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The Canterbury Tales Vs The Pardoner's Tale

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Chaucer’s Best Story Essay In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, there are many entertaining values and moral lessons. In Geoffrey Chaucer's, The Canterbury tales, a group of pilgrims are journeying to the holy site of Canterbury. Due to the long journey, the host plans to start a contest between the pilgrims. Each pilgrim has to tell an entertaining story and the pilgrim with the most entertaining story wins a free dinner. After reviewing the two tales “ The Pardoner's Tale” and “ The Wife of Bath's Tale” told by Chaucer, one tale effects me the most. Out of the two tales, I believe “The Pardoner's Tale” has better moral values and is more entertaining than, “The Wife of Bath”. The first reason that makes”The Pardoner's Tale” effective is the …show more content…

In the pardoner's tales, the moral is how greed can destroy people. Whereas the moral in “The Wife of Bath Tale” applies to rape. In “The Pardoner's Tale”, Chaucer explains,“ No longer was it death those fellows sought, For they were so thrilled to see the sight, the gold was so beautiful and bright” (171-174). “And with that poison he could kill his friends. To men in such a state the Devil sends Thoughts of this kind, and has a full permission To lure them on to sorrow and perdition; For this young man was utterly content To kill them both and never to repent” (246-251). The temptation of greed ended up killing the three men at the end of the tale.”The Pardoner's Tale” provides a clear understanding that greed is a sin we all have to battle with in our lives, whereas the moral of the wife of bath's tale applies to people doing bad things. This tale teaches the reader a lesson about greed and how it can overcome people, making them do bad …show more content…

The opposing side believe that the morals apply to a larger audience and is more complex. Their argument can be disputed on for “The Pardoner's Tale” has a complex storyline that is more effective and entertaining. In “The Wife of Bath's Tale” it states, “yet you shall live if you can answer me: what is the thing that women really desire? Beware the axe and say as I require!” (80-81). “The Wife of Bath's Tale” has a more complex layout than the pardoner's tale. It bounces between events which leads to a stronger storyline. But even if one story i more complex than the other, it doesn't make it more

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As a result, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is more entertaining than “The Pardoner’s Tale” because it is more suspenseful and more enjoyable to read. In the end it is clear that “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” deserves to win the

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664 Words | 3 Pages

In the Pardoner’s Prologue he critiques the patriarchy in different ways. Each character in the story always introduces himself before they tell their story (tale). He then again goes on to say that the preachers continue to preach the game rather than to have no game at all. The sermons and the tales always seem to have the same text, which then leads to the freeing of the pelf (pouch). Greed equals cupidity, which means money wanters.

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327 Words | 2 Pages

The third comparison if how both travellers have corrupt desires. The Pardoner wants money and uses his profession as a pardoner to rob people of their money; in relation to how the Wife of Bath uses her sexual abilities to trick men and bribe them to give her things and do whatever she says.[TS3-Comparison]. The Wife of Bath talks about virginity and chastity and how it is a great perfection, like Christ, but she explains that she is not this type and will use her abilities in marriage in her favor. [CE5]. “But Christ, the fountain of perfection, did not instruct every person to go sell all that he had and give to the poor, and in such a fashion follow him and his footsteps.

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698 Words | 3 Pages

Instead of finding death, they find gold and end up killing each other over it. Their greed leads to their deaths. The Pardoner chooses this story because it “frees the pelf… and specially for [himself]” (Chaucer 170). His audiences do not want to be greedy like the men in the tale so they give the Pardoner their money, thereby freeing the riches as he says. He knows that he preaches “against the very vice [he] makes his living out of- avarice” (Chaucer 170), but because of its effectiveness he continues to preach it.

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180 Words | 1 Pages

In the story of “The Pardoner’s Tale” the author, Geoffrey Chaucer, represents that greed is the root of all corruption. In the story Chaucer shows a group of men that were seeking out to find death, but find treasure instead. This inevitably leads to them finding death by fighting and killing each other over the treasure. There is an example of greed when the Pardoner says in 252-255 “And on he ran, he had no thought to tarry, came to the town, found apothecary and said, ‘Sell me some poison if you will, I have a lot of rats I want to kill.’” This leads to him poisoning the other 2 men so he can get all of the treasure to himself.

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888 Words | 4 Pages

In “ The Pardoner's Tale” and “ The Wife of Bath” by Geoffrey Chaucer, the people who do not learn from the mistakes they make suffer repercussions. In “The Pardoner's Tale” a major theme of greed surfaces, and it plays a role in the decisions of the three rioters. The men decide it is necessary to take revenge on death for the killing of their friend, where avengement is a very noble deed. After the men rally themselves as a brotherhood, they find an old man who points them in the direction he last saw death, “[They] began to run, and reached the tree,and there they found a pile of golden florins on the ground” (lines 167-169).

