I Couldn't Not Talk About Harry Potter the One Time It's Appropriate in College...

For starters, learning that J.K. Rowling was inspired by the Pardoner’s Tale made the Canterbury Tales extremely more exciting. Even though I couldn't wait to sit and read the tale, I was exceedingly distracted during the whole text. But, it had its benefits because my distractions had their benefits because I was thorough in analyzing the texts… just, focusing on Harry Potter at least fifty percent of the time.

            Though the two tales (Tale of Three Bothers and Pardoners Tale) are very different, it is easy to see what they have in common. Both themes show the consequences of living in excess. The Pardoner’s Tale possess this excess in terms of gluttony, drunkenness, gambling, and swearing. In The Tale of Three Brothers, Rowling keeps with the idea of excess but focuses on the greedy men who fashion a bridge to avoid their deaths and their insistence to trick Death out of taking them. These men have a greedy sense about them, in such a way that they think they are better, or possibly able to outsmart, Death and the concept of death itself.

            The Pardoner premises his tale by announcing that his theme is “Radix malorum est Cupiditas” (ll. 334). The text defines this as Avarice, or the love of money—essentially, greed—is the root of all evil. By trying to best on another, the characters of the Pardoners Tale  who find gold underneath the tree—presumably placed there by Death—ultimately cause their own demise which is similar to the Tale of Three Brothers who try to best Death by being granted tools which cause them to live forever. Neither set of characters are able to best Death, though, seeing as those in both tales meet Death on their own terms or on his.

            I found interest in the way the story is told in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, when Hermione is speaking of the first brother who killed the wizard who he has quarreled with before. The brother brags about how invincible he is because of the power which the Elder Wand gives him. The movie emphasizes the word “drunk” when speaking of how he was intoxicated with power and boasted to those around him. Because drunkenness is a major theme in the tale, I found it interesting that the producers of the film saw it necessary to have put emphasis on this word. Perhaps, it is close listening… instead of close reading? I am not sure. But, I could go on forever about how cool I found all these common themes…