
The Pilgrim's Progress
by John Bunyan
'The Pilgrim's Progress' Summary
The entire book is presented as a dream sequence narrated by an omniscient narrator. The allegory's protagonist, Christian, is an everyman character, and the plot centres on his journey from his hometown, the "City of Destruction" ("this world"), to the "Celestial City" ("that which is to come": Heaven) atop Mount Zion. Christian is weighed down by a great burden—the knowledge of his sin—which he believed came from his reading "the book in his hand" (the Bible). This burden, which would cause him to sink into Hell, is so unbearable that Christian must seek deliverance. He meets Evangelist as he is walking out in the fields, who directs him to the "Wicket Gate" for deliverance. Since Christian cannot see the "Wicket Gate" in the distance, Evangelist directs him to go to a "shining light," which Christian thinks he sees. Christian leaves his home, his wife, and children to save himself: he cannot persuade them to accompany him. Obstinate and Pliable go after Christian to bring him back, but Christian refuses. Obstinate returns disgusted, but Pliable is persuaded to go with Christian, hoping to take advantage of the Paradise that Christian claims lies at the end of his journey. Pliable's journey with Christian is cut short when the two of them fall into the Slough of Despond, a boggy mire-like swamp where pilgrims' doubts, fears, temptations, lusts, shames, guilts, and sins of their present condition of being a sinner are used to sink them into the mud of the swamp. It is there in that bog where Pliable abandons Christian after getting himself out. After struggling to the other side of the slough, Christian is pulled out by Help, who has heard his cries and tells him the swamp is made out of the decadence, scum, and filth of sin, but the ground is good at the narrow Wicket Gate.
Book Details
Authors

John Bunyan
England
John Bunyan was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress. In addition to The Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan wrote nearly sixty...
Books by John BunyanDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books

금수회의록 (Geum-su-Hue-I-Lok) Assembly of Animals by Guk-seon Ahn
Assembly of Animals is a groundbreaking work of Korean literature, notable as the first modern novel in the language. Published in 1908, the book empl...

Aesop's Fables, Volume 07 (Fables 151-175) by Aesop
Dating back to the 6th century BC, Aesop's Fables tell universal truths through the use of simple allegories that are easily understood. Though almost...

Fables of La Fontaine by Jean de La Fontaine
This collection of fables by Jean de La Fontaine, a celebrated French author, presents a diverse range of stories featuring animals as the central cha...

Confidence-Man: His Masquerade by Herman Melville
The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade is a complex and unsettling novel that explores the nature of human nature, the elusiveness of truth, and the corro...

Fables de La Fontaine, livre 06 by Jean de La Fontaine
Dans ce livre sixième comme dans tous les autres livres des Fables de La Fontaine, vous serez à même de constater la fine observation des éternels com...

Fables de La Fontaine, livre 10 by Jean de La Fontaine
Toujours observateur des comportements humains, Jean de La Fontaine ne cesse de les mettre en scène dans ces 16 fables, tantôt en invitant le genre an...

Aesop's Fables, Volume 02 (Fables 26-50) by Aesop
Dating back to the 6th century BC, Aesop's Fables tell universal truths through the use of simple allegories that are easily understood. Though almost...

Mosses From An Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Mosses from an Old Manse is a collection of short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1846. The collection includes several previously...

Aesop's Fables, Volume 05 (Fables 101-125) by Aesop
Dating back to the 6th century BC, Aesop's Fables tell universal truths through the use of simple allegories that are easily understood. Though almost...

When God Laughs, and Other Stories by Jack London
'When God Laughs, and Other Stories' is a collection of short stories by Jack London that explore a wide range of topics, including his love of boxing...
Reviews for The Pilgrim's Progress
No reviews posted or approved, yet...