"For right as they hadde cast his deethe bifoore,
Right so they han him slayn, and that anon.
And whan that this was doon, thus spak the oon:
'Now lat us sitte and drynke, and make us merie,
And afterward we wol his body berie.'
And with that word it happed hym, par cas,
To take the botel ther the poysoun was,
And drank, and yaf his falawe drynke also,
For which anon they storven bothe two."
Canterbury Tales is famous for its contributions to English and for being the largest, perhaps the best and the most renowned achievement of the Father of English literature, Geoffrey Chaucer. Of all the tales I’ve read from the said “magnum opus”, The Pardoner’s Tale, a story concerned with the three young men and their avarice, interested me the most.
The Pardoner’s Tale started with the three men indulged in gambling and drunkenness. While in revelry, they heard a funeral procession passing and asked a servant about it. He responds by saying that it is their friend who departed, that he was killed by a thief called Death. The three young men, wanting to kill Death and probably to avenge their friend, went far in pursuit. Later then, they met an old man claiming that he was cursed to wander off the Earth and even Death will not take his life. The men demanded where they could find Death and was given answer that he was last seen under an oak tree. They rushed to the tree and found bags of gold and not Death in sight. After discussing things, they finally agreed on taking these bags. They then draw straws to see who among them would go and get some food and drink; the youngest of the three loses. In time, everything changed, the two who were left behind changed their plan: they will murder the youngest and therefore, receive greater shares of the wealth. However, back in town, the youngest was having similar thoughts. He thought of keeping all the riches to himself so he bought the strongest poison available in the apothecary and poisoned the food. In the end, the youngest is murdered and the two are poisoned, thus, no one survived.
It is not the characters that interested me nor the way the story ended. It is the whole content of the story and the lesson it possesses. Truly, avarice is one of man’s greatest weaknesses (I believe the first is lust). Besides being able to buy anything you desire, given a large amount of money, you are also given access to anything you want. I also believe that rich people are given importance and priority far more than those who are impoverish, that is why everyone (or most of us) desires to be wealthy.
Another thing that interested me is how Death was given description. When I was reading The Pardoner’s Tale and caught the word “death” in sight, I knew I would like the story and I really did. When Death was mentioned, the first thing that went through my mind is that in the town, there dwells a horrible creature or demon who brings death to everyone he meets (that is why his name is Death). But of course, that is a misconception. The three young men weren’t able to hold sight of Death, the thing is, it cannot be seen. Death saw them the moment they succumbed to their own temptations. Money offers enticements and men would do anything it takes to have it. I believe Death is not the bushels of gold found under the tree, but it is the moment you fell into a temptation which would lead you to your end.
I find the three men stupid. They should’ve known beforehand that they would try to kill each other but there’s nothing I could do about it. Their death is inevitable.
I gained pieces of knowledge from the story and I learned a lot from it. We shouldn't entrust everything to people around us, especially when money is involved and secondly, we must never steal or take things that aren't ours, bad things do happen only if we've done something unpleasant, just like what had happened to the three young men.
