Anglo-American Survey 2016-2017

Anglo-American Survey 2016-2017

1. What genre is "Everyman"?

It is an allegorical moral play.

1. Sum up the prologue in one paragraph.

In the prologue, a messenger tells the audience of the moral play The Summoning of Everyman to pay attention to what he is about to say. He states that the aim of this play is to show that when humans die, strength, fellowship, pleasure, and beauty will fade away from us as flower in May. That is, earthly life is transitory. Also, sins which may give us pleasure at first will make us feel guilty at the end of our lives. That is, on the one hand, sins make us feel happy. On the other hand, as we are happily immersed in them, we forget the end of our days when we will present an account of our lives in the Day of Judgment.

1. Who is the protagonist?

The protagonist of the story is Everyman.

1. What is the protagonist's dilemma?

The protagonist's dilemma arises from his difficulty of finding a company to escort him in his journey of presenting an account of his life to God. He is afraid of standing before God on his own. Also, as Death summons Everyman to present the record of his life to God, he hesitates claiming that he is not ready yet to give it as he states "Full unready I am such reckoning to give". That is, he begs Death to give him more to time to make his record of life the cleanest before displaying it to God.

1. Name the characters the protagonist meets.

Throughout the play, the protagonist first meets Death.  When Death delays Everyman's day of reckoning some more time so he can find an escort, Everyman meets his Fellowship. Then, after Fellowship rejects to accompany him, he meets up with his Cousin and Kindred seeking their company. However, after they decline his request, he calls up for his Goods, and after it forsakes him, he summons his Good-Deeds. After Good-Deeds refuses to go with Everyman, it call ups Knowledge for him. Afterwards, knowledge leads him to Confession. After repenting, he then reunites with his Good-Deeds. By then, Everyman meets up with his Discretion, Strength, Five-Wits, and his Beauty.

1. How does each character mentioned in q.5 influence the protagonist?

First, the protagonist's Fellowship influences him badly. When Fellowship rejects to accompany Everyman on his pilgrimage, it turns out that he seeks Everyman's friendship only in fun or good times and not really in times of need as he claims. That is, he is only willing to have fun with him such as drinking and accompanying women. Therefore, as long as Everyman keeps misspending his time and money in the company of his bestfriend, the more he drowns in sins, and the selfish he becomes in caring only about his own happiness. Consequently, he becomes less dedicated to the service of God.