Why would a writer choose to write a Christian allegory? It is not a new concept nor is it easy to create a presentation of Christian allegory with a new and interesting insight to captivate readers. Bunyan wrote his Christian allegory, The Pilgrim's Progress, while in prison in Bedford, England. He was born in 1628 at a time of religious unrest, due to the Protestant Reformation. He experienced his own "intense spiritual struggle" during the reign of Oliver Cromwell, from 1648 to 1652. After the British Restoration, Bunyan was arrested for failing to comply with the Act of Uniformity while preached in the countryside, and he spent 12 years in prison. After being released, he became pastor of an independent church, but was imprisoned again in 1677 for preaching without a license. During his second detention, he was imprisoned on a bridge over the River Ouse, where he finished writing The Pilgrim's Progress. Initially, this novel was written to entertain his children when they came to visit him in prison. This is very surprising not only because the story is very dependent on religion, but also because it contains many mature concepts. Bunyan may have written this novel to indoctrinate his children and all the children in his church. Since he suffered to find his own religious affiliation, his motivation in writing this book was to help his children find their religion without having to struggle. Bunyan ingeniously uses characters as metaphors for virtues and sins throughout his novel; he also uses several metaphors in allegory to represent important Christian doctrines and achievements. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay This novel contains an abundance of characters, each with their own purpose and meaning. Bunyan chooses to name his characters based on their virtues and sins, and these respective characters exemplify the qualities of their names. In almost every chapter, a new character is introduced. Many minor characters may only be present in a single chapter, but each of these characters has a quality, whether righteous or immoral, that is an important detail in Christian allegory. Virtuous characters continually prevail over evil characters, reinforcing Bunyan's belief that those who follow God's path will ultimately achieve the rewards of eternal life. Both Christian and Faithful are men of integrity who encounter many sinful characters who test their moral strength and teach the pilgrims how to truly live a life guided by Christ. Christian is the antagonist, representing the strengths and weaknesses of most Christians. His journey shows the difficulties and rewards of the journey to eternal life. Throughout his journey, he meets many characters who help him, such as the Evangelist, the Faithful and the Interpreter. In addition to respectful individuals, Christian also encounters sinful characters, such as Mr. Wordly Wiseman and Apollyon. Bunyan uses generalized names such as Christian and Faithful so that readers can apply the knowledge and faith learned by these characters in their own lives and not limit spiritual enlightenment to the book and characters themselves. The Christian, like all pilgrims, must keep his faith and be strong in the face of all the tribulations he faces on the way to the Celestial City. Bunyan presents the general difficulties that all Christians must face in order to get to heaven throughChristian's journey from the City of Destruction to the Heavenly City. Christian's journey begins as he reads the Bible and thinks about how he can be saved, he meets a man. appointed evangelist. He tells the evangelist that he fears death because he is sure that the burden he carries on his back will “sink him lower than the grave” (Bunyan 28). Since Christian does not know where to go to obtain salvation, The evangelist shows him the narrow door in front of the bright light because that is where the Christian must go to begin the journey to salvation. According to the introduction written by Ken Ham, Bunyan based the character of the evangelist on a man named John Gifford, who helped put Bunyan on the path to salvation. Bunyan personifies the Holy Spirit as an evangelist character when he helps Christian begin his journey. The evangelist puts Christian on his path and guides him every time he leaves the “narrow path”. In the Bible, people of Christian faith are said to be “led by the [Holy] Spirit,” which is the metaphorical goal of the evangelist (Luke 4:1). Shortly after Christian begins his journey, he is entreated by Mr. Worldly-Wiseman and finds himself in danger in the presence of Mount Sinai. It is a mountain made of materials that at first seems attractive to Christian and draws him away from the narrow path, but then the collapsing tower presents an immediate danger to him. These alluring dangers make Mount Sinai a metaphor for the things of the world that distract a Christian from his true purpose and will ultimately lead to destruction. The Christian is frightened and alone, but the evangelist finds him and enlightens him by saying: “You must absolutely hate that he turns you away from the path, that he strives to make the cross odious to you and that he place your feet on the path that leads to administration. of death” (Bunyan 53). This is Bunyan's interpretation of the Holy Spirit who forgives Christians for their sins and continues to set them on the right path. Bunyan later uses the evangelist once again in the story to foreshadow and reflect God's limitless knowledge. The evangelist meets both the faithful and the Christians when they are together and prophesies that “…one of you must seal the testimony with blood…and he will still have the upper hand over his neighbor; not only because he will arrive as soon as possible at the Celestial City, but because he will escape many of the miseries which the other will encounter in the remainder of his journey” (Bunyan 165). Bunyan's reference to the "Heavenly City" foreshadows Faithful's eventual execution