The Pardoner and his tale

Hogges Tord

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This whole passage reminded me of something that young people, like me, sometimes do on the internet where they try to outwit a person of faith and make them look stupid and foolish for believing in what they believe. They allow the person of faith to speak and explain themselves and then try to come back with a quick witted jab that will destroy the foundation of the person of faith's argument but really only attacks their cause and makes it look like less than what it is. This can be seen when the Host makes jokes about the Pardoner's request to "kisse the reliks everichon" (line 944). He worries about the tread marks and would rather take the Saint's testicles and "shryned [them] in an hogges tord!" (line 955). As you can see, he doesn't take the Pardoner's request seriously and makes him the laughing stock of the tavern.