The Pardoners Tale (James, Natalie, Chris, Carlo)
Moral
With no satirical interpretation, the main theme of the story is that Greed ultimatly destroys. Three friends set out on a quest together, and ended up killing each other. Each one was corrupted in his own way by the gold they found. The pardoner relates to this tale because clearly his biggest sins are deceit and greed. The lack of intelligence from the boys shows that only the unintelligent partake in such actions and that the best course of action is not to be obsessed with things of this nature.
Satirical Aims
Greed: The pardoners tale takes an aim at the concept of greed. First the stupidity of the quest must be taken into account. They are going out to “kill death,”? Clearly the three friends are a little inebriated. Next, the friends arrive in a grove to find eight mysterious bags of money. A huge exaggeration as to what happens in reality. The boys seemingly forget all about there quest and begin plotting each others downfall. As if the feeling of greed must inevitably bring about death to all of them. This is in direct contradiction to the pardoner himself. What the pardoner is really saying is that greed isn’t going to kill you, stupidity is. Because he has an advantage of intelligence over the people he dupes, he feels it is just to take their money. They don’t know the difference. “Dearly beloved, God forgive your sin and keep you from the vice of avarice! My Holy pardon frees you all this, provided you make the right approaches, that is with sterlings, rings or broaches.” The Pardoner ends his tale with this statement in an attempt to yet again fool the crowd. This is final evidence as to the satirical aim of greed in the novel.
The Wealthy/ Nobility: Chaucer is making an even deeper point about the intelligence of people. Though the Pardoner is low class and poor, he is smarter than those above him. Chaucer doesn’t imply that this is true of all peasants, for the pardoner tricks them as well. At the end of the story, the knight is not fooled when the pardoner tries to trick him. The knight threatens to “cut off his bullocks” and “carry them” as a relic instead. This proves that Chaucer is making the point that intelligence can come from anywhere. In those days, the only way many people got educated was through the clergy. Here is someone who has taken his smarts, most likely gained from the church, and is using it for less than holy purposes. A reversal of fortunes that pokes fun at the society as a whole.