ENGL 102
Research Paper
ENGL 102: Literature and Composition
Spring 2021
Anna Alfredson: L29986833
APA
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Research Paper: Outline and Thesis
Thesis: The author of Everyman uses God and death as a messenger, to describe his
perception and treatment of death.
I. The author uses God to enforce the idea that men are not serving God properly, and
therefore death is upon them.
1. People are living without any notice of heaven or hell, and this makes God upset.
2. Everyone is living for themselves, and it is getting worse from year to year, and
God sees this.
3. “all creatures be to me unkind, Living without dread in worldly Prosperity” (I.23-
4).
II. The author uses God to describes Death as his messenger and has him speak to
everyman about the journey he will take.
1. Everyman is scared of the journey that is upon him from life unto death.
2. “The suppressed dread of death has allowed our society to sleepwalk into a
situation where people face real horrors at the end of life, simply because we
cannot face dealing with the issue of how people exit life” (Meredith 1955).
3. The reality is that death is going to come upon every single person at some point,
therefore people should not be scared, but trust in God with their life.
III. The author uses Pride, Beauty, Five Wits, Strength, Discretion, and Good deeds to
reinforce the truth that the things man value in life will ultimately forsake them in the
end.
1. Pride, Beauty, Five Wits, Strength, and Discretion all said that they would be with
Everyman until the end, but they ultimetly abandon him
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Research Paper
Death is a natural part of life that happens to every single human being. Although, human
beings have a say in where they go after their life ends. Everyman is a play written by an
unknown author about death God sends as a messenger to Everyman to take him on the journey
towards death. Everyman meets many of his friends along the journey and finds if they were true
to him to the end or not. The author of Everyman uses death as a messenger, to describe his
perception and treatment of death.
The author uses God to enforce the idea that men are not serving God properly, and
therefore death is upon them. This has been the case since Adam and Eve sinned against God.
Since the first sin had taken place, man has not been living in a way that is perfectly obedient to
God. If Jesus had not come to die on the cross for mankind, death would have indeed been man
and women’s destiny. However, in the play, people are living without any notice of heaven or
hell, and this makes God upset. God is upset because he wants his children to be obedient to him,
but instead, Everyone is living for themselves, and it is getting worse from year to year, and God
sees this. “all creatures be to me unkind, Living without dread in worldly Prosperity” (I.23-4).
What occurs before most intentional deaths is an act of disobedience. Man’s behavior is a strong
act of disobedience towards God, which is why he calls mankind “unkind” and living in “world
prosperity”. Mankind is living for the world, and not for God which makes God upset.
The author uses God to describes Death as his messenger and has him speak to everyman
about the journey he will take. Every man is scared of the journey that is upon him from life unto
death. Everman is scared about the arrival of death, and he is not prepared for the suffering that
will take place in getting there. “The suppressed dread of death has allowed our society to
sleepwalk into a situation where people face real horrors at the end of life, simply because we
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cannot face dealing with the issue of how people exit life” (Meredith 1955). Everyman is
becoming frantic regarding his future death which will occur soon for him. He is letting the
dread of death take over his life. The reality is that death is going to come upon every single
person at some point, therefore people should not be scared, but trust in God with their life. God
has perfect timing for every occurrence in life, which is why a man should trust in that.
The author uses Pride, Beauty, Five Wits, Strength, Discretion, and Good deeds to reinforce the
truth that the things man value in life will ultimately forsake them in the end. Pride, Beauty, Five
Wits, Strength, and Discretion all said that they would be with Everyman until the end, but they
ultimately abandon him. Everman is at first very happy to have them go along with him and
praises God, “Almighty God, loved* may thou be! I give thee laud * that I have hither brought
Strength, Discretion, Beauty, and Five Wits. Lack I naught. And my Good Deeds, with
Knowledge clear, All be in my company at my will here; I desire no more to my business”
(Unknown 678-684). Although Everyman was happy in the end they all abandon him except for
Good Deeds. according to Marina Concolino’s article, “dying means that memories (as
foundations of a solid family life) become distorted, and physical beauty vanishes” (Concolino
2019). Upon death, man’s strength, discretion, beauty, and wits will all abandon him. The only
things humans take with them are their souls and their good deeds. Therefore the author
accurately gives an accurate description of life between death through the events that take place
within the play.
