“The Pardoner's Tale,” written by Geoffrey Chaucer, presents many qualities of life as we know it today. In this story, Chaucer talks about a man who speaks to his audience for money. This man begins to speak against all those who drink and gamble, but he admits to having committed these sins himself. The Pardoner is about three guys who lost their lives because of their selfishness. This leaves the reader with the certainty that money is the root of all evil. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Pardoner blames people who drink and says, “Lust is in all wine and drunkenness” (p 19). Even today, similar quotes can be heard across the country. Many people like to advise others on how to live their lives, but they themselves do not have the concept. The forgiver is actually the same way. He strives to show others the way of the Lord and to condemn them for their sins; however, he is guilty of the same thing. In fact, right after explaining that swearing is bad, he says, “Now, for Christ's sake” (p. 22). This could be considered a form of swearing. I find it ironic that he concludes his “sermon” by swearing with the name of Christ to begin his story. Another aspect to consider is the greed of the forgiver. The Pardoner solicits an order from his audience for his stories. He too is overwhelmed by money. Does he sincerely care about the state of his soul or is he just looking to make a quick buck? On page 27, the forgiver comments that his "holy forgiveness heals and will be enough/ For him to bring me gold, or silver/ Or, I don't care, brooches, spoons or rings.” Personally, I believe that the forgiver is willing to say just about anything to receive money for himself. It is one of his obvious sins that allows me to offer the statement: “Practice what you preach, Pardoner.” The story also describes the effects of greed on life. The story of the three men overcome by greed relates to this current decade. “Show me the money” has been the theme of this generation. Everyone is caught in their own battle to get their share of the riches. This is very similar to the story of the three men who found gold under the oak tree. The men wondered how to travel with the money without looking like thieves, as they noted when they said: "For men would say that we are strong thieves/and we, for our own treasure, will hang before a long time” (p 25). They didn't care who they stole money from, they only cared about their personal statue. They did not want to be seen as thieves, so they planned to travel at night, as shown in this quote from page 25: "This treasure must be brought home at night." The three travelers set out to kill death. An old man directed them towards the path of death. The path was under an oak tree which actually contained a treasure of gold. In my opinion, the old man was very wise in pointing out the fact that death will be found near this tree. When the men reached the tree, they automatically began to think only of themselves. They start plotting against each other to get more for themselves. Pages 25 and 26 display these quotes: "...he poured out poison" and "...frolic with him as in a game/and with your dagger, see, you do the same." They describe their murder plots, which is indeed the Death the old man spoke of. This old man recognized that money is the death of some people. He discerned their intentions and was.