The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan - Essay Example

?Pamela Saggio Prof. Ghazala N.Afzal BLR 2540-02 February 14th, The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan is anotable work of fiction and theology for the novelty that it brought into the treatment of elevated subjects like pilgrimage and salvation. One of the most famous works in literature, characters and episodes from The Pilgrim’s Progress find references in works of literature and also in popular culture. The work introduced a protestant theology in the form of literature that made it a very popular book. The fact that the age in which it was written was one of great puritan fervor in England and America also meant that the work was taken up for the purpose of propaganda among many people. The importance of this work lies in the fact that it is able to cater to the needs of people of various kinds. Even a child would be able to find The Pilgrim’s Progress an amusing read while complex theological lessons are to be learnt. The book, at the same time, is also evidence of the growing strength of protestant countries during the sixteenth century. The significance of the book, thus, has many aspects to it that has to be analysed through a multi-pronged approach. The Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory. An allegory is a work of literature that has symbols for various abstract elements. For instance, the character Christian is supposed to be a symbol for every person who is on the path to salvation and believes in Christ as his or her savior. All the other character and events in the book are symbols for elements of Christian theology. Other characters who guide Christian on his perilous journey are also symbols for the elements that a Christian would need during his quest for salvation. There are certain characters that also represent the obstacles that arise during the believer’s quest. For instance, the characters Obstinate and Pliable are symbols for certain kinds of people who are unable to understand the teachings of the Bible, according to Bunyan. Bunyan means Obstinate to be a reference to people who refuse to lend their ears to the teachings of the bible and Christ in a stubborn manner. Their hearts are hardened and they are an obvious reference to the pharaoh of Egypt who refused to listen to the word of god through Moses. Pliable, on the other hand, is a character who is able to mould himself for any situation but is unable to stand the hardships that Christian is able to and thus, he is unable to bear the journey. The entire story progresses in a similar Christian vein where the worldview is exclusively Christian. The story is that of the recognition of the burden that man has to carry as a result of the original sin that was committed by the first man, Adam. Adam’s disobedience to the Christian God resulted in his being cast out of the Garden of Eden and this resulted in the introduction of death and labor in the world of man. To attain communion with God after a lifetime of misery on earth, one had to believe in Christ, according to Bunyan. The protagonist of his story has the burden of the original sin to carry which is loosened only when he reaches the “place of deliverance” that is again an obvious symbol, and stands for the open tomb of Christ that represents the resurrection and hope for humanity. The death of Christ is thus, for Bunyan, the event that holds out hope for humanity that sinned against God. The debt of sin that Christ paid for with his own blood is what Bunyan pins his hopes on and according to the Bible, this is what every Christian ought to place his belief in. The road to the Celestial City is one that needs to be crossed through the wicket gate, which is a symbol for the fence of the flock of the Christians. This again points to traditional theological symbols which show Christ to be a shepherd and the group of Christians to be his flock. The road that leads from the wicket gate is a narrow one and one that Christian is led to by several characters who are at a certain level, theological and at another political. The evangelist is a reference to people who are involved in bringing people to Christ and thus, according to Bunyan, to the puritans, who were an emergent class at the point in time that The Pilgrim’s Progress was written by Bunyan. The exclusivity of The Pilgrim’s Progress is an extremist and fundamentalist perspective. According to Bunyan, there is only a single way in which salvation can be achieved. The character, Ignorance is cast into hell despite being a good person because he refuses to believe in the message of Christ. This is reminiscent of the ideology that was propagated by the imperial forces of Britain that cloaked its economic mission in a drive to get the message of Christ to the people who believed in other religions. In Bunyan’s Worldview, there is no room for people of other religious belongings and the narrow stretch to heaven is barred to people of non-protestant belongings. Even Catholic Christians do not figure in Bunyan’s scheme of things and this is reflected in the character of the Pope who is an old and weak giant who is killed off. This, rather than signifying the death of Catholicism should be taken as an indicator of the economic weakness of the catholic church at this point of time. There are certain elements in the work of Bunyan that are radical. The second part of The Pilgrim’s Progress is an account of the journey of Christiana, the wife of Christian to salvation. The fact that women and men are equally eligible for salvation is an important aspect of this work and it shows how salvation and religion can be a unifying and empowering force, if it is employed in a manner that does not forget the realities of the world. Works Cited Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim’s Progress. London: Wordsworth, 1997. Read More