Ultimately, Chaucer leads his audience, by their reaction to the Pardoner, into condemnation of the wider abuses of the Medieval Church , about which so many clerics were morally blind. Hypocrisy and moral blindness The image and reality of the Pardoner There is from the start a mismatch between what the Pardoner ought to be and the way he is described. The expectations for a medieval churchman were that he would be: Modest in appearance Godly in his language Chaste in his behaviour Diligent in service of God Moderate in his appetites Honest in his preaching.
Overt hypocrisy The Pardoner's outward show of holiness is entirely hypocritical. He is open about the fact that his claims of spiritual power are false — the claims: That anyone on his list will be admitted into heaven That he can absolve people from their sins That paying him money is enough to cleanse away sin.
Moral blindness Whilst the duplicity of the Pardoner and his three rogues is overt, Chaucer presents them as being blind about the actual consequences of their behaviour. Then we wake up to his immoral purposes, trying to cheat people out of their money, and we, too, do not like being duped. Both responses demonstrate that the Pardoner deceives himself. The moral blindness of the church Ultimately, Chaucer leads his audience, by their reaction to the Pardoner, into condemnation of the wider abuses of the Medieval Church , about which so many clerics were morally blind.
Person who dispensed indulgences in return for contributions of alms in the Middle Ages. Frequently guilty of promoting abuses of the system. A man who is actively involved in the life of the church, perhaps as a member of the clergy or with other responsibilities. The Bible describes God as the unique supreme being, creator and ruler of the universe.
The delivery of Christian teaching in the form of a sermon. This depicts the Pardoner as a manipulative character who seizes any money-making opportunity. In spite of this, Chaucer characterises the Pardoner as being preoccupied by alcohol, which suggests an unreliable quality. The Pardoner is immediately distanced morally from the other pilgrims, who, from experience, find him prone to talking of crude, filthy matters. This founds the underlying debate of whether a character such as the Pardoner is able to tell a moral tale.
He contradicts himself by encouraging his congregation towards the very sin against which he preaches; he details the rewards that his listeners will experience for purchasing pardons and relics from him.
Remember: This is just a sample from a fellow student. Starting from 3 hours delivery. Sorry, copying is not allowed on our website. We will occasionally send you account related emails. This essay is not unique. Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper. Want us to write one just for you? We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience.
This essay has been submitted by a student. Chaucer labels those who are supposed to be integral as corrupt, and those who are thought out to be hedonistic as selfless. Perhaps the most deceitful of all of the pilgrims, the Pardoner, is introduced.
Prior to telling his didactic tale, the Pardoner tells of himself and his ultimate goals. The reader learns he is speaking against greed and, although he is very much guilty himself, teaches those around him by using the example in his story.
A Pardoner in the Catholic Church is someone who has the ability to pardon people of their sins. Therefore, people go to him to be cleared of their sins and in return he gets paid to do it. While the pardoner tells his story, he explains how it is only just a game for him. He loves to tell people a story of three brothers in which the ending message received is that greed and money is the root of all people. Of course, this convinces the people to give him their money, in order to not sin because of their greed.
In this situation, the lieutenant was mocking the Church sarcastically, but the priest surprises him and agrees.
This catches the lieutenant by surprise and the lieutenant ceases to argue with him anymore and shows their shared ideas. Additionally, they both shared the same somber mood at the near finale of the novel. In literature,Chaucer was known for his great descriptions of characters due to his exposure in all things. In the Canterbury Tales, he portrayed the three most predominant classes during the fourteenth century.
He especially did a great job during these tales to show the reader that not all people are good just because of their background. During the fourteenth century, the court was mostly not a good example, the common people were very unfriendly besides the Oxford Cleric and Plowman, and other than one person the Church was corrupt. The court, as described by Chaucer, was not the chivalrous one that readers have learned about, besides the example of the Knight.
0コメント