God sends Death to summon Everyman because he's lost his way in life. He's become so preoccupied with earthly possessions, with material wealth and riches, that he's been diverted from the path of righteousness. The arrival of Death is intended to be a wake-up call, a chance for Everyman to change his ways and get his life back on the right path again.
In the days before the Reformation, Christians believed that it was possible to achieve salvation through one's good deeds. It is essential, therefore, for Everyman to accompany the allegorical figure of Good Deeds on his Christian journey if he's to be saved. Because when Everyman dies and finally stands before God on the Day of Judgment, all he'll have with him will be his good deeds.
This morality play seeks to answer the important religious question: "What must a man do to be saved?" God sends Death...
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to summon Everyman, who represents all mankind. Good and Evil will be tallied like pluses and minuses in an account book. The play is the story of Everyman's journey to this final reckoning. Along the way, Everyman tries to convince other characters to accompany him in the hope of improving his account. The other characters are also allegorical; that is, each character personifies an abstract idea. The conflict between good and evil is dramatized by the interactions between characters. The play shows us not only how every man should meet death but also how every man should live.
Everyman is a dramatized allegory. An allegory is a narrative in which the characters and action, and sometimes the setting as well, have two levels of meaning. The first level is literal -- a man is going on a trip. The second level is symbolic -- Everyman's life is a journey from birth to death, and every man makes this same trip. An allegory must make sense at both levels. All of the literal pieces will fit together to tell a story -- what happens. In addition, all of the symbolic pieces will fit together to teach a moral -- what the story means.
Why does God send Death to Everyman?
God is unhappy with the way Everyman is living his life. Money is one factor, but there are many others. Remember that Everyman is one of the first morality plays, and it would be performed in church to teach the every day folks who didn't read and write how they were supposed to live. Plays of this type were a common and successful way of teaching the illiterate masses the words and ways of the Bible.
After Death is sent to deliver the message to Everyman, he goes through the typical reactions--denial, refusal, acceptance, and then he seeks company to travel with him. Of course, once everyone else finds out where he is going, they all find something else to do. Only Knowledge and Good Deeds go with Everyman to judgement day and the grave.