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613 Words | 3 Pages

Greed and Corruption in The Pardoner’s Tale. Analyzing the Themes and Stereotypes in the Pardoner's Tale Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Pardoner’s Tale” is a captivating narrative that delves into themes of greed, deception, and the consequences of immoral behavior. This tale, part of Chaucer’s renowned work, "The Canterbury Tales," is rich in literary techniques that enhance its meaning and impact on the reader. Let's explore the central themes and stereotypes portrayed in this tale, while considering the historical and cultural context that influenced Chaucer's storytelling.

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599 Words | 3 Pages

Greed is one of the worst things a person can have in his or her characteristics during the Middle Ages. The representation of being greedy made you get looked upon by the people in many bad ways. A good example of this is “The Pardoner's Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer. “The Pardoner's Tale” shows that the idea of not being greedy in order to enhance the characterization of the Pardoner, as he used the church to his advantage to earn money.

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1286 Words | 6 Pages

There were two main stories that we read, “The Pardoner’s Tale” and “The Wife of bath’s Tale”. These are two of the multiple stories in The Canterbury Tales. These stories tell stories that make fun of the church. The two stories also have a main focus of explaining morals in a hidden way. Both stories express more than one moral and it gives the reader a sense of what Chaucer is trying to express.

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399 Words | 2 Pages

The Wife of Bath and her tale are the most similar out of all the tales because they both share a domineering outlook over others. In the general prologue she is told to have had five husbands and is described as a looker, “Her face was bold and handsome and ruddy,” (Chaucer 39). In her prologue she goes more in depth of her time spent with her five husbands. Wife of Bath talks most about how she gains control over her husbands. For instance, her fifth husband was the controlling force in their marriage until he made the mistake of hitting her and telling her he would do anything to keep her with him and said, “My own true wife, do as you wish for the rest of your life…” (335).

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1773 Words | 8 Pages

In Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer tells the story about a pilgrimage to the shrine St. Thomas Becket. This journey was one of the most popular sites visited in England. The reason they traveled to this place was to have hopes for forgiving their sins. On the voyage to the place, the Host decided to make it fun. He suggested a game that each one would tell a story.

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721 Words | 3 Pages

At the very beginning of the Pardoner’s tale, through one of his sermons, we are told his, “theme is alwey oon, and ever was—/“Radix malorum est Cupiditas” (“Pardoner’s” Tale 5-6). This statement provides an aura of satire, as the Pardoner solely speaks against the practice of greed, as on the side he ironically practices exactly what he preaches against. Continuing on, the Pardoner, himself, clearly states the greedy motives his drive depends upon as he informs us that for his, “intent is only pence to win,/ And not at all for punishment of sin” (“Pardoner’s Prologue” 117-118). The Pardoner states his “only” intent is to win “pence” or profit.

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580 Words | 3 Pages

The Pardoner in the Canterbury Tales is not a “noble ecclesiast” because of visual suggestions that are given by Chaucer. Chaucer describes the Pardoner as being an odd fellow, having an unnaturally feminine composition. The Pardoner has long golden hair, a high voice, and bulging eyeballs (which suggest a hormonal imbalance, associating him more with a feminine character). The fact that he was feminine also shed light that he might be homosexual, which was contradictory to the Church’s beliefs that he worked for. The Pardoner is described wearing expensive clothing, and many extravagant accessories.

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451 Words | 2 Pages

Of all intelligence and intuition attributed to man, it is not enough to overcome the characteristics that will lead to the downfall of our own kind. Such characteristics take root in man and protrude out of him no matter how hard he tries to deny their presence. Man himself is aware of these characteristics and they play a part on all forms of entertainment, and fuel almost all actions made by man. In “The Pardoner’s Tale” written by Chaucer, the theme of pride and greed leading to demise is prominent.

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694 Words | 3 Pages

The Miller's tale however lacks this and provides no legitimate moral lesson. They both begin with deeply flawed characters, the Wife of Bath's protagonist begins with a rape that promptly sentences him to death, and the lot of the Miller's tale is all adulterous liars. Absalom loves the married Alison but she cheats on her husband John with Nicholas who lies to John merely for comedic purposes By the end of the Wife of Bath’s tale, the knight has learned a lesson and received fair retribution for his action, while no such thing happens in the Miller’s tale. In terms of comedy and humor, the majority of that which is found in the Miller’s tale is grotesque and unpleasant, whereas, in The Wife of Bath, it is quick, witty, and clever.

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