The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan is a historic classic from the 17th century. Your high school or college history textbook may have cited it as being culturally and historically significant to English colonists for United States history, but your textbook may not have elaborated why this particular work of literature was significant to Anglo-American colonists at a specific period of time. College professors can’t make us read every historically important book within a semester or a quarter. I have always wanted to read the classics I have read about in college textbooks, but was not required to read. I am glad that I was able to read The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan for myself, but I feel like I totally wasted my time and energy. This book was so incredibly boring that I now understand why professors might not assign it to their students unless you are studying English literature of the 17th century or studying the Anglo-American colonists and their religious views.
The book contains two main parts. The first part is about a man, who goes on pilgrimage to find the Celestial City. After he goes on pilgrimage, his name becomes Christian. The second part is about his wife and others, heading to the Celestial City. After she goes on pilgrimage, her name becomes Christiana.
The book is told in allegorical style. Characters are symbolically named for their qualities of character such as Christian for a male Christian, Christiana for a female Christian, Evangelist, Mr. Worldly Wiseman, Faithful, Mercy, Mr. Great-heart, Mr. Honest, etc. At the beginning of the book, this style of story-telling seemed fresh and new to me. I have never read a book like it where the author was being obvious about what kind of person each character represented. In the beginning, it sounded poetic, novel, clever, and imaginative. However, as the book went on, the narrative, to me, loses its charm. Perhaps, if the book was shorter in length or was simply a short story, I probably would have had a more pleasant opinion of this book overall, but it drags along pointing out how someone else is not worthy of god and heaven or has an inaccurate interpretation of the Christian bible. This book is arrogant, hypocritical, narrow-minded, and preachy.
The main character in part one is Christian. This character is probably a symbol for John Bunyan, himself. Christian meets Evangelist. Evangelist tells Christian how to unload the burden from his back by finding the Celestial City. Christian’s neighbors try to talk him out of going on pilgrimage. Christian’s wife and children did not want to follow him on pilgrimage. A neighbor goes with Christian until they met with some difficulty, so the neighbor returned to the City of Destruction. Christian goes on to meet other pilgrims along the way. They have religious conversations and debates about how to be worthy enough for heaven or having the correct interpretation of the Christian bible. Christian has all the answers to correct and judge someone, whom he feels is unworthy or has an inaccurate interpretation of the Christian bible, but he leads his companions astray on detours that gets them into trouble. Christian is a hypocrite and he doesn’t even know it. Christian’s path involves suffering persecution for his beliefs in similar ways as Jesus in some towns or cities that he had to pass through. The only way to get to the Celestial City is to enter into and cross a river and die. Pilgrims come out of the river on the other side and enter the Celestial City.
The second part of The Pilgrim’s Progress begins with Christian’s wife, Christiana, and ends with an ensemble of pilgrims entering into and crossing a river in order to get to the Celestial City on the other side. Christiana laments letting her husband, Christian, travel alone on pilgrimage. She receives word from a messenger that her husband, Christian, succeeded in reaching the Celestial City and wants her and their sons to join him. A woman, named Mercy from the City of Destruction, joins Christiana on her pilgrimage. Christiana and Mercy are blocked and harassed by two men along the path to heaven. Mr. Great-heart tells them they need a “conductor” to guide and protect them. In other words, women are the weaker sex, mentally, morally, and physically, and thus, need the wisdom and strength of a man in order to help them find heaven. Christiana and Mercy could not have led themselves and Christiana’s four sons on their own. The religious conversations and debates of part two are dominated by their conductor, Mr. Great-heart, and other men as the group travels towards the Celestial City. It must have taken years to reach the Celestial City, because Christiana’s “children” picked up wives along the way. The Pilgrim’s Progress sends the message that women can only reach god and heaven through the guidance, teachings, and leadership of men.
I recommend you read The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan if you are researching the religious views of the 17th century in England or the Anglo-American colonists. Maybe, you plan to specialize in English literature, English history, or American colonial history. You might want to read this tedious novel over the summer or over spring break while school is not in session, because you might have to force yourself to finish it. I thought this book would be pleasurable to read, because it was popular and influential in the 17th century. Apparently, popularity and historical significance does not equal an enjoyable reading experience.
I am still curious about reading classic works of literature that I have learned about from reading college textbooks. Hopefully, the next classic I review for this blog will be exciting, revolutionary, insightful, and thought-provoking. If someone had told me that The Pilgrim’s Progress was boring before I have read it, my curiosity would still drive me to read this book, because textbook authors have cited it as being “historically significant.” If you have heard of The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan and have never read it, I hope my bad review does not discourage you from reading it. Perhaps, you will not interpret it as I have. Read it and share your views with the Land of Books and Honey.
Reference
Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim’s Progress. Book on CD. Ashland: Blackstone Audiobooks, 1997.
Links:
John Bunyan at Christian Classics Ethereal Library
John Bunyan at Wholesome Words
The Pilgrim’s Progress at Christian Classics Ethereal Library
The Pilgrim’s Progress at Amazon.com
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