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From: Sharon Kenney
T1: pogue666@ix.netcom.com
Date: 3/23/98
Time: 9:45:20 AM
Remote Name: 204.31.242.151
After re-reading the preface, I focused more on the similarities held between Medieval times and the years in which Eco wrote The Name of the Rose. The end of the 60s into the 80s relates to the social change representd in Eco's novel. The end of the 60s into the 70s was a time in which oppressed groups began to rise: black power, women's liberation, gay/lesbian rights, and those who resisted the war. These groups revolted against their oppression by the white male heterosexual supremacy. As a result, the government and wealthy became threatened. In the 20th century, the distrobution of wealth in the United States is grossly concentrated in an extremely small percent of the population. Similarly, in Medieval times, the majority of people were very poor. Power/wealth/status were kept from the people at all costs. This is exemplifed in the way which the monks attempted to keep knowledge from the people. The more people were educated, the less power the church could hold over their heads.