Everyman's Journey

A hero's place in society has remained relatively consistent since the very beginning of time. Throughout the years, people have seen many different versions of larger-than-life heroes, who have completed seemingly impossible tasks and persevered through immense adversity. The common denominator between all of these heroes has always been that each and every one of these beings has put his/her own life in danger and fought great battles in the pursuit of a better life for mankind as a whole.

The English morality play “Everyman” uses allegorical characters to represent what Everyman holds onto and values during his life. Everyman has neglected his spiritual life, but as the play develops Everyman repents of his sins on time. Summoned by Death, Everyman realizes that he is not ready and does not want to die alone. Thereafter, Everyman seeks to find a companion to go with him on the journey to give account of his life to God but to no avail, Everyman soon realizes that all of those who accompanied him on earth soon abandon him.

The morality play “Everyman” is a play during the medieval period that represent all mankind while dramatizing evil characters and good characters. The play upholds Christian virtues as the characters are presented with abstract qualities. The play starts with God talking to Death to convey a message to Everyman a pilgrimage he must take because of the sins that everyman has commented. God is upset with everyman because of unkind acts, plentiful sins, and worldly riches that man has commented while living without fear. The morality play “Everyman” is a play that illustrate life and death as the author show the perception of death to Everyman.

What images come to mind as you reflect on your childhood? Playgrounds, blackboards, and soccer balls may be among the warmest of memories. Yet for many mermaids swim their thoughts, princesses get swept of their feet, and lions roar to their loyal place in the animal kingdom. There is no doubt that today’s entertainment has most of its touch using classical influences. Walt Disney has produced animated films that have captured the heart and imagination of audiences of all ages around the world through the magic of storytelling and imagery. Many of us appreciate the imagination and magic that Disney puts into its animations with out knowing they are based off of classical and traditional storylines

So what makes a hero? What must a person have to be considered a hero? Is it his or her strength, powers, courage, morals, integrity, or knowledge? According to Joseph Campbell, a hero properly is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than himself or other than himself. So with the help of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey theory, evidence will be given to prove why the Flash is a hero, and not a cold hearted villain like Captain Cold.

As he walked past the water he saw what was left of what was once his domain, a ruined memory of what he considered his golden age. Abandoned towers, broken pipes, and beanstalks grown up to great heights, leftovers of a world that he knew and loved, over and gone what once was golden and bronze. Afterthoughts of what was now gone leave him depressed, leaving him angry and sad, something which he would surely lose sleep over. Yet somehow he knew he had it good now, his life wasn't over and gone in a pile. Walking past the shores and the dock on the water, he looked past the bricks, the blocks in a pile. He noticed great items, thrown in the water, fungus and ferns and tossed about the area. These items he once used, he would swallow them whole,

One of the stages of a hero’s journey would be the Ordinary World. The Ordinary World is a setting in which helps the audience relate to hero and is usually seen in beginning of journey. The Ordinary World is hero’s home or seen as a safe haven, normally some force causes problem to Ordinary world that forces hero to leave. The Call to Adventure stage is when comfort of safe haven is off balance. The only escape would be the Special world. The Refusal to Call stage is when hero refuses to take on quest because of flaws he sees in him/herself and usually refuses because of known risks. The Meeting the Mentor stage is when someone experienced comes to aid or teach hero. Mentor is normally someone hero seeks wisdom or guidance from. Crossing the

How does one become a hero? The process of becoming a hero involves several steps such as, initiation, when the hero overcome a feat, crossing the threshold, the hero proving himself worthy of the quest. Road of trials is an excellent time for a hero to prove himself or herself, they have to survive through different landscapes. You can see this through the comparison of Star Wars The Last Jedi and The Hobbit.

