Characters
J. B.
J. B. is the protagonist, a prosperous businessman who parallels the biblical Job by being "an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil." At the start, he is seen at a Thanksgiving dinner with his devoted wife and joyful children, expressing gratitude to God for their abundance and affirming his unwavering belief that God is on his side. However, calamity strikes: his eldest son, David, is mistakenly killed during Army maneuvers; his daughter, Mary, and son, Jonathan, are victims of a drunk driver; his youngest daughter, Rebecca, is raped and murdered; his last surviving child, Ruth, perishes in a bombing that obliterates his wealth; his wife leaves him; and he suffers from painful sores. Despite these adversities, J. B. insists that God is just, punishing only with reason. He dismisses the consolations offered by three visitors representing Marxist, Freudian, and Christian viewpoints. J. B. asserts his innocence and integrity, finding no cause for his suffering yet refusing to blame God, acknowledging divine power, and repenting. Nickles, portraying Satan, prophesies the return of his family, fortune, and health. Miraculously, J. B.'s sores heal, and his wife returns, prompting them to start anew with love.
Mr. Zuss
Mr. Zuss is a robust, florid, deep-voiced circus vendor with balloons attached to his belt. He initiates the play by stumbling upon a sideshow stage with Nickles under a vast circus tent. Discovering masks for God and Satan, they decide to enact the story of Job. Zuss dons the mask of God and is somewhat taken aback by the biblical majesty of the lines he delivers through it. Like Nickles, he is an old actor, now reduced to selling balloons. His name suggests allusions to "Zeus" or "Deus," reinforcing his role as God in the play. Zuss accepts a wager from Nickles: he allows Satan to strip J. B. of everything he holds dear, convinced that J. B. will continue to praise God regardless. Throughout the play, Zuss and Nickles debate J. B.'s reactions. To the pompous Zuss, it is only right that J. B. should incessantly praise and thank God, even as his suffering intensifies. Zuss sees J. B.’s continued gratitude, even after massive calamity, as appropriate, contrasting with Nickles’s disgust.
Nickles
Nickles, an elderly, gaunt, and sardonic circus vendor, carries a popcorn tray and assumes the role of Satan, challenging Mr. Zuss that J. B. would renounce his faith if stripped of his wealth and happiness. He is portrayed as an old actor, reduced to selling popcorn in a dilapidated circus. Nickles’s name is a nod to "old Nick," a term for the devil. He takes on the role of Satan in the play-within-the-play, wearing a dark mask with wide eyes. Unlike Zuss’s indifference, Nickles expresses sympathy for J. B. and bitterness towards humanity's readiness to endure suffering for God's sake. As J. B.'s children perish, Nickles mocks Zuss for his harsh demonstration of divine power. A witty and intelligent figure, Nickles is seen by some as MacLeish’s surrogate, valuing humans over God. When J. B. continues to praise God despite immense loss, Nickles's feelings shift from sympathy to revulsion. Knowing the story ends with God restoring J. B.'s treasures, he suggests J. B. end his life instead. In his final speech, Nickles fiercely declares, "Job won't take it! Job won't touch it!"
Zophar
Zophar is one of three comforters who attempt to console J. B. after his losses. A rotund, red-faced, cigar-smoking priest, he maintains that humanity's inherent guilt distinguishes people from animals. Zophar’s religious consolation offers no solace to J. B., who cannot find a wickedness in...
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himself commensurate with his suffering. Instead, Zophar suggests that J. B.’s greatest sin was being born human, as humanity's heart is evil. J. B. calls this the cruelest comfort, implicating God as complicit in the crimes he punishes.
Eliphaz
Eliphaz, a lean, dark, pipe-smoking figure, dons an intern’s jacket to provide J. B. with a Freudian perspective, viewing guilt as a psychophenomenal illusion, and the soul as an empty vessel, carried by external forces. He is one of the three comforters visiting J. B. in his despair and uses psychiatric jargon to explain J. B.'s plight. Despite his scholarly demeanor, his explanations offer no real comfort.
Bildad
Bildad, a squat and robust man, presents J. B. with a Marxist interpretation of his suffering. He considers guilt a sociological accident, akin to being born in the wrong time or class. His views suggest that history progresses indifferently to individual fates, implying that one should brace for fortunes and misfortunes balancing out. Bildad, like Zophar and Eliphaz, fails to offer J. B. any meaningful consolation. His reiteration of "Guilt is a sociological accident" highlights his belief that guilt is shaped by socioeconomic factors.
Sarah
Sarah, J. B.'s wife, begins as a devout partner and loving mother. Her faith and love for J. B. erode under the weight of their tragedies. Initially insisting the family thank God for their blessings at Thanksgiving, she eventually blames God for her children's deaths and urges J. B. to "curse God and die." She departs, unable to endure the loss, but is drawn back by hope and love signified by a blossoming forsythia branch. Sarah returns to J. B., ready to rebuild their lives, having reconciled with the absence of divine justice but embracing love.
Two Messengers
Two messengers play multiple roles, delivering ominous news to J. B. in various guises. As soldiers, they report David’s death in the Army; as reporters, they announce Mary and Jonathan’s fatal car accident; as policemen, they recount Rebecca’s rape and murder; and as civil defense officers, they convey the destruction of J. B.’s wealth and Ruth’s death in a bombing.
David
David, J. B.’s eldest son, is thirteen at the play’s outset. He grows up to become a soldier, surviving the war only to be mistakenly killed by his comrades before returning home, marking the first tragedy to befall J. B.’s family.
Mary
Mary is J. B. and Sarah’s oldest daughter, twelve years old when the play begins. She, along with her brother Jonathan, perishes in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, adding to the series of calamities that strike their family.
Jonathan
Jonathan, three years younger than his brother David, shares the same tragic fate as his sister Mary when both are killed by a teenage drunk driver. Their untimely deaths compound the grief J. B. and Sarah must endure.
Rebecca
Rebecca is the youngest of J. B. and Sarah's children, only six years old at the play’s beginning. Her life is brutally cut short when she is raped and murdered by a nineteen-year-old drug user, a harrowing episode that leaves a devastating impact on her family.
Ruth
Ruth, the middle daughter, is eight years old at the beginning of the play. She is the last of J. B.'s children to die, killed in a bombing that also claims thousands of lives. Her death signifies the complete loss of J. B.'s family and fortune.
Distant Voice
The Distant Voice is heard at key moments during the play, delivering lines attributed to God in the King James Bible while Zuss and Nickles argue in their roles. This voice represents God himself, adding another layer to the play's theological exploration.
