For Monday: The Canterbury Tales: The Pardoner’s Prologue & Tale
Answer TWO of the following...
1. What is the theme of each of the Pardoner’s sermons (as he
explains in the Prologue)? What makes
him choose this theme, and what does this say about his profession in general?
2. How is the Pardoner, as a storyteller, a bit like the
Knight? While their characters couldn’t
be more distinct, how might his style resemble the Knight’s—and in some ways,
The Wife of Bath’s Prologue?
3. Based on the Pardoner’s Tale, what is his general view of
humanity? Despite the obvious moral of
the story, how might this tale represent his general world
view/philosophy?
4. Why does the Pardoner try to sell his relics and pardons to the
entire group after his sermon? Don’t
they already know that both are worthless after hearing his Prologue? Why does Chaucer include this humorous sales
pitch?
3. The pardoner has a general view of humanity being sinful and abhorrent. He views or perhaps rather presents the world in this way to justify the necessity of his position. He seems to view humanity as generally corrupt as displayed though his tale. Also, that humans seek out what is bad for them. The men in the story actively sought out death.
ReplyDelete4. I feel like it is the pardoner’s default to try to sell his pardons after his sermons. The pardoner is a like bad infomercial salesman. It was like at the end of his story he was saying, “and you can have all this for the low price of $19.99!”. Chaucer seems to be making fun of the fact that he is so clearly hypocritical and still thinks people will believe in his pardons. Plus, he could have been just drunk enough to not realize how ridiculously he was coming off.
Yes, it's all a grand sales pitch of sleaze and salvation--yet it never seems too one-dimensional, since Chaucer makes him believe it. I truly think the Pardoner, despite his cynicism, believes in his tale and his charms while in character, and is amazed when anyone questions him--which rarely happens at any rate. Hence the horror with which he responds to the Host's comment at his expense.
DeleteKelsey Tiger
ReplyDelete3. I think his general view of humanity is greed. They literally sought out “Death” and agreed to stick together as brothers, “live and die for one another”, but in the end found gold florin and turned on each other to have all the riches for their own self. The tale maybe represents how this world is full of sin and greed.
4. By the end of his sermon he is probably really drunk and thinks the entire group will buy his sales pitch. He might also think that following a story like that people will want to buy a pardon, like they need a blessing from being so corrupt. I think Chaucer included this humorous sales pitch to show how the Pardoner thinks everyone else is so corrupt except for himself, kind of a hypocrite. He even says on page 331, “drink is the tomb of a man’s wit and judgment and discretion.” He was drunk himself while preaching his sermons and telling his story.
Great responses--this story is a great satire not only for his hypocrisy, but for the fact that that like any great liar, he believes his own lies (even when he knows they're lies). Perhaps that's why he's so successful?
DeleteElyse Marquardt
ReplyDeleteQuestion 2: The Pardoner's style of story-telling is quite like the Knight's in that he goes off topic a lot. Right off the bat, he interrupts his story on the first page by diving into a sermon against wine and drunkenness. Then, after several pages, we are just starting to think that he is done when he starts up again about gambling and many other vices. He is similar to both the Knight and the Wife of Bath in that he seems to enjoy giving minute details on subjects that he feels strongly about (or in his case, is obligated to feel strongly about). The Knight enjoys portraying the inanity of blind love; the Wife of Bath loves to describe her matrimonial exploits; and the Pardoner wants to make everyone feel guilty.
Question 3: The Pardoner thinks humanity is generally corrupt. This view probably comes in part from looking at his own life, which is spent making others feel guilty and then swindling them. He has heard the worst confessions imaginable, which supports his belief that everyone is irreparably sinful. He also seems to think that most people are selfish and stupid, judging by the end of his story. His three main characters are all so self-absorbed that it doesn't even cross their minds to expect their fellow villains to be plotting their death as well.
Yes, the story seems to confirm his overall vision of mankind, as stupid, selfish, and senseless. He feels that he is somehow their superior, even though he admits he is guilty of many of the same sins. Of course, he also believes in the Church in the most cynical way: because he is given orders and allowed to sell pardons, he believes, foolishly, that he is saved and that he can do or say anything.
DeleteRocky Moore
ReplyDelete3. His general world view is pretty pessimistic and down right wrong really and Chaucer is really calling out the corruption of the church here. In the passage on page 327 the Pardoner says that "my only interest is in gain" and obviously not in making people's lives better through Christ. We kind of talked about this a little bit before reading this book and have not touched upon it with the tales of the Miller, Knight and Wife of Bath yet. Now we are getting to that whole conversation of how the church then doesn't care about the people like they say they do and are really just there for their own personal gain as shown through this character, the Pardoner.
4. I think Chaucer just does this as a reminder to the people of his day that again they can think for themselves and cut through the crap that the Pardoner is sending their way. Chaucer can choose when and where he decides to make fun of people of this nature, especially of the church and does this through sarcastic jousts here and there, this is just one example of that. This really just reminds me that he is bringing awareness to the lower class people that can choose for themselves what they want to do with their lives like I had previously said. He is making point to the fact that the church doesn't have to hold as much power as it used to and that people don't have to bow down anymore because of their authority.
Great responses...it is a social statement told through satire, and one that would find great resonance with his audience. They all knew someone like him--and, indeed, so do we!
