The Pardoner 2
In Geoffrey Chaucer's famous work, The Canterbury Tales, he points out many inherent flaws of human nature, all of which still apply today. In the phrase, "avarice is the root of all evil" (Hopper, 343), one can fail to realize the truth in this timeless statement because of its repetition throughout history. Whether applied to the corrupt clergy of Geoffrey Chaucer's time, selling indulgences, or the corrupt televangelists of today, auctioning off salvation to those who can afford it, this truth never seems to lose its validity. Many things have changed since the fourteenth century, but human's ability to act foolish is not one of them. The best example of this is illustrated in The Pardoner's Tale. His account of three rioters who set out to conquer Death and instead deliver it upon each other, as well as the prologue which precedes the tale, reveal the truthfulness of the aforementioned statement as it applies to humanity in general and the Pardoner himself. In Chaucer's descriptive General Prologue of the character's, the Pardoner is described in very unflattering terms. Chaucer states that he "had hair as yellow as wax....Hung down thinly...But sparsely it lay, by shreds here and there" (Hopp
Chaucer does an exquisite job of pointing out flaws of human nature, as well as the hypocrisy that lies in religion to this day. He shows in several ways that money is indeed the root of evil. In addition to the obvious message in The Pardoner's Tale, Chaucer also paints a vivid picture of the Pardoner's character and uses this further to reinforce his point. In examining both The Pardoner's Tale and the Pardoner himself, it isn't hard to see that the statement continues to ring true, just as it did five hundred years ago, "avarice is the root of all evil" (Hopper, 343). The moral of the tale is obviously wary of money, because it can, or perhaps will, cause irrational or evil actions. The irony of this section of The Canterbury Tales is the fact that, while The Pardoner's Tale proves to be an exemplum, the brief account he gives of himself produces the exact same effect. The Pardoner's Tale is an exemplum, or a story that teaches a lesson. In telling his story, the Pardoner sets out to prove the truthfulness of his statement of money being the root of all evil. The Pardoner tells a story of three young rioters who, having learned that a friend recently succumbed to the plague, seek to find, and kill, Death. However, during the course of their quest, they meet an untimely demise due to a pile of gold found under a tree. The Pardoner manages to weave in the seven deadly sins throughout the story, all leading back to the gold. Because of their desire for the gold, the rioters betray and ultimately destroy each other, thus proving the Pardoner's statement true. He states, "Thus were ended with these two homicides, and in addition on the false prisoner too" (Hopper, 379). The Pardoner "was an en
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Approximate Word count = 1159
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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