The author uses the characters in the play as symbols for what they are. That is why all of
them are friends of Everyman. They are all apart of everyman’s life, however some friends are
weaker than others. For example, Good deeds which is the only one that goes with everyman to
the grave starts as very weak because Everyman had forgotten about her. Good Deed is too weak
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to accompany Everyman on his journey, “Till that I go to my Good Deed. But, alas, she is so
weak That she can neither go nor speak; * Yet will I venture on* her now. My Good Deeds,
where be* you? (Unknown 481-485). The more time Everyman spent with Good Deeds the
stronger she got, and the more capable she was of going on the journey with Everyman.
One of the main points of the play is the value of life. Everyman truly realizes the value
of life within the play, and how what we do in our daily life plays a big role in our eternity.
Everyman realizes that he pays a lot of attention to worldly things and does not focus on the
eternity of life and how his life affects those around him. According to the article by Robert E.
Hall named “The Value of Life and the Rise in Health Spending” Hall points out just how
important life is to some people when he states that “Americans [spend] a rising share of total
economic resources on health and enjoyed substantially longer lives as a result” (Hall 2007).
People will go to great lengths to ensure they have a great life because they value their life. The
author in Everman realizes the importance of life relating to death in terms of every great life
there will be death at the end of the road. One must be ready for when the death messenger
comes.
The author uses death concerning religion in the sense that one must not live a worldly
life to enter the kingdom of God. According to Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is
the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (12:2) The will of God is to have his
children not live in a world lifestyle. God wants his children to be chasing after him, not the
world. In the play, God mentions “I perceive, here in my majesty, How that all creatures be to me
unkind, * Living without dread* in worldly prosperity: Of ghostly sight, the people be so blind,
Drowned in sin, they know me not for their God; In worldly riches is all of their mind”
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(Unknown 23-27). The author uses worldliness as a pathway towards death. This world is the
devil’s kingdom, and death knows this. According to the article called “Power, other-worldliness,
and the extended mind” by Adam Green “The emphasis of the cognitive science of religion on
considerations amenable to evolutionary analysis makes the prevalence of other-worldliness a bit
of a puzzle” (Green 2020). Other worldliness can consist of any man considering believing
things such as evolution. Everyman had realized that he had fallen into this trap of false realities
and worldliness and stated, “O gracious God in the high seat celestial, have mercy on me in this
most need! Shall I have no company from this vale terrestrial of mine acquaintance, that way me
to lead” (Unknown 153-156). Everyman cries out to God in need of forgiveness. He wants to
take the right path towards death. He reunites with his old weak friend good deeds, who has said
before, goes with Everyman to the grave.
Although death is a sad thing to witness, it is a natural part of life. Every single person
will face it one day and will need to be prepared for that day. Christians need to be denying the
world and taking up their cross and following God. Everyman is a play that is symbolic of every
single person who goes through the trials from birth to death. They are to be living in a way that
is honoring to God, and not in a way of this world. Everyman goes with his good friend's good
deeds to the grave because ultimately it is not solely our good deeds that bring us to heaven but
putting our lives in God’s hands and trusting him with all that we are. After death the messenger
told everyman about the journey, he was going to take he found his friends and asked them to
partake in this journey with him. Ultimately the only friend that stuck with him to the end was
good deeds. Good deeds were the only friend of Everyman’s that went with him to the grave.
Good deeds were weak, but the more she spent time with him the more strong she got. Good
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deeds grew strong over the amount of time Everyman spent with her. She was then ultimately
strong enough to go with to the grave.
References
Concolino, M. (2019). Gossip and Vanity: Two Possible Ways of Discerning Death in Los dos
retratos by Norah Lange. Rassegna Iberistica., 112. https://doi.org/10.30687/Ri/2037-
6588/2019/112/004
Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible : English standard version.
GREEN, A. (2020). Power, other-worldliness, and the extended mind. Religious Studies, 56(3),
370–389. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412518000549
Guy Brown. (2007). Long life’s journey into death. The Times Higher Education
Supplement., 1,823.
Hall, R., & Jones, C. (2007). The Value of Life and the Rise in Health Spending. The Quarterly
Journal of Economics, 122(1), 39-72. Retrieved March 16, 2021, from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25098837
Meredith, B., & Sackler, H. (1955). Everyman: A moral play. New York: Caedmon.
