Byron Luk
Ms. Tan
Per. 5 11H
28 September, 2014
Death is Inescapable
Death is a common element of literature. In “The Pardoner’s Tale,” Death is indirectly personified and the three rioters attempt to catch Death. However once they reach Death, greed conquers them resulting in a bleak death for the rioters and their oath. In contrast, “The Tale of Three Brothers,” employs Death directly and it obstructs the brothers. Subsequently, Death takes the first two brothers as they succumb to his trick. However, the third brother who is a humble man departs with Death as equals, which ends the tale in a hopeful tone. Therefore, Chaucer and Rowling utilize features of personification and symbolism to portray the inevitability of Death.
In the opening of the “The Pardoner’s Tale” personification is used subtly by Chaucer. “. . . They call him Death, who kills us all round here, and in a breath. . .” says Chaucer. Chaucer is describing Death as an occurrence as well as personifying it as imminent and inevitable. However, Rowling’s personification of Death has evolved from Chaucer’s by developing Death into a cunning and physical character. In “The Tale of Three Brothers,” Death obstructs the brothers’ path because it feels cheated and attempts to trick them. The third brother manages to outsmart Death; however he eventually results in Death’s grasp.
Similarly, the contrasting use of symbolism contributes to each tale’s portrayal of the theme. In “The Pardoner’s Tale,” the old man, directs the three rioters to Death. The rioters instead find a bundle of gold, resulting in them forgetting their chase for Death. Greed overtakes the rioters and they murder one another in attempt to claim the gold. Gold is also the cause for the death of the rioter’s earlier bond, “. . . And each defend the others, and we will kill this traitor Death, I say!” says Chaucer. Therefore, gold symbolizes how Death is unavoidable by causing the rioters death as well as the death of their oath. On the other hand, Rowling
