How would you compare and contrast the Pardoner to the Monk in The Canterbury Tales?

This is a very astute question to ask, because actually,
although overtly the Paroner and the Monk dwell in very different social spheres, and
the Pardoner is far more overtly disapproved of, both are shown by the somewhat ironic
narrator to take advantage of other people to sustain themselves. Let us consider how
both are compared and contrasted in "The General
Prologue."

The monk we are told is a proud man, who loves
sports and has a number of good horses. He also has different, and more tolerant, views
than might be expected of the monk:

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Being out of date, and also somewhat
strict,

This monk I speak of let old precepts
slide,

And took the modern practice as his
guide.

The narrator wryly
notes that the sleeves of his fine garments were edged with "squirrel fur, the finest in
the land" and he wore "an elaborate gold pin." All of this extravagant details as to his
wealth cause the narrator to concede that:

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No question but he was a fine
prelate!

Not pale and wan like some tormented
spirit.

A fat roast swan was what he loved the
best.

His saddle-horse was as brown as any
berry.

So, reading between
the lines, we can see that the narrator is gently poking fun at the way that the Monk
uses his position to indulge in his favourite pastime (hunting) and to keep himself in
wealth.

The Pardoner is described as a much more
disreputable figure who openly exploits the ignorant to gain wealth. He openly admits
how he tricks people, and the narrator comments:

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In just one day he'd pick up far more
money

Than any parish priest was like to
see

In two whole months. With double-talk and
tricks

He made the people and the priest his
dupes.

He has a rather
unsavoury appearance, with the narrator highlighting his "yellow" hair which hung "in
meagre clusters"  and in "rat's tails." He has "big bulging eyes" and it is suggested
that he is a eunuch, because his face is so smooth the narrator mistakes him for a
"gelding" (a horse that has been neutered).

Thus, though
the Pardoner and the Monk are obviously two very different people in terms of their
social position and their appearance, with the Pardoner being far more disreputable than
the socially acceptable Monk, both are rather ironically shown to profit from their
involvement in religion.