The Pardoner In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

In comparison, the literary elements describing idealize the Knight to show his nobility despite his position of power while the Pardoner clearly exemplifies power leading to corruption through satire and sarcasm. The narrator portrays the Knight as “a most distinguished man” who is as “modest as a maid” (Chaucer 43, 71). By using an epithet with such a positive connotation, the Knight is idealized to be the perfect knight in shining armor, and by furthering his persona to be exceedingly humble, especially in likeness of a low class servant, the Knight illustrates an extraordinary

   Chaucer presents characters in the Physician's and Pardoner's Tales who are very similar to each other in one important way. Although the characters seem on the surface to be mirror images of each other, they have an important underlying similarity: both the physician and the pardoner are not what they appear to be to most people. Both are hypocritical, although they show this hypocrisy in different ways.

In the story, “The Pardoner’s Tales”, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the character the Pardoner in descriptive way. He describe the Pardoner’s corruption teaching and the way the Pardoner act in the tale. The religious that the Pardoner teaching is corrupted and very selfish, greediness, and gluttony. This thing are all opposite to what the real church religious is teaching. In the story, he tricks the people to buy his fake relics and other things by using the church’s believe. The Pardoner act and his teaching are all corrupted because of the church. It shows the side of greediness, gluttony and selfishness which highly reflect into himself and his believe.

Greed and religion are two things you would not expect to intermingle, and yet Chaucer is able to develop a greedy religious character known as the Pardoner. There are many religious characters in The Canterbury Tales besides the Pardoner including the Prioress, the Monk, the Friar, and the Parson. Each character carries their own good and bad characteristics, but the Pardoner is obviously greedy. This character brings into question the greediness of the Church and Chaucer’s views. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer explores the theme of greed in relation to religion through The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale. Despite his religious position, the Pardoner will demonstrate his greed by outlining the tricks he often plays on his listeners through his prologue and tale.

The Pardoner must give out the pardons and give out words of wisdom and prayers for hope. Pardoners are looked upon as the most holy and extremely close to God so many people tend to believe them. The Pardoner in the Canterbury Tales is far from holy and honest. Chaucer describes him to look like an animal.

The Pardoner has several different sins that describes him in the story. One of the sins that compares him is that, he was a sloth; extort the poor people for money and merchandise. Like for example...” Some poor up-country parson to astound, in one short day, in money down, he drew up more than the parson in a mouth or two”. Prime example of why The Pardoner is consider not holy the way Chaucer explains in the text. The pardoner doesn’t have to work that much to get what he wants.

The world is full of hypocrites and in the story “The Pardoner’s Tale”, Chaucer writes about a man who is living a life of sin. The Pardoner’s tale is an epologia of a pardoner who has the power from the church to forgive others for their sins but makes a living out of lying and tricking his audience. Throughout the Pardoner’s Tale he preaches about greed, drinking, blasphemy, and gambling but in the Pardoner’s Prologue he admits to committing these sins himself. The pardoner is really just a 14th century con artist who makes a living by his own hypocrisy.

In the Pardoner's prologue, Chaucer describes what a swindler and model of deceit the Pardoner actually is with vivid characterization. The Pardoner is so convincing in his acts that "[i]n one short day, in money down he dr[aws]/ More than a parson in a month or two./and by his

The Pardoner use deceit and lies to pray on the poor and innocent, his characterization represents the churches misuse of its vast power. Chaucer fortifies this idea when he describes the Pardoner as “And thus I preach against the very vice/I make my

“The Pardoner’s Tale” suggests a profile of the Pardoner as a moral man, a man of God. The narrator is viewed as a wise, gentle, and truthful man who wants to share his story in a respectful tone. His story reveals his message, which is that greed leads to destruction and the corruption of all things good. The Pardoner

Chaucer's depiction of the Pardoner in "The General Prologue" is unsparing in its effeteness; he has "heer as yelow as wax/ But smoothe it heeng as dooth a strike of flex/ By ounces heenge his lokkes that he hadde...But thinne it

Both the Pardoner and the Friar are portrayed as quick-thinking charlatans. Chaucer does seem to admire the Pardoner’s skill, and skilled he is, but his actions do not befit a man of the cloth. The Pardoner is spoken of as using bogus relics to con “poor up-country parsons” out of their hard-earned cash. These small hustles netted him “more in a day than the parson in a month or two”. When choosing his occupation, I’m sure the Pardoner did not see the light of the lord but rather, dollar signs. Chaucer goes on to say that yes, the pardoner did preach rather well and his stories were quite splendid, however that might be on account that he could “win money from the crowd”.

The Pardoner and Summoner appear together in “The Prologue.” They further illustrate an example of Chaucer’s awareness of a defiled Church. Chaucer provides humor to his description of the Summoner in that “he’d allow – just for a quart of wine - /Any good lad to keep a concubine” (Chaucer 20.) This means that a person who disobeys the Church without seeking repentance can easily bribe the Summoner, in that he will overlook the situation. Chaucer writes about the Pardoner that “by his flatteries and prevarication/ Made monkey of the priest and congregation” (Chaucer 22.) This is another direct insult to the Church at the time.

In the story there are many circumstances under which the people in the middle class have been manipulated, by those with evil intent, effortlessly. Chaucer acknowledges the devious deeds of the Pardoner, “On one short day, in money down, he drew more than the parson in a month or two, and by his flatteries and prevarication made monkeys of the priest and congregation.” (Chaucer 115). The Pardoner took advantage of people and robbed them for their last dime with no remorse. Though the Pardoner was wrong for what he did there should never be a scenario when somebody is robbed of their last dime by intellectual manipulation, there should always be a point of return. Next Chaucer displays, “There was no Pardoner of equal grace for in his trunk he had a pillowcase.” (Chaucer 115). Here Chaucer is implying that this is not the

One character Chaucer uses to ridicule hypocrisy is the Pardoner. Throughout the description of the pardoner, it is shown that he is corrupt. He uses lies and