Part II Prediciton and Closing

I predict Part II of the Pilgrim's Progress will follow the journey of Christian wife and Children due the hint given at the end of the book the his family has been invited to the Celestial City.

All in all this book was a great way for me to realize my faith. In conclusion I leave you with this quote "We are all on the same journey, are you on the right path".

Author's Conclusion to Pilgrim's Progress Part 1

In the conclusion, the narrator says that he has told his dream and invites the reader to interpret it. Though he warns of the dangers of interpreting his dream wrongly, the narrator also cautions against playing around with the obvious surface content of the tale, being entertained by it rather than instructed. He says that, just as no one throws away an apple to save the core, so too must no one throw away the essence of his story to save its inessential parts.

Seeing the King of Glory/Success/Enter the Celestial City (Stage 10)

Hopeful knows of the man. Christian says that Temporary’s resolve only lasted a short time, until he met someone named Saveself and stopped talking to Christian. Temporary’s example leads Hopeful to ask that they discuss the causes of spiritual backsliding in general. Hopeful explains that fear, shame, and guilt are all causes for the devout to lose sight of their salvation. He lists some key symptoms of backsliders, including the abandonment of duties, association with loose people, and the shunning of Christian friends.

Christian and Hopeful are told they face more difficulties. Two of the three Shining Ones encourage them onward. Hopeful urges him on, but Christian tells him to go on without him. Then Hopeful mentions Jesus Christ, who wishes Christian well. The vision of Christ gives Christian new hope, and they emerge from the river.

The Shining Ones lead them up to the gate of the City on a tall hill, where trumpeters greet them. Christian and Hopeful realize they have lost their mortal garments in the river. The Shining Ones beseech the king of the City to open the gate. The king announces that anyone who keeps God’s truth may enter and commands that the gate open for Christian and Hopeful. After watching Christian and Hopeful enter through the gate, the narrator wishes he were with them.

Christian

Christian is the central character of the book and the hero of the pilgrimage. Because Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress as an allegory rather than a novel, Christian is not represented as particularly complicated or conflicted and has a simple personality. Christian represents just one profound aspect of the human experience: the search for religious truth. He is his faith (hence his name). Christian’s motivation, the search for salvation in the Celestial City, clearly defines him. Christian is deeply goal oriented. Because reaching the Celestial City has a life-or-death urgency for him, he has little time or energy for lesser matters. Even his family shrinks nearly to insignificance in his mind as soon as he leaves for his journey. He never mentions his wife or children to his travel companions. At the Palace Beautiful, he shows some emotion when one of the four mistresses of the house inquires about his family, but he does not bring up the subject himself, nor does he return to it later. This does not mean Christian lacks feeling but only that the goal of salvation far outweighs any earthly concerns a pilgrim has.

So Close I Can Taste it(Stage 9)

The narrator resumes his dream and sees Christian and Hopeful go on into the Delectable Mountains toward the Celestial City. They meet Ignorance, a lively lad who accompanies them for a while. Ignorance goes through life hoping for the best. He believes a good life is enough to enter heaven and tells Christian and Hopeful that their path to the Celestial City is unnecessarily long and difficult. Christian tells Hopeful in a whisper that he considers Ignorance a fool. They outpace Ignorance and leave him when they turn into a dark alley full of devils.

Christian recalls him as an old acquaintance named Little-Faith and tells Hopeful his story. Little-Faith was traveling with his birthright, a precious jewel, as well as some money. Hopeful asks why Little-Faith did not pawn his jewel for travel money. Christian reproaches him for foolishness, explaining that no believer can sell his faith for material comfort.

Christian and Hopeful follow Flatterer, a deceitful man in a white robe who speaks beautifully but ensnares them in a net. Atheist claims not to have found the Celestial City in twenty years of searching. Traveling onward, Christian and Hopeful discuss sin at great length. On the Enchanted Ground they fight off dangerous sleep. Christian asserts that salvation comes through revelation, not through a good life alone. They also discuss reasons for backsliding among the devout. Ignorance insults revelation, calling it nonsense and affirming that a natural faith in God is enough to sustain a believer. Ignorance says he cannot walk as fast as Christian and Hopeful and falls behind.

Stage 8

In stage eight, Christian and Hopeful reach the Delectable Mountains on the outskirts of the Celestial City. They bathe and eat in the gardens and orchards that they discover in the foothills of the mountains, which belong to the Lord Emmanuel. They meet some kind shepherds who welcome them and say that the lord gave them the charge of offering protection to good pilgrims. The shepherds invite them to sleep.

The next morning the shepherds warn Christian and Hopeful of the nearby hills called Error and Caution, which lead some travelers to disaster. The remains of pilgrims, who have made false assumptions about the nature of resurrection, litter the ground beneath Error. Similarly, on the hill of Caution, blind travelers wander among tombs and get stuck there. Both these views show Christian and Hopeful what to avoid. They ask how the blind pilgrims came to wander among the tombs. The shepherds inform them that they tried to take a shortcut to the Mountains, which led instead to the Doubting Castle, where Giant Despair imprisoned them, put out their eyes, and left them to wander on the grounds of his estate.

