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Nevaya Drotz
Liberty University
ENGL 102
Professor Angela O'Neal
December 12 , 2022
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Everyman
The play Everyman describes a human going through the journey of death according to a
religious worldview. Everyman is the main character, which could potentially represent anyone.
He lives through a materialist worldview and when he is faced with death and judgment before
God he perceives not to be ready. He realizes that the things he has made idols out of leave him
at the end of his life. He is abandoned by the things of his world and left to face judgment from
God alone. After reading the play “Everyman,” and analyzing many sources I have observed that
the play represents an allegory about human nature, the author perceives death as a part of every
life and teaches readers not to make an idol out of materialistic things.
Everyman describes a man’s journey to be with God permanently. The play symbolizes a
spiritual message from a man to God and can be considered an allegory. The story that the author
portrays represents a larger theme about human nature. The different characters also represent
real-life figures. The message the author portrays is what happens when people make idols the
center of their life. Each character represents an idol and Everyman realizes this as they all
slowly desert him. Readers can gather that humans have not changed over the years and they still
clutch to idols until death. Everyman must then bear the consequences of the life he lived on
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earth and be confronted by God. At the beginning of the play, God calls for Death to muster
Everyman so he may be judged according to his life on earth. Everyman then begins his
inevitable journey with his friend Knowledge. Knowledge brings him to Confession and Penance
that allow Good Deeds to embody him on his journey. These characters are personifications of
what they mean. Confession hands Everyman a whip that is meant to be used upon himself. This
is meant to remember the pain Christ went through to die for mankind’s sins. Everyman then
prays and afflicts himself. Once he is renewed with faith and understands the purpose of his
journey he continues. All of these details are meant to represent the final judgment between man
