Everybody

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 2018

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Summary

Scene Summaries & Analyses

Scenes 1-7

Scenes 8-14

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Essay Topics

Compare and contrast Everybody with its source material, the medieval morality play Everyman. What elements of the original play remain relevant? What did Branden Jacobs-Jenkins update and why?

How would you describe and characterize Everybody? What makes them a universal stand-in for all of humanity? Use details from the play.

Research medieval morality plays. What conventions from them does Everybody use? How does the play change and build on the genre?

Consider the image of La Danse Macabre. What does it mean historically? In the play?

What is the purpose of Love in Everybody’s life? Why are Love and Evil the only two things that can follow Everybody into death?

Consider the production elements of Everybody: the actor lottery, actors planted in the audience, the juxtaposition of realistic and highly fantastical elements on stage. How does the staging affect the way the audience receives the play?

What does the play say (or refuses to say) about religion? God?

The play is metatheatrical—it reminds the audience that they are watching a play. How do instances of metatheatricality create meaning?

What is the purpose of the penultimate scene between Death, Time, and Understanding?

10.

How does this play portray human nature? What is the play pointing to as humanity’s fundamental flaws? Is the play’s moral helpful in addressing those flaws? Why, or why not?