Three Lessons from "Everyman"

Lessons from Everyman

      Everyman, an English work of writing with no known author, is a tale about the hour of death. On the brink of death, Everyman has three friends: Good-deeds, Fellowship, and Kindred. He is later lead to Knowledge and Confession who give him the wisdom he needs to finally pass away. There are many lessons that can be learned from Everyman, some of which are the following.
      Firstly, Everyman teaches that death comes to everyone, and is not expected. In the story, Death comes to Everyman when he least expects it and without any warning for preparation. Everyman even tries to reason with Death for more time, but to no avail. Because of Death's untimeliness, Everyman is left fearful and hurried. Knowing the nature of death, we should always live our lives as though it is our last day.

      Everyman also teaches that earthly possessions are only temporary and do us no good afterwards. As the story progresses, Everyman finds that the only friend that can help him in God's judgement is Good-deeds. Though good deeds alone obviously do not get us into heaven (only repentance of our sins to Jesus Christ can do that), the moral still stands. As Good-deeds puts it,

“All earthly thing is but vanity, Beauty, Strength, and Discretion, do man forsake, Foolish friends and kinsmen, that fair spake, All fleeth save Good-deeds, and that am I.”

      Lastly, Everyman shows us that we should seek forgiveness and repent of our sins. After Conversing with Knowledge and Good-deeds, Everyman does eventually come to repent, allowing Good-deeds to help him. At the end of the story, the doctor speaks, telling how all of Everyman's friends (Beauty, Five-wits, Strength, and Discretion) have abandoned him, but Good-deeds went with him. After death, it is too late for us to “make amends” and repent. We must decide while we are here on earth to make the change in our lives and repent of our sins.

      Everyman is definitely a religious story, as its morals follow many Christian ideas. It would be safe to assume that there is a Catholic background to it as well, considering the different aspects of Good-deeds and also Knowledge who speaks of Everyman suffering for his repentance. Altogether, Everyman is a very well put together story with excellent personification and poetry.