J. B. -- by Archibald Macleish (1959)

Description
I have recently read Harold Kushner's Why Bad Things Happened to a Good Person: The Book of Job, so I have been especially excited to read this text.

It was not what I was expecting. I suppose I was expecting some super-inventive, ultra-creative, Godspell-esque retelling of the Book of Job.

What I read was a surprisingly faithful retelling of the Book of Job. It just happens in a circus tent. And there are two people who play the roles of God and the Devil . . . but there is a Voice of God who chimes in intermittently. And Job's friends only show up in one scene to argue with him.

I guess there are some significant differences. However, MacLeish inserts several verbatim verses into his purely verse version of the Book of Job.  

Candid Reactions

• The setting is perplexing with the circus setup. 
• Okay, it is clear who Nickles and Mr. Zuss represent from the get-go . . .
• How interesting that MacLeish has employed a "play-within-a-play" motif and has included a "real" voice of God outside of Mr. Zuss who represents God's perspective. 
• Mr. Zuss expounds, "It's God the Father I play -- not / God the boiling point of water!" (8) I appreciate how MacLeish sort of defines his image of God from the start. 
• Gotta love the use of the masks. Theatrical and appropriate for the plot. 
• MacLeish is clever to set the first J.B. scene during Thanksgiving. 
• Sarah preaches Christian obligation. Foreshadowing?
• Being lucky vs. Being blessed. Classic. 
• Sarah sets herself up for irony: "God punishes. / God rewards and God can punish. / God is just" (39). 
• Sarah honestly kinda scares me. 
• Here come all the deaths. 
• I wonder how the lighting director achieved MacLeish's vision back in 1959 -- even now, I wonder how lighting director interpret his directions. 
• The curse of consciousness. Paradise Lost or East of Eden, anyone? 
• I don't remember Job's wife playing as prominent of a role in the Bible as she does in this play. 
• MacLeish includes the most popular verses verbatim. Smart. 
• Nick is so aggravating. 
• It takes until Scene 8 for me to recognize the Job I am most familiar with from the Bible. I am surprised that MacLeish spends so much time on the fallout of Job instead of Job arguing with his friends, which takes up the majority of the Book of Job. 
• J. B. asserts the harrowing statement, "God is God or we are nothing" (111). That'll give you chills. 
• Ah, yes, the counterarguments. 
• The necessity of guilt. Terrifying. 
• J. B. just wants to own his punishment. 
• Zophar, what a "pal"
• Of course Nick is upset with J.B.'s repentance. 
• The ending of the play is hopeful. I bet the audience appreciates that after watching a humorless play about a man's life that fell apart. 

Top Two Aspects/Reasons for Winning
1. Poetic Verse
Many American plays of the past century have been lauded for their poetic sensibilities and languages (i.e. The Glass Menagerie, Death of a Salesman, etc.). To my knowledge, not many of the classic modern American plays are deliberately written in verse. MacLeish purposefully writes in verse, which parallels the majority of the Book of Job's style. He even acknowledges his mode of writing in the full title: J.B.: a play in verse.

Writing a serious play in verse is no small task. How does a playwright include rhymes surrounding grave subjects without sounding like . . . dare I say, a misplaced Dr. Seuss?

MacLeish expertly weaves his verse between characters in such a seamless manner, I wonder how long it would take a live audience to realize the play is written in a poetic form.

2. Biblical Challenge 
MacLeish retells the Job story theatrically. MacLeish has to determine which passages he "cuts and pastes" and which arguments he simply "cuts" without losing the integrity or central message of the story. He must consider how to squeeze the story into a sit-able experience. Additionally, he must decide which material outside of the source material is appropriate to include. The justification process for MacLeish is marvelous.

Classroom Implications
I think that this text could easily be used in a Christian-based school. To compare and contrast the structuring and messages of J.B. with the Book of Job would be fruitful.

In terms of using this text in a public school setting . . . I'm not sure how I would incorporate it into the curriculum. It could be paired up with texts with Man vs. God/Religion conflicts. Perhaps it could be paired with The Color Purple?

Personal Takeaway
Poetry and biblical text has a place in the theater.

Ranking

	Dialogue	Characters	Plot/Conflict	Symbol/Literary Devices	Overall Enjoyment	TOTAL SCORE 7.0
0	Unfollowable; unrealistic; diction does not match character	Undeveloped; does not reflect humanity	Not engaging; predictable; reader can step away from text because it isn’t gripping	Devices are apparent for cleverness and do not enhance the story	Reader has no interest in re-reading play
1	Not consistently realistic	Well-developed; most depictions reflect humanity	Semi-engaging; some unnecessary plot-points (1.5)	Devices somewhat enhance story (1)	Reader would re-read with pleasure and reminded of work (1)
2	Realistic; connotative; diction matches characters (1.75)	Fully-developed; depictions reflect humanity (1.75)	Engaging; unique; reader finds it impossible to put down text because the conflict is so gripping!	Devices seamlessly enhance the story and provide rich interpretation	Reader would re-read the play on own volition, enthusiastically