The Common Man in A Man For All Seasons Anonymous 10th Grade

In the play A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt, one of the principal characters is “the Common Man.” The Common Man plays various roles, such as the Mores’ steward, his jailer, and his executioner. As the Common Man is meant to represent humanity, he more specifically demonstrates our selfishness and cowardice and how they can damage others. Throughout the story, the characters played by the Common Man are in a position to help Thomas More, and yet they do nothing for fear of getting in trouble. More’s steward, Matthew, does not sell out More because he fears getting into trouble with him; the jailer will not let More’s family remain with him in prison any longer than the allotted time; and, as the juror and executioner, the Common Man both delivers and carries out More’s sentence.

Matthew, like the other characters played by the Common Man, is not an immoral person, but an average one; he respects the More family and stands on More’s side in his evident dislike of Richard Rich. When Chapuys and Cromwell try to bribe him for information about Thomas More, he tells them only what everyone already knows, showing that he would not betray his master. However, judging by the following characters played by the Common Man, this is...