The shepherds allow Christian and Hopeful to look through a telescope at the Celestial City. Christian and Hopeful tremble with so much excitement that they can hardly see through the glass. The shepherds bid them farewell, give them directions to the Delectable Mountains, and warn them not to sleep on the Enchanted Ground and to beware of someone named Flatterer. The narrator wakes up from his dream.

In the Dungeon of Despair (Stage 7)

Moving onward in stage 7, they follow a man who says he knows a shortcut to the Celestial City. They realize it is not a shortcut after they fall into a pit. A storm rises, and they nearly drown when the rain floods their hole. When the rains abate, they come out and continue on. They find shelter near the Doubting Castle owned by the Giant Despair, where they sleep. The giant wakes them and says they must be punished for trespassing. His wife, Diffidence, encourages the harshest punishments. They are imprisoned and beaten and contemplate suicide, finally deciding against it as a sin. Christian remembers he has a key called Promise that will open any door in Despair’s castle. Christian and Hopeful escape and mount a sign warning future travelers away from Despair.

Stage 6

Christian continues his journey joined by a new ally, Hopeful, and a stranger named By-ends, who sees religion as a way of getting ahead in the world. Christian refuses to let By-ends accompany them unless he affirms that poverty is an aspect of faith. By-ends is turned away and joins other religious fortune hunters, who are stunned when Christian denounces them. Christian and Hopeful enter the plain of Ease, where a gentlemanly figure named Demas entices them with buried silver and dreams of wealth. They spurn him, telling him they will not be nudged from their course by riches. On their way, they notice the pillar that once was Lot’s wife who made the mistake of looking back at what she had left behind on her own path to salvation. Christian and Hopeful vow not to make the same mistake themselves.

Persecution (Stage 5)

Christian meets up with his former fellow townsman Faithful, who fled the City of Destruction shortly after Christian left. Faithful says that Christian’s old acquaintance Pliable returned to town and was mocked for the dirt on his clothing from the Slough of Despond.

Faithful reports that he declined the offer, knowing it would be slavery. Even though he rejected Adam, Moses appeared to strike down Faithful in punishment, Christian concludes, for secretly being attracted by Adam’s offer. Faithful reports that shame tried to turn him from his holy path, attacking religion as unmanly. Christian congratulates Faithful on his fortitude and then tells him of his own adventures.

Another townsman named Talkative joins the two. Faithful is initially impressed by Talkative’s devoutness, since Talkative likes discussing religious topics. Rejoining Talkative, Christian asks him to explain the difference between speaking out against sin and despised it. Annoyed, Talkative leaves them.

Emerging from the wilderness, Evangelist meets Christian and Faithful and congratulates them on overcoming their obstacles. At Vanity Fair, Faithful and Christian are mocked, smeared with dirt, and thrown in a cage. Faithful tries to speak in his own defence but is burned at the stake and carried off to heaven. Christian is remanded to prison but escapes later.

Who is Apollyon?

Apollyon wants to prevent Christian. Like Giant Despair, also bent on stopping Christian, Apollyon has a physical irregularity that displays his evil. Apollyon is a hybrid being, part dragon, bear, human, and fish. He unites all four elements: the water of a fish, the air associated with wings, the fire linked to dragons, and the earth that bears live on. He also combines animal and human. These symbolic combinations convey his immense power, suggesting that he draws energy from all corners of the universe. His complex nature is the opposite of Christian’s extreme simplicity. Apollyon became one of the best-known characters in Bunyan’s book even though he appears for only a short time.

Apollyon signifies weakness to worldly forces. He represents the opposite of the spiritual freedom that Christian expresses in leaving behind his worldly existence. Apollyon’s name resembles the Greek god Apollo, lord of the beauty and form that dominates worldly values. Apollo was a pagan deity, far removed from the Christian God that the pilgrim strives toward. Furthermore, Apollyon expresses a belief that Christian is his feudal subject and owes allegiance to him as protector. He believes he has the right to power over another individual, which Christian rejects with his sense of divine freedom and being subject only to God. Thus Christian’s defeat of Apollyon symbolizes a victory over all worldly power.

Battle With Apollyon (Stage 4)

The four mistresses of the Palace Beautiful accompany Christian to the end of their property and give him food for his journey. They warn him of the slippery ground he will enter, called the Valley of Humiliation. Walking through the valley, Christian sees a foul monster approaching, a human form with dragon wings and bear feet, covered in fish scales. Christian is scared but does not flee. The monster’s name is Apollyon, and he claims Christian as his subject, since Christian is on his land. Christian refutes him, saying he is already subject to a different prince, meaning Christ. Apollyon flies into a rage, voicing hatred for the rival prince. They fight with swords, and Apollyon nearly kills Christian, but Christian at the last minute saves himself and strikes Apollyon, who flies away.

