A 6 page discussion of Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale". This paper addresses the question of whether the Pardoner is a preacher. The author contends that while his motives are definitely condemnable, his oratorical skills and power of manipulation are quite refined;
two of the characteristics that qualify him as a preacher. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: AM2_PPpardnr.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
one of the more intriguing of Chaucers tales. Likewise, the Pardoner is one of the writers most complex characters. The Pardoner has many qualities. He is extremely intelligent
and holds many talents. He is also extremely cynical, angry, and contemptuous, however, and seems to wallow in his internal dispare. His persona is also interesting in terms
of his proclaimed sexual excesses, his thirst for money and alcohol, and his tendency towards leudness. Toswell (2001, pg 155) summarizes that a common description of the Pardoner is
that he is: "not a univocal but a polyvalent figure filled with conflicting and competing
discourses" This results in a number of personality conflicts in addition to those noted above.
Readers are consequently left wondering just exactly what and who the Pardoner is. They seem particularly interested in the question of whether or not he could be classified
as a preacher. A few characteristics in particular allow us to answer that question. The Pardoner is both judgmental and extremely outspoken. One of his strongest skills
it seems is public speaking. In fact, he is a performer! These characteristics combine to allow us to conclude, despite his many sins, that the Pardoner is most certainly
a preacher! Pardoner, in fact, begins his tale by elucidating on his skills as a preacher. Just because someone makes such a
claim, of course, does not mean that that claim is actually valid and being a preacher is not predicated on being good at what you do. Never-the-less. Pardoner considers