Everyman

In response to your post (Professor Lupton)...
I have to say I don't entirely agree with your assessment of Last Holiday's reflection on our society. Yes, there is no denying the fact that we are incredibly consumer driven and that we sure do love our stuff. And while there is certainly an element of consumerism in the film, it sounds like there is more to it than that. Granted, I have not seen the movie so perhaps I am entirely off, but from your post it sounds like she is living by experiencing and that money is just a means to an end. Although her endeavors are costly (and she chooses to make them so), she is accumulating little. What constitutes living to her is seeing the world and treating herself well, and unfortunately in our world, that requires money. However, I definitely see your point and I agree it makes an incredible and incredibly accurate statement about our society.

In terms of Everyman's response to dying, I think his sole reason for scrambling to rectify his relationship with God was his fear of eternal dammnation and not because he or society then was above materialism. Two thoughts came to mind after reading this story. The first was that Everyman is like a man on death row who becomes a Christian under an impending death sentence. It seems a decision purely motivated by fear, not by desire to be a good person and to have an actual relationship with God. My second thought was that Everyman is like a high schooler who has been warned by someone in the class period before him that the teacher is going to give a pop quiz and frantically tries to learn the information that he has neglected to study. Had he studied a little every day, he would have no reason to panic. Basically I don't see his dying actions as entirely honorable but rather as a desperate attempt to save himself.