John Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s Progress

Pilgrim is a person who makes a journey to a holy place. Pilgrimage is a journey to distant sacred goal.

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan is a religious story based on morality. Bunyan uses here allegory which means that authors through the things or characters express symbols of qualities such as truth or patience.

In this story there is a large number of characters whose names are based on religion (e.g. Christian, Evangelist) or they are names of behaviour - good (Pliable, Good-Will, Piety, Charity, Faithful, Talkative, Hopeful...) or bad (Obstinate, Sloth, Hypocrisy, Ignorance..). All these characters represents or symbolises general true.
The story is very complicated which develops all the time and also characters are developing.

The story begins with the speech of the narrator how he fell asleep and had a dream. In this dream he saw a man with a book and a great burden upon his back. He saw him open the book and read therein. As he read he wept, trembled and break out with a lamentable cry, saying, What shall I do?

When he came home he told his wife and children that he has a burden that lies upon him and that he is informed that their city will be burned with fire from heaven. He left his family in the City of Destruction and set out in search of Mount Zion. When he was walking in the fields there were two ways. He did not know which way to go. Then he saw a man named Evangelist coming to him. Evangelist told him that he needed to find the Wicked Gate. Then the man began to run. The neighbours and his family began to cry after him to return. There were two who wanted to discourage Christian. The name of he one was Obstinate and the name of the other Pliable. But Christian was so excited about his trip that he convinced Pliable to go with him. Obstinate would not go.

During the pilgrimage Pliable asked Christian whether he thought the words in Bible are true. And Christian told him about his unbreakable and absolute religious faith
“Yes, verily; for it was made by Him that cannot lie”
Then he said Pliable about heaven
“ there is an endless kingdom to be inhabited, and everlasting life to be given us”
“there are crowns and glory to be given us, and garments that will make us shine
like the sun in firmament of heaven”
“there shall be no more crying, nor Sorrow: for He (God) is owner of the place
will wipe all tears from our eyes”

Unfortunately, they fell into a marsh that was called Despond. Pliable became discourage, and left the bog, but Christian needed Help to rescue him because the load he carried was so heavy. Soon Christian met Worldly Wiseman who encouraged him to get off the straight and narrow path and meet Mr. Legality. Fortunately, Evangelist arrives on the scene and tells Christian not to go with false shepherds like Worldly Wiseman. Christian was upset because he had left the right way, and might not be able to continue on his trip. But when he meets Good-Will, the man at the Wicket Gate, he was told that anyone who knocked at the gate could enter no matter what he had done. Good-Will also told Christian that he would have to bear his load until he came to the place of Deliverance and that he should find Mr. Interpreter who would help him.

Mr. Interpreter showed Christian a print of the person who would always guide him and a rood which was man’s heart. There was dust in this room which represented the sin that could not be swept away by the law. Water, the Good News, was the only thing that could cleanse the heart. Christian ran along it until he reached a place where there was a cross, and at the foot of the cross there was a tomb. As he came to the cross, the Place of Deliverance, his load dropped off from his back. Christian was happy at last because he had been saved. Now he would be able to make it to the Celestial City.

In the Conclusion is trying to tell us that we should read between the lines and also to make clear in the right way his metaphors or allegory. They can teach us to be honest and good man.
“turn up my metaphors, and do not fail,
there, if thou seekest them, such things to find,
as will be helpful to an honest mind”