Canterbury Tales - The Pardoner's Greed Throughout literature, relationships can often be found between the author of a story and the story he writes. In Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, many characters make this idea evident with the stories they tell. A distinct relationship can be established between the character of the Pardoner and the story he tells. Through the prologue of the Pardoner's story, the character of the Pardoner is revealed. While the Pardoner displays many important traits, the most prevalent is his greed. Throughout the prologue, the Pardoner displays his greed and even admits that the only thing he cares about is money: "I preach nothing but gain" ("Pardoner's Tale", line 105). This greed is also seen strongly in the Pardoner's tale. In the Pardoner's tale, three friends begin a journey to kill Death. During their journey, however, an old man leads them to the discovery of a great treasure. At this point, all three friends in the story display greed similar to that of the Pardoner. The three friends decide that someone will bring bread and wine for the party. While the youngest of the friends goes out to buy some wine, the other two greedily plot to kill him so that they can divide the treasure only two ways. The youngest also decides to "get it into his head to buy some poison / With which to kill his two companions" (383, 384). Greed, which is evident in the character of the Pardoner, is also clearly seen in the story. Another trait displayed by the Pardoner and a character in his tale is hypocrisy. Although the Forgiver is extremely greedy, he continues to try to teach that "greed is the root of all evil" (6). The characters in his story also show great hypocrisy. At the beginning of the story, the friends all act very trustworthy and loyal towards all their friends. They nobly make the decision to risk their lives as they try to kill their friend's killer. As they recount their challenge, they pledge "to live and die each for the other, / As if he were one's own blood brother" (241-242). At the end of the story, the "brothers" begin to reveal their true nature. They all turn against each other in an attempt to steal the treasure for themselves.