Continuing onward, Christian finds himself in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, a hot desert full of pits. The narrator comments that this is where the mouth of hell is located. Christian realizes there is more danger for him here than his fight with Apollyon and hears the demons clamoring for him. He is deeply afraid but takes solace in the thought that Christ is protecting him like a candle in the dark. At the end of the valley, Christian sees the bones, ashes, and mangled remains of other pilgrims. The area is lorded over by two giants, Pope and Pagan, who devoured earlier pilgrims. Christian is not afraid, since they are both decrepit and unthreatening.

Removal of Burden (Stage 3)

Continuing on his journey, Christian comes to a wall that the narrator identifies as Salvation. Passing by the wall, Christian feels his burden spontaneously drop to the ground. Proceeding onward along the “strait and narrow” path of the wall of Salvation, Christian notices three figures Simple, Sloth, and Presumption asleep and bound with iron chains. Christian ascends a hill called Difficulty. Christian is unsure what to do. When Christian reaches for his certificate, he finds it missing. After retracing his steps, Christian finds his certificate and vows always to remain watchful. Arriving late at the pilgrims’ hotel, Christian has lost much time sleeping. After Christian identifies himself, Discretion allows him inside. The three other daughters, Piety, Prudence, and Charity, ask about Christian’s journey. 

Faith is given a deeper meaning when Christian’s burden spontaneously falls from the sight of the cross in the Third Stage. This removal of the burden marks a new perspective on his progress.  Clearly faith depends on striving. Christian has undertaken many risks already to get where he is, and his way is far from easy. Yet faith also involves changes that require no effort at all, like the miraculous relief from the burden. Christian does not even have to remove the burden, since it removes itself. In Christian doctrine, these two parts of the pilgrim’s experience are known as will and grace. Will is the exertion required to find faith and master oneself. Grace is what comes without trying to get it, a pure gift from heaven. Christian experiences both will and grace when passing the cross, and he is rewarded for his strong individual faith when the burden falls.

Stage 2

The second stage begins by Evangelist leading Christian to the right path, kisses Christian goodbye and wishes him well, and Christian resumes his journey. A serious-looking attendant named Goodwill appears. With Christian safe inside, Goodwill requests an account of his journey so far. Christian reports his progress so far. Satisfied, Goodwill then sends Christian to a nearby house where the Interpreter lives, saying that the Interpreter may show Christian many helpful things.

The Interpreter invites Christian into his home. He shows Christian a picture of a serious man in a crown. Christian asks who it is, and the Interpreter tells him that the man saves souls and promises a better world beyond this one. Next Christian enters a large, dusty parlour where the Interpreter orders a man to sweep. Christian enters another room where a fire burns against a wall. A man pours water onto the fire, but the fire only burns higher and hotter. Christian is puzzled until he sees another man on the other side of the wall pouring oil to rouse the flames. Finally the Interpreters leads Christian into a very dark room where a man sits, hands folded, in an iron cage. Christian asks what he is doing there, and the man explains that the cage is his despair. The Interpreter asks Christian what he feels at seeing all these things. 

Stage 1

The opening portrays the most central idea of the work: the journey. The Pilgrim’s Progress is about travel and the meaning that one man’s travel comes to acquire. The trip is one of discovery and learning new things. Christian is journeying not to come home but to leave home, or rather to make a new home for himself in an unfamiliar place, the Celestial City. Because he believes his town is destroyed, he literally cannot go home again. He heads for a better place through his journey to the Celestial City. Therefore the geographical wandering across the land is also a mythic advancement, a spiritual development, which is the “progress” referred to in the title. The journey to the Celestial City is a solitary experience. Christian is first introduced alone and crying with a book in his hand, and he remains alone for large portions of the story. Secondary characters come and go, but Christian remains. In part, his solitude is a necessary aspect of his Protestant faith, which holds that salvation comes not through church attendance and group ritual but through private prayer and introspection. Bunyan shows the reader that faith is individual, so Christian must be alone to practice it.

Author's Apology

In his Apology, Bunyan affirms his aim to strengthen religious belief through fiction. He attacks the popular misconception that religion and fiction are enemies, asserting that the Bible contains many fictional parables. Bunyan also states that he wrote his work mainly for himself, to further his own spiritual development. 

My first Blog (Intro Blog)

Hi world, this is my first blog. My blog is solely based on a in depth look and critique of The Pilgrim's Progress.

The Pilgrim's Progress was writing by John Bunyan and published in February of 1678. This classic piece literature is a Christian allegory which tells the story of the Christian Pilgrimage to Heaven. The importance of this story is to portray the the human's purpose in life from a Christian perceptive. This perceptive explain that our whole purpose of existence was to embark on a life long narrow quest to Heaven. I chose to use this book in my blog (CPT) because it relates to me. This Book relates to me because I am in the midst of this pilgrimage. Therefore, I see this book as a tool to encourage and educate people, mainly Christian, about the quest of life and what we as humans are here to do in earth on earth.