Who are the main allegorical figures in Everyman, and what do they represent?
The allegorical characters in Everyman are easy to discern because they are named for what they represent.
Everyman represents the typical human being who must face death.
Fellowship represents false friends—those who forsake a person when his death nears. In fact, this doesn't diminish the value of friends. Each person must face death alone, without his friends.
Kindred and Cousin, like Fellowship, are the people closest to the person who must face death. Again, they cannot come along or make the journey easier.
Goods represents the material possessions and wealth a person accumulates during his life. Although they make the days on earth more comfortable, possessions do nothing to help one in the afterlife. They will not go through death with their owner.
Good-deeds is one of the only characters who changes for the better in the play. He represents the good works a person does during his lifetime. When...
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Everyman first invites him to go with him to death, Good-deeds cannot go because he is so weakened by Everyman's sin. He introduces Everyman to Knowledge, who takes him to Confession. After Everyman goes to Confession and does penance, Good-deeds is strengthened and can then accompany Everyman to death. This shows a man's good deeds can be outweighed by sin and only confession and penance will let the good deeds be counted as worthy. Good-deeds accompanies Everyman to the grave, and Knowledge hears singing, suggesting that in the afterlife, one's good deeds will assure him admission to Heaven.
Confession represents the Church teaching on confessing sins and doing penance.
Five-Wits represents man's reason and points Everyman to the priest and the sacrament of Holy Communion, which purges a man from sin.
Knowledge represents spiritual knowledge. Unlike Beauty, Strength, and Discretion, gifts or virtues that flee as death nears, knowledge stays with the person right until he or she passes into the next life.
God, is, of course, the Supreme Being who controls the eternal fate of each human. Death is the personification of leaving life and entering the afterlife.
This morality play, through its allegorical characters, teaches the doctrines of the Catholic Church regarding salvation and the afterlife.
Can you provide examples of how Everyman functions as an allegory?
An allegory is a literary work which has two or more levels of meaning: one literal level and one or more symbolic or figurative levels. Please visit the links below for more information.
If we were to look at the play, Everyman, for its literal meaning, we would read a story about a character named Everyman who goes on a journey to the end of his life (death) and tries to get his companions (named Fellowship, Kindred, etc.) to accompany him along the way. Sadly, we learn that all of those who he trusted end up leaving him at the end of his life when he needs them the most. Everyman only has Good Deeds left, however he is shackled by Everyman's sin and cannot help him. Good Deeds tells him to visit Knowledge, where Everyman learns that in order to set Good Deeds free from sin he must repent and find salvation. Once Everyman does this, Good Deeds is able to accompany him into death, and he is the only friend that is able to remain standing with him before the presence of God.
When we view this story as an allegory, we understand that the character of Everyman is, of course, every human being. We see beyond the literal characters of Fellowship, Goods, etc. and understand them to be symbolic of what every man faces in life: the search for true meaning and fulfillment in things that will last. The moral of the story becomes clear in that we need to examine now what in the end will truly prove to be of value.
References
What are three examples of parallels and allegory in Everyman?
Allegory is a literary device where a story is explicitly moral or political in nature. Characters and events in an allegory usually parallel some kind of historical or mythical event. For example, the Wizarding Wars in the Harry Potter series parallel the two world wars in the real world, with certain characters standing in for real-world figures (e.g., Voldemort parallels Hitler).
Everyman is explicitly a Christian allegory in which every character represents a spiritual concept. The titular character's journey represents the spiritual journey of all Christians who seek grace. The main character of this play learns what will and will not help him on the path to salvation, and these concepts are illustrated by characters who act as personifications of these ideas.
The character of Everyman represents the ordinary man or woman. His personality is rather generic, and this is intentionally done, because the audience is meant to project themselves onto him.
Cousin and Kindred are two characters who both represent family. When Everyman turns to them for companionship during his journey, both abandon him. This is meant to illustrate that familial bonds are not necessarily ones of love. It also illustrates that family cannot help one find grace.
Good Deeds is the sole character able to accompany Everyman after his death. Though weakened by his sins, Good Deeds becomes more powerful once Everyman confesses his sins in the sacrament of reconciliation.