and also introduces Bunyan's belief that a Christian who remains faithful even in the face of death will be granted eternal glory. The evangelist is an important figure because he serves as a representation of the Holy Spirit, which gives Christians a desire for heaven. Besides many useful and religious characters, Christian encounters some sinners and dangerous people, such as Apollyon. Apollyon in Greek literally means "the destroyer" and is the angel of destruction in the Bible (Revelation 9:11). Christian's battle with Apollyon represents the battle that people of the Christian faith fight daily, figuratively speaking, against all the evil forces that seek to destroy them and prevent them from reaching heaven. All Christian believers are obligated to resist Satan, for Jesus himself was “tempted of the devil” in the wilderness, but was victorious over sin (Matthew 4:1). Since Apollyon believes he is “the prince and god” of the City of Destruction and he is furious with Christian for leaving (Bunyan 118). Apollyon says that through his piety he can relieve Christian of the burden he carries physically on his back. When the Christian sins and moves further away from God, the burden “seems to himheavier” (Bunyan 49). His backpack symbolizes the burden of sin that people of the Christian faith carry, which only Jesus Christ can truly remedy. Apollyon also uses examples of previous “transgressors” against him who experienced “shameful deaths” during their pilgrimages to try to persuade Christian to abandon his journey (Bunyan 120). When Christian refuses to return with Apollyon because of his allegiance to God, Apollyon is enraged and begins a physical battle. Christian is able to defeat Apollyon thanks to the infallible protection of the "Armor of God" that he had previously received from the Beautiful Palace (Ephesians 6:10-18). Bunyan uses the story of the battle with Apollyon to symbolize how Christians can defeat the things that seek to destroy them, provided they are faithful and rely on the "armor of God" to save them (Ephesians 6: 10-18). At the end of the Christian character's journey, Bunyan metaphorically uses the lack of a bridge over the river of death to show that a person of Christian faith must drown in order to be reborn to eternal life through Jesus Christ. The only way to cross is to enter the raging water, which inevitably leads to drowning. As Christian enters the water, he begins to drown and fears for his life. Hopeful, another pilgrim he was traveling with, tells Christian that the difficult waters are only there to test Christian one last time, and that Jesus Christ is waiting on the other side of the water. As soon as the Christian gains faith in Jesus and ceases to worry, “[he] [finds] presently ground to stand on, and so it follows that the rest of the river was but shallow” ( Bunyan 275). The Christian is forced to cross the river of death in order to receive his judgment, for all Christians must die and receive judgment before they can reach heaven or hell. Christian is Bunyan's portrait of the difficulties Christians face in reaching heaven. Bunyan uses various metaphors throughout The Pilgrim's Progress that contribute to the overall allegory of the journey; these metaphors compare Christian's journey to the Heavenly City to the average person's quest for paradise. Some situations occur that contain several important elements, such as Christian's stops at the Interpreter's House, Hardship Hill, and Vanity Fair. Bunyan uses different metaphors to represent some of the main points of Christian allegory. The Interpreter's House is one of the first stops on his journey. Christian begins his quest for salvation after reading the Bible and is continually encouraged by the evangelist, who sends Christian to the Interpreter's House. The interpreter's goal is to “show [the Christian] what will benefit him” (Bunyan 64). The interpreter's house contains several parts: the painting on the wall, the dust room and the room with the fire on the wall. The first room Christian enters contains the painting on the wall. This image depicts a man with "eyes lifted to heaven, the best of books in his hand, and the law of truth written on his lips", meaning that this is a man seeking salvation , holds the Bible and talks about God's love (Bunyan 64). Man leaves the world behind and despises all the immoral things of the world, because “he is sure that in the world to come he will have glory for his reward” (Bunyan 65). The interpreter shows this image first, because it accurately represents all the successful pilgrims. The only pilgrims who will complete their journey are those who live like the man in the picture, and the rest will die as "their path descends toward death" (Bunyan 65). It is important that Christian seesthis initially to know what is expected of him to reach the Celestial City. Bunyan believes this should be true of all who seek salvation: Christians should leave behind the imperfections of the world and strive for the glory of eternal life. The interpreter then leads Christian into the dust room. This room has never been cleaned and is, as the name suggests, full of dust. A man is called to sweep this room, but when the dust is swept away, it completely fills the air and "Christian was almost suffocated" by all the dust that was simply moved (Bunyan 66). A woman is then called into the room to sprinkle the water, and then the dust can be easily swept away. The interpreter says that “the parlor is the heart of a man that was never sanctified by the sweet grace of the gospel” and that “dust is the original sin” (Bunyan 66). The show shows how sin can accumulate in the hearts of those who do not seek God to purify their souls. The interpreter says that to sweep is to do what is right because of the law, to sweep with extra water is to do what is right with the help of God's grace. “The law revives, strengthens, and increases [sin] in the soul, even though it discovers and forbids