J. B.

J. B. Summary | Prologue Summary

The setting is a circus tent. Two elderly men appear, dressed in the white uniforms of concession vendors. One, Mr. Zuss, is a balloon seller. The other, Nickles, is a popcorn seller. They arrive at the foot of the stage and describe the setting; the stage is heaven, and the audience is earth, they say. They then step onto the stage.

As the two men bicker about who's selling the most merchandise, they prepare to give a performance, removing the belts and trays on which they have their merchandise and looking at the masks they are to wear. We learn that Mr. Zuss is to play God, and Nickles makes a joke about God laughing. Mr. Zuss is shocked, saying God never laughs. Nickles suggests that Job must have laughed behind the back of his hand; he couldn't help it, Nickles insists. His situation was ridiculous; God killed his family, destroyed his livelihood, and abandoned him on a dung-heap without a hope of learning why. Mr. Zuss becomes angry, suggesting that Job was only a man and had no right to question God, who created the whole world. Nickles complains that the world isn't that great a place, and when Mr. Zuss suggests that it is great, Nickles suggests that he try to create one on a dung-heap. Mr. Zuss says that Nickles makes him sick, and Nickles replies that if that's the case, then maybe somebody else should play Job. Mr. Zuss says that he never even considered having Nickles play Job, saying there's always somebody playing that part. Nickles then realizes that he is supposed to play Satan. Mr. Zuss apologizes for offending him, but Nickles replies that he wasn't offended at all and demands to see the mask he's to wear.

Nickles and Mr. Zuss bicker over whether Nickles should wear a mask at all, and they argue over where the masks actually are. Mr. Zuss climbs a ladder and discovers a beautiful, peaceful mask which Nickles recognizes as portraying God. He refers to God as the creator of animals and suggests that Man is just an animal like every other, comparing him to a wingless sightless insect banging itself against a window pane. He says Job behaves the same way, banging himself against faith in God's justice. Mr. Zuss looks for the other mask, finds it, warns Nickles that he won't find it beautiful, and shows him a mask depicting a strange mixture of laughter and disgust.

Nickles is silent, but even though Mr. Zuss says that evil is never pretty, Nickles climbs the ladder and takes the mask. The lights become dimmer, and in the shadows, Nickles and Zuss put on their masks and quote lines from the Bible. There is laughter from behind the Satan-mask, which causes Zuss to rip off his own mask; the lights brighten again. Zuss angrily tells Nickles that it's indecent to laugh at God. Nickles replies that it wasn't him laughing, but the mask, because the eyes of the mask see everything about the world and can't help but laugh. Zuss suggests they start again from the beginning.

The lights dim again, and Nickles and Zuss again don their masks. Before they can speak, a Distant Voice says God's first line. Zuss and Nickles bicker about who said it and bicker again about the laughing before going onstage and reciting their Biblical lines. They start to tell the Biblical story of Job, a so-called perfect man who loved and feared God while shunning evil. As they speak, we see a modern Job, JB, sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner with his family.