Essay on Chaucers Canterbury Tales - Greed in the Pardoner’s Tale

The forgivers Greed The pardoner, in Geoffrey Chaucers The Pardoners Tale, is a devious character. He is a man with a great knowledge of the Catholic Church and a great recognise of God. However, despite the fact that he is someone whom is looked at with respect at the time, the pardoner is nothing more than an imposter who makes his spiritedness by fool people into thinking he absolves their sins, and in exchange for pardons, he takes their coin. His sermon-like stories and untrue relics fool the people of the towns he visits and make him seem as a plausible man, which is exactly what the pardoner wants. In fact, the pardoner is an avaricious and unavailing character whose driving force in life is his motto, Radix malorum est cupiditas, which is Latin for greed is the root of evil. The pardoners entire practice is base upon his motto and is motivated entirely by greed. The pardoner is supposed to forgive sins, however, he views his position as a scheme to make money and turns it into a fraud. His excellent speaking skills allow him to turn this profession into a scam. He attracts the people with his storytelling and his sermons, which are pleasing to them, By God, I forecast I shal yow telle a thyng / That shal by reson been at youre liking, (457-58). One example of a sermon about his motto is the tale of the three rioters. This tale gives an ironic explanation related to the rioters deaths, due to greed and the pardoners practice of his profession, which is also drive by greed (Rossignol, 267). He tells the people what they would like to hear, so that he may pull them into his trap and later cheat them out of their money. His proficiency to fooling people is to preach on the subject of Radix malorum est c... ...iving. The pardoner submits himself to his theme of Radix malorum est cupiditas. His theme becomes a reality and he allows avariciousness to take control his life. Just as Jesus lived life living into eternal life, the pardoner lives h is life dying into eternal death by committing his avaricious acts and deceiving people in the name of God. Works Cited Brewer, Derek. The Canterbury Tales. An Introduction to Chaucer. refreshful York Longman Inc., 1984 Hussey, S. S. The Canterbury Tales II. Chaucer An Introduction. unseasoned York Methuen & Co., 1981 Pichaske, David R. Pardoners Tale. The Movement of the Canterbury Tales Chaucers Literary Pilgrimage. New York Norwood Editions, 1977 Rossignol, Rosalyn. The Pardoners Tale. Chaucer A to Z The Essential Reference to His carriage and Works. New York Facts On File, Inc., 1999