“The Pardoner's Tale”, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, shows different qualities of life, as we know it today. In this story, Chaucer writes about a man who speaks to his audience for money. This man begins to speak out against all those who participate in drinking and gambling, but admits that he has committed these sins himself. The Pardoner is about three boys who lost their lives due to selfishness. This leaves the reader with the knowledge that money is the root of all evil. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an 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 from people across the nation. Many people love to advise others on how to live their lives, but they themselves are missing the point. In fact, the forgiver is the same way. He is committed to telling others the way of the Lord and condemning them for their sins; however, he is guilty of the same. In fact, immediately after explaining that swearing is bad, he says “Now for the love of Christ” (p 22). This could be considered a form of oath. I find it ironic that he ends his “sermon” by swearing in the name of Christ to begin his story. Another aspect to consider is the greed of the forgiver. The pardoner seeks a commission from his audience for his stories. He too is someone who lets money overwhelm him. Does he genuinely care about the condition of his soul or is he just looking for easy money? On page 27, the forgiver comments that his "holy forgiveness heals and will suffice / So that he brings me gold, or silver brings / Otherwise, I don't care: pins, spoons or rings." Personally I believe that the forgiver is willing to tell anything to receive money for himself. This is one of his obvious sins that allows me to propose the statement: “Practice what you preach, pardoner.” The story also describes the effects that greed has on one's life. The story of the three men overcome by greed refers to this decade of people. “Show me the money” has been the theme of this generation. Everyone is involved in their own battle to get their share of wealth. This is very similar to the story of the three men who found gold under the oak tree. The men were concerned with how to travel with money without looking like thieves, as noted when they stated, "For men would say we were strong thieves / And we would, for our treasure, hang soon" (p 25) They did not worry about who they were stealing the money, they only cared about their personal statue. They didn't want to appear like thieves, so they planned to travel at night, as seen in this quote on page 25, "This treasure must be brought home at night." The three travelers set out to kill death. An old man directed them on the path to death. The path was under an oak tree which actually had a treasure of gold. In my opinion the old man was very wise in pointing out the fact that death will be found in this tree. When men reach the tree, they automatically begin to think only of themselves. They begin to plot against each other to get more. Pages 25 and 26 show these quotes, "...poison he spilled" and "...fool with him as in a game/ and with your dagger see, do the same." These describe their plots of murder, which is the very Death the old man spoke of. This old man recognized that money is the death of some people. He understood their intentions and was smart enough to avoid that path. Today, the same problem is visible. It may not always come to the point of death, but a lot.