How Does Everyman Present Betrayal In Hamlet

Betrayal of the Finest In literature, one of the most popular genres of books are the ones with heroes. Unfortunately, most good heroes are betrayed. After reading multiple literary works this semester, the two stories that exemplify betrayal the best are in Hamlet and Everyman. In Hamlet, Hamlet is betrayed multiple times. The first betrayal is when his father is poisoned mercilessly from the hand of his Uncle Claudius. Hamlet’s uncle had slipped a drop of poison into the king’s ear while he was resting. Hamlet only came to this realization after the ghost of his father appeared to him, explaining the truth. From the death of Hamlet’s father, Hamlet’s fortune seems to keep spiraling downward. His one true love, Ophelia cannot be with him …show more content…
The underlying theme of this piece is a religious one. Everyman is sentenced to his death by God himself. Upon his discovery of God’s wishes, he tries tirelessly to find the help of familiar friends. After being rejected and betrayed spiritual by his Fellowship, Goods, Cousin and Death, Everyman happened upon Good Deeds. With the help of Good Deeds’ sister Knowledge, they helped Everyman repent and find grace with God. Aside from being rejected by everything he was familiar with in his final hours, Everyman’s biggest betrayer was himself. All his life, Everyman believed in material things such as; women, riches and gluttony. However, during his last hours, Everyman learned that unfortunately none of that mattered. The things that mattered to God were his faith, Good Deeds, and salvation. Everyman betrayed himself and God throughout his entire life. However during his last hours he was able to redeem himself. Although both of these stories are vastly different, they both have good examples of betrayal. Unfortunately, betrayal can come in many different forms. In Hamlet’s case, it came in the form of murder and manipulation. However, for Everyman, it came in a spiritual