Q. Discuss Everyman as an allegory of spiritual growth.

Ans: The word “allegory” comes from the Latin “allegoria,” meaning
speaking to imply something else. It is a visual representation in which
a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden
meaning with moral significance. In this aspect Everyman is regarded as
an allegory. This play is the account of the life of Everyman, who
represents all mankind. The play begins with a Messenger announcing
the play’s purpose: Everyman will be called before God, and thus
every man should look to the end of his life even as he begins it. Then
God appears and tells the audience that man has forgotten the
sacrifice that God made for them. God is angry and disappointed with
man, who has embraced the seven deadly sins. Since man has turned
to sin, God is demanding a reckoning. He calls for Death and instructs
him to seek out every man who has lived outside God’s law. Death is
to bring forth these men for a final reckoning. Death promises to do
so and seeing Everyman, Death asks him if he has forgotten his God.
Everyman is unprepared for Death and is frightened at the journey
Death proposes.  After warning Everyman that his judgment is at
hand, Everyman asks for time to find someone to accompany him in
his pilgrimage. But he was singled out by many characters like
Fellowship, Kindred and his cousins, Strength etc. and abandoned
him in his journey and at last only Good deeds accompanied him to
afterlife and as the play closes a doctor enters and explains that in
the end a man will only have his good deeds to accompany him
beyond the grave. In this play the characters are given allegorical
significance. Here one can see that in the play that each character
represent as abstractions. The characters are symbols which are
assumed to make up a person. So the characters are sheer
personifications rather than 'real' people. The characters here
represent forces in the work affecting the human soul. With the
exception of God, the Angel, the Messenger, and the Doctor, every
character in the play should be read as standing in for a group of
people or an abstract concept. Readers and audiences can usually
look beyond the literal meanings of characters, places and events etc.
to derive the full and real meanings behind. Everyman also teaches a
moral. Its moralization is obvious. The blatantly religious message is
simple: Earthly comforts are fleeting. Only good deeds and God’s
grace can provide salvation. Apart from all these the play also
achieves a beautiful, simple solemnity in treating allegorically the
theme of death and the fate of the human soul. Religious truths are
thus dramatized in the play for didactic motives. The ideology of the
play Everyman was intended to help reinforce the importance of God
and religion in people’s lives during this time period. Here, the
emphasis of the importance of the Church as a medium in the road to
salvation and gaining of eternal life echoes greatly with the religious
view of the Catholics. Human beings are reminded to seek virtues in
life and avoid vices in order to receive God’s blessing and achieve
heaven Everyman’s journey from life to death is allegorically every
Christian's journey from life to death. The point of reference for
allegorical symbols is therefore clear and precise. Deducing from the
name, Everyman in ‘Everyman’ refers to the general humanity –
every man. He is the metaphorical representation of all human
beings. He was the embodiment of all mankind engaged in worldly
pursuits with utter disregard for spirituality and God. Since death is a
universal human experience and the Day of Judgment is also
something that human beings would have to face eventually,
Everyman’s journey towards his final reckoning is an allegory of every
man’s search for salvation and the way to achieve it. Due to the
symbolic representation of Everyman’s name, as readers and
audiences read or watch the play, they are quickly able to relate
themselves to the central character – Everyman, thereby,
comprehending the religious message behind. The point of reference
for allegorical symbols is therefore clear and precise. Through a close
analysis of the story and the allegorical natures of each characters
reveals hidden behaviors and the moral of the story which helps the
play continue in a smooth and professional way, Everyman can rightly
be called as an allegory of spiritual growth.