Analysis Of The Pardoner's Tale

In the Canterbury Tales, the reader is quickly introduced to the game of the host. The Host’s game takes place during the pilgrims’ journey to see the shrine of Thomas A. Becket, and involves each pilgrim telling their own tale in any manner they would like to give. The first tale presented to the host is the Knight’s tale. A noble tale about a wise king. Another tale offered to the host is the Pardoner’s tale. This tale was much more obscure and would require the listener to pay a much closer attention to detail. The Pardoner’s tale focused heavily on a moral education, while on the other hand, the Knight’s tale focused mainly on the entertainment value. They both presented great stories that will go down in history, but who gave the best …show more content…
Before he begins, the Pardoner tells about his job and the sins he commits by doing it. Even though he has sinned, the Pardoner is at peace with himself because he accepts who he is and what he does. His sermon topic, always calling out, “greed is the root of all evil.” The Pardoner begins his tale by describing a group of young men who love to drink and relish in the obscure qualities of life. The group of rioters hear the sounds of a funeral and, wondering of the event, sends their servant to find out more information. The deceased man ended up being a friend of theirs and, enraged, swore to kill the man that killed their friend, Death. The rioters depart down a road while still strictly drunken and find and old man. The old man tells them where to find Death and points to a grove. The rioters come come across behind a tree and, instead of finding Death, quickly forget what they are searching for, and instead find 8 piles of gold coins. The rioters realize they can’t travel with the money in the light of day, so they wait till night. In the meantime they draw straws to see who will run out and grab food and supplies. The youngest of the group picks the shortest straw and heads into town; only thing is, he does not know the two older men plot to kill him the second he returns. The youngest rioter has a plot of his own as well, and plans to poison the two boys with a drink upon his …show more content…
The Knight’s tale comprised of everything it takes to make a good story. Love, feud, and brotherhood were just a few of the subjects that were constantly weaving in and out of the tale. The Pardoner’s tale however, takes a completely different approach towards normal storytelling. He tells us of his familiar moral that plays into all of his sermons ,and instead of being direct like the Knight’s tale, his story is centered on the thought that everything symbolizes everything. The men being drunk, the old man they find that literally points them to Death, the money slowly overtaking the men with greed, and the slow fall of the men as Death steps in to take their lives. All in all, both of the stories will forever go down in history as some of the greatest tales ever told, but one has to have won the game. Personally I think that I enjoyed the Pardoner’s tale better. A story with a bit more moral meaning and hidden symbolism are the types of readings that interest me. But in the end, the Knight’s tale was overall the better story. Everything from the development to the meat and potatoes in the Knight’s tale screams an amazing story. Not because its length, but because of its amount of entertainment. I truly think the Knight had a much more progressive and enjoyable tale. The Pardoner’s tale only came in it’s close second position because of its lack of build