it,” meaning that even though the purpose of the law is to help, it cannot do that. what God can do. At the time this novel was written, the British monarchy had nationalized religion and the Anglican Church, and Bunyan was writing from his prison cell because he practiced another branch of Christianity. He felt that he had been wronged because he had been punished for practicing his form of salvation. Bunyan believed that the law cannot cleanse someone from sin, because only God and baptism can cleanse sin, and he illustrates this belief in The Parlor of Dust. Another room in the Interpreter's House is the Room with the Fire on the Wall. As Christian and the interpreter enter the room, they see a man pouring water on a fire that springs from the side of the wall; however, this fire continues to grow despite man's efforts. As Christian looks further into the room, he sees that the reason the fire continues to burn higher and hotter is because Jesus Christ is on the other side of the wall, secretly adding fuel to the fire. The interpreter says: “the fire is the work of grace in the heart; that he who throws water on it to quench and quench it is the devil,” but Jesus is on the other side, continuing the fire and defeating the devil (Bunyan 72). This shows Bunyan's belief that the devil cannot quench the work of God in the heart, despite his best efforts. The Interpreter's House is important in Bunyan's Christian allegory because it taught the Christian “how Christ, despite Satan, maintains his work of grace in the heart; how man himself had sinned in hope of God's mercy; and also the dream of him who thought in his sleep that the day of judgment had come” (Bunyan 104). This is a lesson that Bunyan believes all Christians must learn in order to properly embark on the Narrow Path. Another Bunyan metaphor is the Hill of Difficulty. This hill represents the quest to find the tools necessary for salvation. Christians and faithful meet on the Hill of Difficulty, showing that it is inevitable for all pilgrims. Faithful finds his virtue of faithfulness through encounters with figures such as Adam the First and Moses, whom we will discuss later. Christian encounters temptation from the path itself and the arbor, but then receives the armor of God when he reaches the beautiful palace. The metaphor begins at the foot of the hill, where Christian's temptation tonatural landscape. When Christian first arrives at the foot of the hill, he sees three paths: the narrow path, the left path, and the right path. “The narrow path extended to the top of the hill,” while the other two paths skirted the steep and dangerous hill (Bunyan 91). Even though the other two options would be easier, Christian chose the difficult path the evangelist had pointed him toward. Later, Christian learns that the other two paths were called Danger and Destruction. The difficulty of the Narrow Path is Bunyan's way of showing the difficulty of living a true Christian life. He thinks other methods may seem easier at first glance; however, one cannot attain eternal life (allegorically the Heavenly City) by any other path. Pious Christians must be able to withstand the difficulties of their pilgrimage to reach heaven, as demonstrated by the narrow path that requires Christians to climb the Hill of Difficulties. Christian finds an establishment while he is at the top of the Hill of Difficulties: Le Beau Palais. The Beautiful Palace is placed at the top of the Hill of Difficulty, to reward pilgrims who have endured the steep climb. In this Palace, Christian learns that God will provide for the needs of his disciples who are faithful to him and that he will help them on their journey towards salvation. The master of the house "is a lover of poor pilgrims" and he is happy to transform "the beggars [into] princes, although they are born beggars", but Christian must first be questioned to find out if he is worthy of taking a respite in the palace (Bunyan 111). The three princesses of the palace are called Piety, Prudence and Charity; accordingly, they ask Christian questions to test his mastery of each of these values. Piété asks Christian what made him want to become a pilgrim and what he saw during his journey. Despite the various horrors and tribulations that Christian has faced, he continues his journey because of his sole love for God and his desire for salvation, which shows that he is godly. Prudence then resumes the investigation and asks Christian if he prefers his difficult life as a pilgrim or his easier life when he lived in the City of Destruction. Although Christian realizes that his life was more peaceful in the City of Destruction, he also sees that the city will not serve him well when Judgment Day comes. This shows his caution. Christian's wisdom and prudence are illustrated in his desire to attain eternal life and in his decision to choose the more difficult life in order to please God. The questioning then shifts to Charity, who asks what happened to Christian's wife and children when he left the city of destruction, leaving them behind. Christian said he did what he could to convert his family, but they did not want to give up their material lives. Christian shows charity because he tries to help his family at no cost to his own, which shows that he is selfless. Christian's answers to these different questions prove that he has the important qualities that will allow him to rest in the Beau Palais. Bunyan uses the Palace to teach that God will help everyone achieve eternal life if they are pious, prudent, and charitable, thus proving that they are worthy of entering the kingdom of heaven. Another metaphorical setting Bunyan uses is Vanity Fair. It is called Vanity Fair because it takes place in the “city where things are lighter than vanity, and also because everything that is sold there… is only vanity” (Bunyan 167). This fair has a history that begins in the time of Jesus. The leaders of the fair are Beelzebub, Apollyon and Legion, who are