“Everyman” is regarded as a morality play that was written in late 15th century. According to Michael A. Babcock, author of the story of Western culture, “Morality plays can be explained in best ways because of allegories figure out efforts made between seven virtues and seven vices contained in heart of man”. The play is a picture of what Christians should do or how they should spend their lives to save their souls from being convicted by death (Yaw Adu-Gyamfi P.265). The understanding of death in “Everyman” play is influenced by how people live their lives. The play brings out an idea of how people struggle to choose between worldly things and the ultimate spiritual judgment. The conflict between riches, relationship and the spiritual enrichment, heaven and hell and God’s verdict seems to be on the rise in the play. Babcock also states, “Everyman is a struggle between good and evil, between seven virtues as well as seven vices”. (167). we see how life is a transitory, when the play documents Everyman’s journey from sinful life to sin free life and finally to a holy death.

“Everyman” was written by an unknown author during the Medieval time period of the late 1400’s. The plays deal with what a person needs to do in order to be

Everyman, a morality play with an unknown author, is widely acknowledged as the greatest morality play of medieval times. It is the story of an affluent man unprepared for the crossing of life into Death and teaches the lesson that death holds no bias. Death cannot be bribed or bought—as Everyman attempts in order to buy himself more time and get his accounts organized—and comes to take from all that exists in this world at the most unexpected of times. It also teaches us that our worldly treasures cannot save or comfort us in the end. Even kin and those we fellowship with may speak fair words, but their words are not always followed by actions. In the end every man must stand bare and alone before the Lord to be judged. Only the deeds we do

Philip Roth's novel Everyman (2006) describes death with a coldly realistic eye, although in ways that that offer no comfort for those hoping for atonement or second chances in the afterlife. Like the character in the medieval morality play by the same name, Roth's Everyman is nameless, faceless and anonymous, although both had been materially successful in life. In the 15th Century play, God calls Everyman to account for his sins, but finally allows him into paradise after he confesses them and shows sincere repentance. Roth's main character has no such comfort as his ghost watches his body being buried in an old Jewish cemetery in New Jersey. Few people mourn his passing, apart from his daughter, and no God or angels appear to bring him into paradise. Instead, after the mourners leave he converses with a black gravedigger and finally gives his a tip for performing an excellent burial. In reviewing his life, his greatest regret was ruining his three marriages, particularly his second marriage to Phoebe, who divorced him when he had an affair with a 24-year old Danish model. Although Nancy, his daughter from that marriage, forgives him, Phoebe does not, nor do his sons from his first marriage. Everyman also realizes that no matter that he had made a great deal of money at the advertising agency where he had worked for so many years, he had really wanted to be an artist rather than a middle class success story. In the end, though, he can change none of this and his ghost does

His role is to not only deliver the message God has given him to call upon Everyman but throughout the script it appears he also aids Everyman in preparing to meet God and receive salvation by somehow delaying. Everyman proclaims several times how he is not ready or prepared to give an account of his life. Even though Everyman makes numerous request for Death to depart or to delay the pilgrimage he is called to take, the journey somehow allows Everyman to seek help from the other characters he encounters along his way. The characters Fellowship, Kindred and Cousin, and Goods do not hesitate to withdraw from Everyman once they learn of the journey’s destination. This leaves Everyman in a most depressed emotional state of mind.

Within the medieval morality play “Everyman”, the audience receives a glimpse into the moral struggle of sin that all citizens endure in their life time. In short, the play focuses on a journey towards redemption for a person who has talked to Death. However, the path for this journey isn’t as straight as one might assume. The main protagonist must come to terms with the fact that everyone and everything that they held dear in their life time will, in the end, depart from them. It is because of this that they find that only their good deeds will follow them into heaven, but only after they have successfully repented for their sins. In short it was a critical response to the overwhelmingly sinful life that many people of that era were living.

Everyman is a morality play that was written around the 15th century. The playwright of this morality play is not known till this day. Everyman refers to a character that represents every human being living on earth, living their lives the way they want to, enjoying the pleasures of life and neglecting the laws of God and God himself. Through death, God summons Everyman to come before him and account for the way he has lived his life. That to him becomes a terrifying journey to undertake. In this play characters are personified because they are in fact non-living things but materialistic objects. In the form of an essay, I will discuss in detail the vital aspects of Everyman the play such as Setting, Protagonist, Major conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, themes, motifs, symbols and foreshadowing.