The Pardoner's Tale Analysis

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Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales follows the travels of twenty-nine men and women who are on a pilgrimage from London to Canterbury and back, with the purpose of visiting the shrine of Saint Thomas a Beckett. The group consists of people from three different estates, or social classes: the aristocracy, the clergy, and the working class. Chaucer illustrates a contradiction in the way certain classes should behave versus how some of his characters actually do behave. A character analysis of the squire from the aristocracy estate, the pardoner from the clergy estate, and the miller from the worker estate illustrate these dichotomous traits in moral fiber. The aristocracy, a class consisting of the upper echelon of society, is responsible for upholding the law and protecting the people. The citizens who have money, participate in Parliament, or hold a knighthood are members of this elite organization. In Chaucer’s “General Prologue,” the knight’s son, also …show more content…

The clergy are responsible for the spiritual salvation of the people. They are pious and moral individuals, devoted to the betterment of mankind. The Pardoner of Rouncivalle’s character is discordant with the values that are upheld by the clergy class. The pardoner’s job is to deliver pardons to those who repent for the sins they have committed. Chaucer indicates that the pardoner has, “come straight from Rome (or so he said),” indicating that the pardoner may be involved in the art of deception (653). He carries with him his freshly-blessed pardons and many false relics, with which he bribes the very people he is supposed to minister to (669–686). This pious man, “with his flattery and his trumped up stock / . . . made dupes of the parson and his flock” (687–688). Though he is well-versed in scripture, Chaucer indicates that the pardoner’s performance in church does not uphold the morals of the clergy. His evangelism is geared toward worldly

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