicholas’s cries for water make the carpenter think that the flood has come” illustrates that the carpenter had no clue on what was happening on the outside and since he was immobile, he could not follow the proceedings of the drama that was unfolding. Also, the Reeves prolog and tale have relevance with the character Joker. The Miller decided to trick the students into stealing their flour by letting lose their horses. Consequently, the two students came back in the evening and spent the night at the miller's place. At night, they seduce both the daughter and the wife to the Miller. In the case, the trickery applied by the Miller ended up costing him a lot. Therefore, the scenario depicts that evil does not go unrewarded. In the same way, Joker joins hands with the squad to eliminate Enchantress who was a threat to humankind. The struggle between the two conflicting parties continued until in the end; the danger is reduced. Notably, the government used the suicide squad for its interests and not the interests of the prisoners. Their lives were at risk in their mission, and the government cared less about their lives. Additionally, they were implanted with a Nano-bomb in their necks which could go off if they decided to run away. On the other hand, the Miller was partaking his duty with the aim of stealing from his customers, and in the end, he suffered for the act. The quote “His wife, thinking that her husband is one of the students, hits the Miller over the head with staff.” Illustrates that, the Miller was at the receiving end of his actions to retain the two students in his house. Remarkably, the pardoner’s introduction, Prolog, and tale describe the ultimate end of friends who were determined to kill each other with the aim of inheriting the fortune. Their selfish actions lead them into measures that eliminated the whole group. Notably, all were willing to sacrifice their friends so as to inherit the fortunes. In the movie, suicide squad, the government is prepared to sacrifice the lives of the prisoners so as to save the world. Consequently, Jokes is willing to risk his life to rescue his lover. At the end of the film, he breaks the prison walls and saves the lover. The two scenarios illustrate that in the years the 1400s, the aspect of selfishness as depicted in the chief protagonists in the tale used to exist. On the other hand, the movie was acted in the recent past, and the element of selfishness is depicted among the characters in the film (Bloom 20). Therefore, there is a clear illustration that some of the aspects that were described in the various forms of literature hundreds of years ago, are still relevant, and some of the issues that are depicted today in the films and books used to exist in hundreds of years ago.To sum it up, there is a connection between the events happening in the movie, suicide squad, and the content of the tales depicted in the Canterbury tales. The events unfolding in the film and the story collections have similar themes of love and violence, issues that used to exist in the world at the different times. Despite the fact that the movie and the stories were crafted at different periods of history, the two illustrate a contemporary issue that is similar. Therefore, according to the statement in the Genius book authored by Bloom, it applies to the relationship between the content of pieces of literature that existed in hundreds of years ago to the current happening of the world. Also, there is a connection between the current researches with the happenings of the world hundreds of years ago.Works CitedBloom, Harold. Genius. Warner Books/ New York NY, 2012. Sellen, Derek, and Geoffrey Chaucer. The Canterbury Tales. Barcelona, Vicens Vives, 2009.