Why is the pardoner going to canterbury

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The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer. Khinoy, pg Once dead what matter how their souls may fare? They can go blackberrying, for all I care!

But let me briefly make my purpose plain; I preach for nothing but for greed of gain And use the same old text, as bold as brass, Radix malorum est cupiditas. Having demonstrated his propensity for avarice, deception and gluttony, some of the very vices he preaches against, the Pardoner now wears his hypocrisy firmly on his sleeve.

The story introduces a group of three tavern dwelling rioters who the Pardoner uses to demonstrate the vices of avarice and lust; gluttony and drunkenness; gambling and swearing - vices our Pardoner happily possesses himself.

On their quest for Death, they encounter a very poor old man who informs them they may find Death in a nearby grove:. The rioters enter the grove and find not Death, but bushels of gold whereupon plots are hatched to do away with one or some of their cohorts to increase their portion of the find. The moral of the tale is obvious - cupiditas and greed are the cause of moral bankruptcy and certain damnation. However being told by our self confessed avaricious Pardoner it seems inappropriate, inconsistent and extremely hypocritical given his boastful admissions of his own deceptive double dealings.

Furthermore, he attempts to sell pardons to the group—in effect plying his trade in clear violation of the rules outlined by the host. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook.

Why are the characters in The Canterbury Tales going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury? What language is The Canterbury Tales written in? The Pardoner admits that he preaches solely to get money, not to correct sin. He argues that many sermons are the product of evil intentions. By preaching, the Pardoner can get back at anyone who has offended him or his brethren.

In his sermon, he always preaches about covetousness, the very vice that he himself is gripped by. His one and only interest is to fill his ever-deepening pockets. He would rather take the last penny from a widow and her starving family than give up his money, and the good cheeses, breads, and wines that such income brings him.

The Pardoner describes a group of young Flemish people who spend their time drinking and reveling, indulging in all forms of excess. After commenting on their lifestyle of debauchery, the Pardoner enters into a tirade against the vices that they practice.

First and foremost is gluttony, which he identifies as the sin that first caused the fall of mankind in Eden. Next, he attacks drunkenness, which makes a man seem mad and witless. Next is gambling, the temptation that ruins men of power and wealth. Finally, he denounces swearing. He argues that it so offends God that he forbade swearing in the Second Commandment—placing it higher up on the list than homicide. After almost two hundred lines of sermonizing, the Pardoner finally returns to his story of the lecherous Flemish youngsters.

As three of these rioters sit drinking, they hear a funeral knell. The rioters are outraged and, in their drunkenness, decide to find and kill Death to avenge their friend.