Delete1. The Pardoner only ever preaches about greed. He chooses this theme because he believes most people of greedy. Chaucer made this character so ironic, it’s hard to tell if he intended for us to believe he was actually this corrupt or if his entire presence was merely for comic value. The Pardoner chose the theme of greed, because he knew it all too well. He was plagued by greed himself. The prologue suggests all men within this profession were as corrupt at the Pardoner.
ReplyDelete4. I think the Pardoner had an immense amount of confidence in himself and his ability to swindle others. Unlike the other pilgrims, he spoke to crowds and told “stories” daily, it was routine for him to offer his relics at the end of his condemning sermons. However, I think his attempts to sell the relics, after admitting his scheme, was more than muscle memory. I think he took great delight in his attempt to defraud, even someone aware of his corruption. It reminds me of a girl dating a guy who tells her he’s no good for her, yet she dates him anyways. That’s the ultimate reward for a deceitful scum bag, like the Pardoner.
Great points: I think he does believe his spiel, though he knows it's all an act, too. He thinks he's saved, but he also assumes the people he serves are damned, so he feels he can be dishonest with them and make money from them. I like your idea of muscle memory, too--I think that's a lot of what's going on here (and being drunk!).
DeleteDeryk Ronk
ReplyDelete2.) The pardoner is completely different from the knight, but they tell stories identically. Both of them grt off of tp pic frequently. The pardoner does this because he is drunk, and the knight does it because he feels the need tk explain noble things. You can see the pardoner do this at the beginning, when he ironically preaches against drinking heavily.
3.) The pardoner is very pessimistic. He believes all people are corrupt and nieve. He uses these qualities to sell his relics. He knows that all people want riches and that they will do anything for the church. I believe Chaucer used this character to show the hippocracy in the church of that time.
Good responses...but show us where you see him contradicting himself or adding irony to his prologue/tale. Where do we see his pessimism and/or cynicism? Quote a line or passage so we can see your ideas--this will help you on paper #1.
Delete1. The pardoner basically preaches about greed and gluttony. Which is ironic considering that, from what we know of him, that is the sin he is most guilty of. He tricks people to get all of the money out of them that he can, even admitting to the group that the relics and things that he sells are completely fake. He will do anything to keep the rich and luxurious lifestyle he is accustomed to. He chooses this theme because he is familiar with it. It is basically his entire livelihood, and he is well acquainted with it.
ReplyDelete4. I honestly am not sure if he is drunk, or just greedy. He already told them that the relics are fake, but he cannot resist trying anyway. He is a greedy man and refuses to miss out on an opportunity to make himself a little bit of money. Chaucer is clearly making fun of him and further emphasizing how caught up he is in the sin he so adamantly preaches against. A satirical reference to the church as a whole, maybe?
Yet, this entire portrait reeks of satire, esp. since he IS drunk the entire time he's speaking. Where do we see the clearest satire that might be more universal for Chaucer? Quote a line or passage to help us see this. Close reading here will get you in the habit of close reading on Paper #1 and elsewhere.
DeleteAshley Bean
ReplyDelete2. The Pardoner rambles a bit like the Knight does. Where the knight would start to tell a tale inside of a tale and then stop himself, the pardoner takes five or six pages rambling about how horrible humanity is. Everyone is terrible! So am I! This is why I'm bad! Oh, and now let me show you what greed can do to you! It's a little choppy in a way which I think is because he is drunk.
3. Like I said above, he views everyone as bad in their own way. He feels like he is superior despite he is as horrible, if not more so, than everyone else. He knows that everyone is weak to sin and plays on that.
Yes, he rambles like the Knight, but whereas the Knight's rambling is harmless and endearing (he simply loves the story), the Pardoner rambles to "sell" his product. Indeed, he's scarcely aware of the story he's telling; I'm not even sure he's truly 'read' it himself. Where do we see, however, his negative view of the world...try to bring out a quote/passage to examine this. This will help you out in paper assignments and exams.
Delete1. His theme is centered on greed being the root of all evil. He highlights how greed is manifested in gluttony, gambling, and immoral sexual relations. He chooses this theme because greed is something he is very familiar with himself. Telling people not to store up earthly treasures will also make them all the more willing to give them to YOU! In his profession you hit on what people most often struggle with. This sets up the perfect spiritual economy when you get ready to sell your pardons.
ReplyDelete2.
He gets a bit side tracked like the Knight. His “sermonette” before his tale is probably longer than the tale itself. Also, he is brutally honest in a self discrediting type of way.
Right, he terrifies his audience about the evils and prevalance of sin, and then offers himself as the only escape from it. Yet the question should be, how does he know so much about cursing, gambling, and wine? :)
DeleteShelby Pletcher
ReplyDelete1) The Pardoner's favorite subject to preach on seems to be greed. I think he chooses this because 1) he's so familiar with this sin himself and 2) because greed is a universal sin that almost everybody struggles with. And if they don't, you can very easily guilt them into believing they do just by bringing up any extra money or materials they have lying around. This is an excellent scheme on the Pardoner's behalf considering how easy it would be to con people into believing they should give to you. It's a double-edged sword and the Pardoner knows exactly when and where to stab it into the heart of his audience.
2) I definitely think the Pardoner is a hypocritical believer at best, but more than likely a non-believer and wolf in sheep's clothing. Because of this, I think he has a very black and white view on the world. Sometimes I think he sees things so very black that you have to look at the white to see it simply because that's who he is. He definitely self-projects his own depravity onto the people around him in hopes of making himself feel better. I mean, he IS at least in the ministry. He's holy by title, not by work.