beowulf
...69-170). The monk should be focusing his time on prayer opposed to a sport, especially a sport that involves killing animals. Also, the monk was very focused on his appearance. The sleeves of his shirt were described as “garnished at the hand/With fine gray fur, the finest in the land” (198-99). It is not considered the norm for a monk to be wearing fine linen and fur. This infers that the monk is worrying about money and his outer appearance rather than the church. Lastly, the monk is rarely in the monastery. He is described as being “not pale like a tormented soul”(209). If he is not pale he has obviously not been spending time inside devoting himself to prayer and the church. To conclude the monk’s tale, he is portrayed negatively to reveal the distortedness of the catholic church. The second corrupted man associated with the church was the Pardoner. A pardoner is a medieval cleric who raised money for the church by selling papal indulgences. To begin, the Pardoner’s appearance was very uncommon for that of a clergy member. He “had hair as yellow as wax,/hanging down smoothly like a hank of flax” (695-96). It is unusual for a member of the church to have long, blonde hair. Long, blonde hair suggests that he may be too crazy and not fit for his job. Next, the pardoner also had a tendency to lie. He carried around “a pillowcase/which he asserted was Our Lady’s veil” (714-15). This pardoner, whom sold indulgences for sins, is bluntly sinning himself by lying to the public. Lastly, the pardoner did not even take the church seriously. He “made monkeys of the priest and congregation” (726). The congregation and the church are what the pardoner is supposed to be raising money towards and working for, but instead he deceitfully ridicules it. Altogether, Chaucer had the pardoner portray these various qualities of immorality in order to expose and disagree with the perfect view of the church. Lastly, the Friar is yet another character in The General Prologue who demonstrates distorted behavior. A friar is a male religious of an order of mendicant preachers of the gospel. To begin with the friar‘s corrupt behavior, he is found in bars regularly. “He knew the taverns well in every town/And every innkeeper and barmaid too” (244-45). If this friar is spending his time in bars, he is not spending his time preaching. Secondly, the friar demonstrated prejudice by discrimi...