Answer:
The general prologue of "The Canterbury Tales" is to give the information of the pilgrims and the reason behind the telling of the tales.
Explanation:
Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" is a collection of tales told by thirty pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. The tale begins with a general prologue by the narrator presumed to be one of the pilgrims.
The "General Prologue" begins with the narrator describing the reason of these pilgrimages. People usually go on pilgrimages to distant holy lands but mostly to Canterbury in visit the relics of Saint Thomas Becket in the Canterbury Cathedral. St.Thomas Becket was the archbishop of Canterbury who was killed by the knights of King Henry II in 1170. Then he along with twenty-nine other pilgrims are staying in a tavern, on their way to Canterbury. He told of how the idea for the storytelling start, saying that in order to pass the time, they will all take turns telling stories, two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on their way back. Then he went on to introduce and describe each traveler, all coming from different backgrounds. Also, the owner of the inn will serve as the judge to chose the winning tale. The next morning before they set off for the journey, he tells of his intention to record the tales told by the others too.
The phrase "making of a man" refers to the process by which a man becomes successful or prosperous, while the phrase "made man" refers to actually being successful.
The phrase "making of a man" is used when Henry discusses Harris’s "humble feeding house." He says, "I was the making of Harris. The fact had gone all abroad that the foreign crank who carried million-pound bills in his vest pocket was the patron saint of the place.” When people find out that Henry, already known for having a million-pound bank note, breakfasts at Harris’s eating house, the restaurant’s popularity skyrockets. Earlier, Harris’s eating house had been "poor, struggling," but it became "celebrated, and overcrowded with customers" after London society hears that Henry eats there.
The phrase "made man" is used when Henry is caricatured in Punch. He says, "Punch caricatured me! Yes, I was a made man now; my place was established. I might be joked about still, but reverently, not hilariously, not rudely; I could be smiled at, but not laughed at." Because he was mimicked so publicly, Henry becomes famous, and his good reputation is solidified.
