preview

The Pardoner's Tale By Chaucer Theme Analysis

Good Essays

Theme Analysis Essay The Canterbury tales have various stories that have moral lessons. Along with that, many themes can be found in these tales. Among the various pilgrims featured in the Canterbury Tales, the Pardoner is one of the most fully described characters. Chaucer goes into great detail describing the Pardoner. The Pardoner is a fraudulent huckster who shows who does not care about passing off false items as the relics of saints. He also sells indulgences in exchange for money. The Pardoner shifts from moments of direct honesty to shameless deceit, openly admitting the tricks of his trade to the travelers but nevertheless attempting to use these various methods on these travelers who are aware of his schemes. In his prologue, …show more content…

The three men could have easily shared the treasure they found and been rich. Greed took control of the two older men and they killed their younger friend without a second thought. This plot event clearly shows how the two men betrayed the younger friend for the gold that they all found under the tree. There is no question that the two older men are “distracted by gold…and soon forget about their dead friend, each of them wanting to 'taak 'the gold 'hoom’” (King 1). This is a stark contrast from the beginning of the tale when the three men said they would “live and die for one another as brother born might swear to his born brother” (Chaucer 100-101). This quote is comparing the friendship these men share to the bonds of brotherhood. In other words, this quote is stating that nothing can come in between the oath these men swear to each other. However, when the men found the gold each of the men broke their oath without hesitation. This shows how the men only care about personal and materialistic gain. Along with that, it is seen that the men are only concerned with what is tangible. They know nothing outside their materialism and “their dedication to food and drink is another dimension of their materialism” (Williams 82). The men start off in a bar setting eating and drinking gluttonously and after finding the gold, the first

Get Access