John
Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress is one of the most famous allegories in English
literature. This prose is a good example of religious allegory. Through using
the allegory, writer shows the ascension of the soul from earth to Heaven. That
is why, we can find that the protagonist named Christian leaves his doomed city
and starts a journey of progress towards spiritual achievement.
Christian
is a symbol of every common man. He is weighed down by a great burden, the
burden of sin. The writer shows that in this earth, sometimes we commit sin.
That is why, we have the need to get salvation. This path is not easy because
it is full of suffering. Still, some people choose this path to get salvation.
The ‘City of Destruction’ represents this world which is a doomed world without
spiritual values and the ‘Celestial City’ represents Heaven. Christian has read
a book which symbolically represents the Bible.
In
this story, good aspects and negative aspects of human beings are personified.
When Christian arrives at the Wicket Gate, A man named Goodwill opens the gate.
Symbolically, it shows that when a person has good will, he will get success.
Christian finds a companion Faithful who helps him on his way to the Celestial
City. In many instances, many characters like Hypocrisy, Apollyon, Mr. Worldy
Wiseman and Obstinate and Pliable try to discourage or stop him from achieving
his goal. Finally, he reaches to the Celestial City carried by Hopeful’s faith.
The allegorized characters and situations do not merely simplify human virtues
and vices, but they reveal how individual destiny can be shaped by outstanding
qualities of personality.
Wordly-
Wiseman is symbol of earthly pleasure. If we want to get worldly pleasure then
we lose the ultimate happiness of our life. If we get mercy and blessings of
God then we can lead a better life. At first, Christian follows Mr. Worldly
Wiseman's advice and finds that his burden is getting heavier. As Evangelist
warns Christian, in the same way, Bible also warns us against earthly pleasure.
Mr.
Legality, Mr. Worldly Wiseman, and Civility used their cunning to divert him
from his salvation. Through this character, the author tries to show the
picture of his contemporary society. It was believed that if a sinner pays some
to the church man, he will be free from sin. However, truth is that without
struggle, pain, and suffering no one can get the redemption.
Christian
and Faithful face scorn and public anger in the town of Vanity Fair. Lord
Hategood presides over their trial. Some critics said that Bunyan actually
tries to show the pleasure-loving and worldly society of England's Charles II
and suffering of Puritan.
The
whole story is based on religious faith. If we observe carefully then we can
find that The Pilgrim’s Progress does not only shows the moral points of view,
but also represents the writer’s thought as how he views the world and how he
wishes the world to be.
Significance
of Characters and places:
The
Interpreter has an important role. It is
represented as a spiritual guide who shelters Christian. The Interpreter
instructs Christian in the art of reading religious meanings hidden in everyday
objects and events, which he houses in his Significant Rooms.
Christian
is the central character of the book and the hero of the pilgrimage. Christian
represents just one profound aspect of the human experience. As a protagonist,
his role is very important. Through this character, Bunyan shows the ultimate
sufferings of human life. Without suffering, we cannot get anything. The writer
shows that through suffering and pain, a soul can get salvation. The Jesus
Christ has sacrificed his life for common people. So, his followers can only
get salvation and mercy of God through choosing the path of pain and suffering.
Evangelist
is the messenger carrying the Gospel, or word of Christ, to Christian.
Evangelist spurs Christian on his journey to the Celestial City. Through this
character, writer tries to tell us the message of God.
Faithful
and Hopeful both are important allegorical figure. Through these two
characters, the writer wants to say that if we have faith and hope on our own
decision and God then we can reach towards our goal. We can be successful.
Hopeful saves Christian’s life in the river before the gates to Mount Zion.
Christian could have saved his own life for his hope. He had also faith in God.
These two things helped him to get salvation. Faith is not just part of
religion but every aspect of our daily lives. It means we can make our lives
better if we have faith in God. These two things help us to lead a better life
in this brutal world.
Despair
is a negative quality of human nature. It causes hopelessness or for which
there is no hope. A person loses all his hopes and cannot be able to overcome
his problems. That is why, writer refers to Despair as a ‘Giant Despair’. It
indicates if we cannot overcome this shortcoming, then we will fail.
In
the same way Demas is also an important figure. He is a deceiver. He is a
gentlemanly figure who tries to entice Christian and Hopeful with silver and
dreams of wealth. This stands as a warning to all Christians that they should
not love this world. Its system is opposite to God and His rule. This allegory
figure carries a message for us that we should not love this world, or the
things of this world.
Worldly
Wiseman is a person whom Christian encounters early in his journey. It
represents the worldly pleasure. If we want to get mercy and blessings of God
then we have to leave worldly pleasure.
Mr.
By-ends is a user of religion for personal and social profit. Mr. By-ends
accompanies Christian briefly after Christian escapes from Vanity. It
represents the contemporary society of writer. Even we can find the presence of
this kind of people in our society.
Though
each and every character is personified, still they have great role in this
whole story. Through these characters, writer gives an image of human beings of
this world.
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