Humans are fickle creatures that are always in pursuit of the more luxurious aspects of life. Life to these individuals is often seen as a competition to see who can be the smartest, the prettiest, or the richest. Many times, these desires are not for the intangible values of life, but rather materialistic aspects, meant to enhance one’s outward appearance.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” and James Joyce’s “After the Race” demonstrate the dangers presented in giving in to shallow facades and flattery. Both authors portray this by depicting the most basic of human desires and the consequences of an excessive indulgence of them.

Vanity is a destructive characteristic that lurks within the deep dark corners of the human heart. When an individual becomes consumed by their own vanity, they fail to recognize the more important aspects of life as they are blinded by superficial desires. These desires are what lead to costly mistakes. As humans it is very easy to get caught up in such desires, especially when factoring aspects such as the society in which one lives in and the people that one surrounds themselves with. Chaucer’s Chauntecleer and Joyce’s Jimmy Doyle, establishes a cycle in which the detrimental nature of vanity can be seen. Excessive pride in one’s individual perks such as looks or wealth, attempts to maintain appearances and realizing or falling victim to one’s flaws are elements of the cycle which serve to represent the destructive essence of vanity.

Self worth is an important contributor to self esteem and confidence, but there is a fine line between confidence and conceitedness. It is natural to take pride in achievements or aspects of oneself that the individual feels particularly proud of , but it becomes problematic when it is done in excess. In both “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” and “After the Race”, Chauntecleer and Jimmy Doyle portray this concept through their excessive pride and want for validation.

Both characters have an inflated sense of self worth due to their individual traits of beauty and wealth. It is Chauntecleer’s job to “crow” to signal the arrival of mornings. “Crowing” can also mean bragging or boasting, which he does much of throughout the story, even more so after the fox begins to flatter him. This can be seen when it is stated that “Chauntecleer began to beat his wings like a man who could not see the treason which threatened” (Chaucer, 637), clearly displaying his sense of pride.

Similarly, Jimmy obsesses over his status and appearance which are the only things that make him tolerable to his “friends.” Especially, seeing as how they only allow him to accompany them because of his appearance as a wealthy man. The lavish lifestyle lead by Jimmy’s friends, blinds him as it is said that “Jimmy found great pleasure in the society of one who had so much of the world and was reputed to own some of the biggest hotels in France” (Joyce, 42), showing just how much worth Jimmy places on appearances and a wealthy lifestyle. Not only that but, Jimmy was never interested in working hard for his education. He decided to instead divide his time between music and racing. This is what separates him from his friends. Money is all there is to Jimmy’s character. His friend’s not only have money, but are well educated and have what it takes to back up their self worth. All Jimmy has is what is given to him by his father.

In both stories, it is clear that Chauntecleer and Jimmy are both very prideful and arrogant as they become captivated by their own superficial characteristics and fail to realize the danger over indulgence of these traits can bring.

Many individuals find satisfaction in being recognized as someone who is superior or simply has better characteristics than the average man or woman. However, to receive continuous gratification, one would have to maintain that appearance. When an individual is surrounded by certain people, the desire for conformity becomes very apparent and it is this very issue that proves detrimental to Jimmy. In his attempts to preserve his façade, he goes gambling on a friend’s yacht, seeing it as an opportunity to befriend more rich foreigners and push his status up. Jimmy doesn’t fare too well as it is noted that “Jimmy did not know who exactly was winning, but he knew that he was losing. But it was his own fault” (Joyce, 48) and Jimmy’s reluctance to back away from the game stems from his desire to appear very rich and not cowardly in front of people he believes he needs to make a good impression on.

In Chauntecleer’s case, he is very certain of his superior beauty, unlike the uncertain Jimmy who wants to fit in with the wealthy. The danger presented to Jimmy was the fact that he could not keep up his appearance, however since Chauntecleer has no issues with that, the danger becomes falling prey to an inflated ego as he enjoys when people praise him.

Despite his dream of a fox attacking him, when the fox really does approach him, he fails to sense the danger because of the fox’s flattery. The fox says things like “The reason I came was only to hear how you sing. For indeed you have as merry a voice as any angel in heaven” (Chaucer, 635), in an attempt to flatter Chauntecleer into dropping his guard. Foxes are often symbolic of sneaky, sly and mischievous individuals. Chauntecleer knows that this fox is a threat but chooses to ignore the fox’s predatory flattery because he wants to be praised more. In comparison, Jimmy wants to be richer, while Chauntecleer already knows he is “rich” though in a different sense.

