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J. B. | Introduction

J.B., published in 1958, is a play in verse based on the biblical story of Job. It represents Archibald MacLeish's responses to the horrors he saw during two world wars, including the Holocaust and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The author explains in the foreword to the acting edition of his play that turning to the Bible for a framework seems sensible ''when you are dealing with questions too large for you which, nevertheless, will not leave you alone." J.B. tells the story of a twentieth-century American banker-millionaire whom God commands be stripped of his family and his wealth but who refuses to turn his back on God. MacLeish wondered how modern people could retain hope and keep on living with all the suffering in the world and offered this play as an answer. J. B. learns that there is no justice in the world, that happiness and suffering are not deserved, and that people can still choose to love each other and live.

MacLeish had been earning his living as a poet for fifty years before this, his third verse play, was published. Shortly after the publication of the book, the play was produced on Broadway and underwent substantial revisions. There are, therefore, two versions of the play available for readers: the original book published by Houghton Mifflin and the acting script available from Samuel French. Both were published in 1958, and neither has ever gone out of print. J.B. won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1959 (MacLeish's third Pulitzer), as well as the Tony Award for best play. More important, the play sparked a national conversation about the nature of God, the nature of hope, and the role of the artist in society.

J. B. Summary

Prologue
The first characters to appear on stage in J. B. are Mr. Zuss and Nickles, a balloon seller and a popcorn seller in a run-down circus. They approach and then mount a sideshow stage in the corner of a circus tent to play out the story of Job from the Bible, with the stage as Heaven, the ground as Earth, and the lights as the stars. Zuss (whose name sounds like "Zeus,'' the god of Greek mythology) will play God. From the beginning, he is as arrogant as one might expect a man who believes he is right for the role to be, and he is indignant at the idea that Job would dare to demand justice.

Nickles, on the other hand, understands Job's suffering and does not accept that God would cause that suffering just to prove his authority and power. Nickles sings a song that includes the play's central paradox: "If God is God He is not good, / If God is good, He is not God.’’ Nickles, whose name is a variation of "Old Nick,'' a slang term for the devil, will play Satan. As the two men point out, there is always someone to play Job.

Zuss and Nickles don masks that they find in a pile of costumes. The God-mask is white, with closed eyes, showing his indifference. The Satan-mask is dark, with open eyes, because ‘‘Satan sees.’’ They review their lines, which will come from the King James Bible. When the lights go down for the play to begin, a Distant Voice speaks the first line: "Whence comest thou?'' It is not Zuss who speaks but, apparently, God. Zuss and Nickles take over, and the lights dim.

Scene 1
As scene 1 begins, the raised stage where Zuss and Nickels stand is in darkness, while gathered around a table in the light are the wealthy banker J.B., his wife Sarah, and their five children. They are a wealthy New England family, celebrating Thanksgiving. Sarah would like the children to be more thankful for the bounty they enjoy. She believes that there is a kind of bargain with God: "If we do our part He does His.'' Our "part'' is to thank God; if we forget God, He will punish. J.B. believes that God has chosen him for success and that his duty is to appreciate the gift, to enjoy his life.

Scene 2
The focus shifts again to Zuss and Nickles, whose first impulse is to belittle J.B.'s acting ability. Still, he is their "pigeon,'' the man who will play Job. Nickles believes that once J.B. is stripped of his wealth, as Job was, he will lose his piety, but Zuss insists that J.B. will praise God no matter how much he suffers. Why then, asks Nickles, must Job be made to suffer at all? If God knows Job will pass the test, then why administer the test? Because, Zuss answers, Job needs to see God clearly. The two actors put their masks on and speak lines from the Bible. Satan challenges God to a bet: he will take everything away from Job, to... » Complete J. B. Summary