In the Pardoner's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, the Pardoner reveals himself as a liar, full of greed and a slanderer. Although the pardoner works for the Church and "preaches"(pg 242), he manages to "tell a hundred lying mockeries more"(pg 242). The Pardoner wants to "preach and beg from kirk to kirk and never do an honest job of work"(pg 244). He discloses himself as a person who not only deceives people with lies, but does not, although working for the Church, want to do honest work. As well as a liar, he also portrays himself with being full of greed. He does not care about others sins and wrongdoings because "specifically for [him]self"(pg 234), his "exclusive purpose is to win and not at all to castigate their sin"(pg 243). He does not preach for the purpose of helping others but "for nothin but but for greed and gain"(pg 243) and to make a "living out of - avarice"(pg 243). The Pardoner also depicts himself as a slanderer for his "tongue will be a dagger"(pg 243). He demeans the reputation fo the Church and "spit[s] my venom forth, while [he] profess[es] holy and true- or seeming holiness"(pg 243). The Pardoner uncovers his faults of being a liar, greedy, and full of slander.

Chaucer is poking fun of the Church in the Pardoner's Tale because he reveals all of the bad attributes that the Pardoner, an employee of the Church, holds. The Pardoner is corrupt and Chaucer is satirizing the Church because of it. The Pardoner reveals that his "exclusive purpose is to win and not at all to castigate their sin"(pg 243). The Church believes in chastity and against sin, but the Pardoner, who represents the Church, preaches to "let [him] drink the liquor of the grape and keep a jolly wench in every town"(pg 244). Those are two acts that are highly against Church conduct. Chaucer poses to make fun of the Church by creating a character that represents the Church in a bad manner to prove that the Church is not as high and mighty as it seems to be.