Notes/Questions for "The Pardoner's Tale"

Moral tale-- teaches a lesson about what is right and wrong in human behavior; the outcome is the “moral” of the story.
Pardoner—licensed by the church to grant indulgences (forgiveness for peoples’ sins). In theory, they were supposed to be granted to people who showed great charity. However, many pardoners simply sold their pardons to make money. To spur sales, unethical pardoners often threatened reluctant buyers with eternal doom. Our pardoner does the same with his story.
Excerpt: “The Pardoner’s Tale”
1. What do the three tavern-goers hear as they drink?
2. Give an example of personification from page 147.
3. Of what did the man die?
4. What vow do the three men make? Is it possible to fulfill? How may their drinking affect this decision?
5. What trade does the old man say no one has yet been willing to make with him?
6. What lesson does the old man try to teach the younger men?
7. Of what do the young men accuse the old man?
8. The gold under the tree foreshadows something. What do you think it foretells?
9. What is their plan for getting the gold?
10. What plan do the two watching the gold make?
11. Who is the Fiend (an allusion—not someone in the tales)?
12. How is Death tricking all three of the men?
13. How do the three of them die?
14. How does this tale prove the Biblical proverb of “reaping what you sow?”