On the Road to Salvation (Everyman Analysis)

            In the morality play, Everyman, the title character has to face the situation where he must find a companion to accompany him on the expedition to death and salvation. Everyman is an allegorical figure, who represents members of the Catholic church and the human soul. The main character has many encounters and conversations with various individuals that he would like to have join him on the journey to death. Through these encounters, Everyman is able to achieve his end goal of having salvation.

            The play starts with God, who is voicing his frustrations with mankind. He says, “Drowned in sin, they know Me not for God. In worldly riches is all their mind.” This means that mankind is drowning themselves in a deluge of sin and ungodly crimes and that God is not on their mind. The only thing that is on man’s mind is his earthly goods and possessions. He goes on to say, “Every man liveth so after his own pleasure…Therefore I will in all haste Have a reckoning of every man's person.” This sets the tone for the play. God comes to the decision that he will seek retribution against those who have disrespected him. He looks to bring justice to every man’s soul. Even though God said that he will have “a reckoning of every man's person,” it is safe to assume to he is speaking about Everyman. After this monologue, God calls upon Death to escort Everyman to his deathbed. Although God does not have a face-to-face with Everyman, he speaks about him and sets the main character’s fate, which sets the plot of the story. God may not have had dealt with Everyman’s road to salvation directly, but he is the reason why the road is taken and God has set the standards of what salvation is supposed to be.

            The first entity that Everyman encounters is Death, who is playing the role of God’s messenger. Death tells him, “[…] in great haste I am sent to thee From God out of His majesty.” Everyman is concerned by the fact that God has sent Death, in great haste, to bring him before God for judgement. Everyman is distraught by the news and begs Death to give him more time. Death declined to acknowledge Everyman’s pleas. He, also, tries to bribe Death by offering him money so Death could “[…] defer this matter till another day.” Death turns down Everyman’s plea to prolong his again and tells him that he cannot be bribed and have no interest in money. What Death does to Everyman’s benefit, is allowing the main character to find a companion and that person will follow him to his death. Death set Everyman’s official starting point to salvation. He allows him to find partner, that is willing to go to death with him.

            Fellowship comes along after Death exited the scene and notices Everyman’s sad demeanor. The character goes on about finding the one responsible for causing Everyman’s great pain and killing that person himself. Fellowship represents Everyman’s friends. Fellowship even says he would go on a journey with Everyman wherever he may go. Then, Fellowships asks the question, “[…] if we took such a journay, When should we come again?” To which Everyman answers, “Never again, till the day of doom.” Everyman tells Fellowship the details of this journey, which makes Fellowship quickly change his mind on journeying wherever Everyman has to. Fellowship says, “In faith, then will not I come there.” This teaches Everyman that friends do not want to die at the expense of their friends. They would rather die on their own terms and their own time and not the friend’s. Fellowship does not want to die just because Everyman is on his way to death.

            Everyman’s Cousin and Kindred arrive next. These two represent family, a closer entity than Fellowship and who has a stronger relationship with Everyman. Cousin and Kindred had the same reaction as Fellowship, they were highly concerned with Everyman’s sadness. Cousin says, “Yea, Everyman, and to us declare If ye be disposed to go anywhither. For, weet you well we will live and die together.” This shows their talk of devotion to Everyman, until he informs them of the pilgrimage. The two, like Fellowship, changed their minds. Cousin goes as far to say that he has a cramp in his toe. Even though family is supposed to closer than friends, Everyman quickly finds out that they are no different and are not willing to die with him.

            Since his friends and family, who are actual living beings, did not want to accompany him on his pilgrimage, Everyman turned to his own possessions and riches: Goods. He asks Goods to travel with him and go before “God Almighty My reckoning help to clean and purify.” Like the two before it, Goods declined the offer. Goods tells Everyman that it would not last beyond the grave. It said, “[…] I am too brittle, I may not endure.” Goods explain to Everyman that, in reality, it is not good for his soul if it accompanies him. It says, “Therefore to thy soul Goods is a thief; For when thou art dead, this is my guise - Another to deceive in the same wise, As I have done thee, and all to his soul's grief.” Goods leaves Everyman defeated as he realizes that Goods would be no help towards his salvation.

            The play receives it’s turning point, as Everyman calls upon Good Deeds. Good Deeds is in the ground, which seems as if she was buried. She has little strength due to the fact that Everyman has never exercised her. Everyman had more sins than good deeds. Even though Good Deeds is more than happy to go with Everyman, she can’t. As a result, she instructs him to go to her sister, Knowledge. Knowledge tells him, “Everyman, I will go with thee, and be thy guide, In thy most need to go by thy side.” Finally, Everyman has someone, who is willing to go with him. Yes, Good Deeds is willing, but her weakness keeps her from going. However, Knowledge is strong to journey with him. These two are the beginning of his salvation.

            Pursuing this further, Knowledge leads Everyman to Confession, who tells him, “I know your sorrow well, Everyman… I will comfort you as well as I can; And a precious jewel I will give thee, Called Penance, voider of adversity: Therewith shall your body chastised be, With abstinence and perseverance in God's service.” Confession does a few things to help Everyman. One of them being the clearing of his ledger. Another is that Confession reminding Everyman why Jesus came and died for the people. Everyman begins to confess his sins and began God for forgiveness. His confessions are truly his salvation as Good Deeds is now able to walk and is free.

            Knowledge and Good Deeds tells Everyman to summon his Five-Wits, Strength, Beauty, and Discretion. The five wits are the five human senses: smell, hearing, touch, taste, and sight. He asks them all to accompany him on his pilgrimage and they accept. They all go with him to the priest for the sacrament. After the sacrament, the entities begin to leave him. They leave in this order: Beauty, Strength, Discretion, and the Five-Wits. This can be seen as specific entities people lose as they grow old in age. For example, one’s beauty fades away when death comes. The older a person become, the more fragile they become as the strength leaves them. Losing their mind is them losing their discretion. And as people get older and older, the five wits that was sharp as a tack are fading away, some more than others.

In the end, Everyman goes into the grave with Good Deeds only as that is one of the main things that matters after death. Everyman successfully achieved his goal in getting his salvation. He realized that it does not matter what people or material items are with you, it only matters if you have your good deeds and holiness. He confessed his sins and saved his soul, which brought him salvation. That is something no friend, family member, or possession can do. Everyman figured out that this was something he had to do on his own.

Bibliography

Simpson, James, and Alfred David. "Everyman." 2012. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 507-29. Print.