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THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS

Bring out the allegorical and symbolical elements in The Pilgrim’s Progress.


An allegory is a story or description in which abstract qualities, virtues and vices are personified and appear as characters. In a moral allegory, the characters representing virtue argue and fight against the characters representing vice and finally there is victory of virtue over vice. The Pilgrim’s Progress is the most faithful example of an allegory.Bunyan has used an allegorical mode to represent his religious ideas in the most effective way. Also, Bunyan had read Bible and it taught him that truth is easily understood when it is shown through the shape of parables, metaphors or allegories.Bunyan took his symbols from the Bible and the allegorical elements from his life and surroundings.Christ had said “I am the gate” through which a devotee can reach heaven. Hence, Bunyan made the wicket gate that stands for Jesus. Jesus called himself a shepherd who guided his followers as a shepherd guides his sheep. So, Christian meets the four shepherds on the Delectable mountains who guide him and give the map to go to celestial city. The Cardinal virtues of Christianity are represented by four virgin sisters in palace Beautiful. They are named peity,Prudence, Discretion and Charity.The fair called vanity fair symbolizes the material and sinful world. His allegorical figures are called obstinate, Pliable, Ignorance, Faithful, Hopeful, Giant Despair, Talkative etc. All these figures symbolize the vices or virtues and also the feelings (despair, hope, etc.) and qualities (ignorance, stubborn, etc.) But his allegorical figures and symbols are so real that we feel that Bunyan has described real men and given them some nicknames. We find many people syndrome, Talkative, By-Ends, Giant Despair, pagan, Pope, Lord Hate- Good etc. All these allegorical. People have perfect names for the qualities or symbols they represent. Lord Hate good was the judge in the trial of faithful in the
vanity fair. His name shows his character. Pagan stands for pre-Christian religious and pope for Roman Catholic Chorch. Ignorance is ignorant of the right way to attain salvation but he thinks
that he knows everything. He is vain and proud. The characters called simple, sloth and presumption respectively represent the qualities of simpletons, lazy people and the people who presume that they know everything and do not listen to anyone.
Thus, even the minor characters of the text are created carefully so as to support the allegorical structure of The Pilgrim’s Progress. In The Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan dramatizes inner experience. In the allegory, the soul of a devoted man is given the name of Christian who carries a burden of sins on his back. He wants to go to the celestial city (heaven) and is guided by the Evangelist (preacher) to go to the wicket gate (Jesus). The different stages in his journey are shown as slough of Despond, Palace Beautiful,Delectable mountain, the castle of Giant Despair, River of Death, etc.The temptations of the world are represented through vanity fair. The final unification with God is shown as Christian entering the celestial city. When Bunyan talks about the allegorical figures like Hopeful, Faithful, Ignorance, Pliable, etc., he symbolizes the inner feelings of reach God. In the spiritual journey, a man is faced with doubts and confusion is his mind,sometimes he gets disappointed, but as he remains steadfast and firm in his faith for God, he gets hopeful and that gives him strength to travel a difficult path to heaven. The figures like pliable and obstinate represent those people who are not firm in their faith for God and also who do not have strength to face difficulties. Through the allegorical figures of four virgin sisters, shepherds, the Evangelist etc., Bunyan symbolizes, the religious elements that guide a devout soul on his way to salvation. The River of Death represents the final death of a soul before he enters heaven. Thus, we find that John Bunyan has used religious elements and worldly people as allegories in his text and try to preach his religious views to the readers that tell them to have firm faith in God and not get disappointed by the obstacles and difficulties on their way to salvation.

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