In the very beginning of “A Nun’s Priest’s Tail” it opens with a poor old widow and implies that living a humble life is easier than it is to be rich, because the rich have more obligations and are often targeted for their worth. For example, Chauntecleer has a duty to crow in the mornings and his targeted by the fox because he is the best chicken there. So the issue for Chauntecleer is less about keeping up his appearance and more about what his vain attitude towards it can cost him.

This issue is coupled with a realization that evades Jimmy as he fails to recognize the price that comes with being wealthy.

Mistakes can be mended if one can realize where they went wrong and take measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again. It is here that similarities between Chauntecleer and Jimmy are further divided.

Chauntecleer is able to learn from his mistake while Jimmy does not. When Chauntecleer is taken by the fox, he manages to escape onto a tree. Once again the fox tries to coax him down by pretending to be innocent, demonstrating how others blinded by vanity will take whatever steps necessary to obtain more of whatever they desire. The fox even says “I did it with no wicked intent; come down and I shall tell you what I meant” (Chaucer, 642), representing the human flaws of scheming to get what they want.

However, Chauntecleer has learned his lesson, saying to the fox “May we both be damned but may I be damned first, both blood and bones. If you beguile me more than once. No more shall your flattery, get me to close my eyes and sing” (Chaucer, 643), a vow to himself to never fall for such trickery again. Chauntecleer is able to realize his flaw and fix the mistake to make sure he does not fall victim to it again. In doing so, he is able to grow and improve as an individual.

Jimmy on the other hand, lets himself fall further and further until his mistake is irreversible. It is noted a few times during his time gambling that Jimmy recognizes that he is losing and wants to stop, but does not because he is desperate to fit in with this particular crowd. Jimmy even thinks about this himself as it is mentioned that “He knew that he would regret it in the morning” (Joyce, 48).

His failure to examine and mend his mistake, lead him to a point where it can no longer be mended. Since it was money that made him acceptable to the racing team in the first place, given that he had lost a large amount of money, his life with all of these rich and glamorous foreigners is probably over. Jimmy is under the impression that he is slowly climbing the social ladder, but it is an illusion. He is only tolerated because of his money. Much like the yacht that remains anchored, Jimmy is anchored to his desire for a lavish life, despite it having no fulfilment, leaving him stagnant and unable to better himself.

Jimmy’s failure and Chauntecleer’s success represent the notion that through recognizing one’s flaws and identifying the issue, one is presented with a choice. The choice to amend it or the choice to ignore it and keep indulging themselves, both of which have significant outcomes, as seen in both stories.

By examining both stories, the reader can see how Geoffrey Chaucer and James Joyce portray the theme of vanity through the basic human desire to fit in and feel good about themselves. Both characters go through the cycle of feeling excessive pride in their specific traits, attempting to maintain their superior appearances and realizing their flaws. However, only one of them is able to change their perspectives, demonstrating the duality of having to choose between what is right and wrong and how over indulgence can lead to one’s downfall.

It is through examining these factors that the reader is able to learn from the outcome of these stories and recognize that vanity, among other things, is always present in the human psyche, but it is the way an individual chooses to confront those desires that will inevitably influence the outcome. Vanity can stem from desires of wanting to have a better life, to feel important to others or even just to fit in with the crowd. While those desires are seemingly innocent, it is far too easy to get carried away and as human’s it is even easier to get swept up in the toxic ambitions of others, causing people to fail to identify the hidden motives of the “foxes” of the world, much like Chauntecleer did. It is not only the individual’s inner desires, but also the environment and people they surround themselves with that can either enhance their sense of vanity or lessen it, as seen with Jimmy Doyle.

This concept of identifying and learning from one’s flaws is of vital importance when trying to improve one’s self and trying to better handle desires and viewpoints that may not be the healthiest. To recognize this, ensures that one does not fall into traps such as excessive vanity and is effectively able to grow as a person and better one’s life in a meaningful way.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale.” The Canterbury Tales. New York: Bantam Dell 2006

Joyce, James. “After the Race.” Dubliners. London: Penguin Group 2000