Everyman Essay

Everything that has a beginning will also have an end. Humans are an example of this, we are born, we live, and then we die. This idea is portrayed in the play Everyman.

The character Everyman is in the time between life and death for human beings. Everyman represents the accountability aspect of human beings. The definition of the word Everyman is an ordinary or typical human being. According to the play, it is God’s plan that every human being or “Everyman” is held accountable for his or her actions and the life they have lived on Earth “Therefore I will, in briefest space, from every man in person have a reckoning shown”, God sends Death to Earth to summon Everyman. “Go thou to Everyman, and show him my name a pilgrimage he must on him

The Messenger is the first character introduced into the play. The messenger begins the story by introducing God and explains the reason for Gods anger. God is another character, he is angry because of all the sinners, you can see this in the play where it is says “And now I see the people do clean forsake me. They use the seven deadly sins damnable”. Death acts as a messenger for God to tell the sinners their reckoning is approaching and to bring death to them. Everyman is a representation of human beings and the path taken to redeeming themselves from their sinful life. Everyman is given time to find someone to accompany him on his journey. However, when he goes to Fellowship, Kindred, Cousin, and Goods he is unable to convince any of them to join him. When Fellowship takes the role of an untrue friend and when asked to take the journey with Everyman he backs down. “I would not forsake you while the day is clear, Trust me verily!” Kindred is also disloyal to Everyman, when asked to accompany him he tries to send his maid as a substitute. “Ye shall have my maid with all my heart” Cousin chooses to make up excuses for not being able to journey with Everyman. “No by our Lady, I have the cramp in my toe. Trust not to me for, so God me speed, I will deceive you in your utmost need”(lines 356-358) Goods deceives Everyman and just leads him to greed. “O false goo, cursed thou be! Thou traitor to god, that

The servants of the town were brutally tortured and appeared as though no one had even an ounce of morals. “They were hung by the thumbs or by the head, and corselets were hung on their feet. Knotted ropes were out on their heads and twisted till they penetrated to the brains” The events described in “Anarchy of 12th Century England” may have influenced morality plays being that morality plays are meant to represent morals or teach a lesson. In the last lines of the passage, you can see how the people were punished for the sins similar to the way that Everyman was being held accountable for his. “Wherever cultivation was done, the ground produced no corn, because the land was all ruined by such doings, and they said openly that Christ and his saints were asleep. Such thing too much for us to describe, we suffered nineteen years for our