The Pardoner’s Tale In Geoffrey Chaucer’s famous work, The Canterbury Tales, he points out many inherent flaws of human nature, all of which still apply today. In the phrase, “avarice is the root of all evil” (Hopper, 343), one can fail to realize the truth in this timeless statement because of its repetition throughout history. Whether applied to the corrupt clergy of Geoffrey Chaucer’s time, selling indulgences, or the corrupt televangelists of today, …showed first 75 words of 1132 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1132 total…indeed the root of evil. In addition to the obvious message in The Pardoner’s Tale, Chaucer also paints a vivid picture of the Pardoner’s character and uses this further to reinforce his point. In examining both The Pardoner’s Tale and the Pardoner himself, it isn’t hard to see that the statement continues to ring true, just as it did five hundred years ago, “avarice is the root of all evil” (Hopper, 343).