Module 3: Reading Assignment 6

My Question: How was death personified in the Pardoner's Tale? How does this relate to what the Pardoner Preaches? Give Examples.

Answers:

What is the moral of the Pardoner's Tale and how is this contradictory to what he preaches?

The moral of the Pardoner's Tale is Money is the root of all evil. I'm not sure that this is contradictory to what he preaches, but I do think it is contradictory to the way he acts. He does tell people that money is the root of all evil. He says that to solve thei problems they should give up their money. What better person to give their money to than to him? He basically steals from these people who are very naive when it comes to penance.

In the Nun's Priest's Tale, the story is told as if the animals in the barnyard are people.There is a comparison between the rich and the poor. The poor being the old peasant women who has little and doesn't seem to need much and the rich, portrayed by Chaunticleer, who has a lot of responsibilities, like making sure to crow so the sun comes up. Why do you think Chaucer used animals as the main focus to tell this tale?

I think that Chaucer chose to use animals in this story because it shows the animalistic qualities that humans have. Plus, a story using humans to compare the rish and the poor would be alot more boring. Animals bring a humorous quality to the story also.