Theme Of Greed In The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales Analysis At one point in every man’s life greed seems to be a natural characteristic. In the Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer, most of his reoccurring themes seem to be merely just about the Seven Deadly Sins. Focusing specifically on the Physician, he is guilty of greed because of his fine love for material possessions—gold and money. Chaucer first portrays him as an honest man who has given us the impression that he is only trying to help other people; however the tables are turned when he is shown manipulating and false diagnosing his patients for his own benefit. He has influenced all of his patients into thinking they have a disease that can be cured by expensive medicines. The author uses literary elements to develop the idea that being in a higher power position can still cause an individual to become greedy and self-absorbed. In the General Prologue Irony is an obvious element used because of the way the Physician is perceived to be an honest man that has great morals, although he seems to lack each of those qualities. When introducing the Physician to the story, Chaucer makes him seem like a genuine man considering, he doesn’t follow a certain religious path. Readers don’t seem to catch his cleverness in the beginning because he is

He developed an image of a perfect character from a reality of life by the uses of these elements. In the final analysis the Physician is a man who can’t be trusted because of his deceitful ways of living his life. His main concern was not his patients, instead it was making a name for himself and manipulating others for his well-being. The doctor’s improper use of his power shows irresponsibility and extreme infatuation with having materialistic items. In Conclusion, when a man has a great amount of authority it can lead to the necessity of wanting more than what they already