The Experience of Death Depicted in the Plays Everyman and The Sandbox

Death, to the surrounding people, can often be seen as a horrible and depressing time in one’s life, while the same result may occur in the person going through the time period. One must remember, though, that no matter how the person has lived throughout their life, everyone must die eventually, for it is the circle of life. The playwright, Everyman, notes of the importance of having devotion and loyalty in Jesus Christ, for that is the only way to Heaven. Also, the play and The Sandbox greatly illustrate how a person near death is feeling and his emotions, while also describing the sympathy of others around him and their experiences.

According to Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary, death is merely “the permanent cessation of all vital functions in an animal or plant.” To fully appreciate the gravity of such a definition, it is important to first have an understanding of vocabulary and know what the more difficult terminology in the definition means, for example, cessation. It is “a ceasing; stop; pause.” If each of the less frequently used words in the definition were rewritten, the meaning would read that death is a lasting stop of all extremely important organisms that used to depend on each other in order to survive.

In the play, Everyman, A.C. Cawley incorporates his view of belief regarding what happens to a person after death. The prime character, Everyman, runs into an angel from God, who reports to Everyman that he must go before God and account for all of the things that he has done on Earth. On Earth, though, Everyman lived as the world did and participated in secular things which are displeasing to God. Because of the way in which he ran his life, Everyman pled with the angel to let him stay on Earth for a lit...

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... buried under the ground, while their souls are either in Heaven or Hell forever.

Overall, in facing death, it is often seen as a horrible and depressing period in life. In further evaluation, Everyman and The Sandbox greatly analyze the individual who was close to death and expresses his emotions. Also, both playwrights describe the sympathy of others around him and their experiences and actions. Everyman goes on to say that life is not about doing good works and living how the secular world lives, but in believing in Jesus Christ. If individuals have faith in Jesus Christ, they will be able to live for all eternity with Him. Typically for Christians, although it is mostly seen as sad and disheartening, death should actually be represented as joyous, for the deceased will have the privilege to stand before God and tell his testimony and enter the Gates of Heaven.