The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

First published: part 1, 1678; part 2, 1684

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Allegory

Time of plot: Any time since Christ

Locale: Unnamed

Principal Characters

• Christian,
• Faithful,
• Hopeful,
• Mr. Worldly Wiseman,
• Evangelist,
• Despair,
• Ignorance,
• Apollyon, a giant devil

The Story

John Bunyan lays down in a den to sleep. In his sleep, he dreams that he sees a man, named Christian, standing in a field and crying out in pain and sorrow because he and his whole family, as well as the town in which they live, are to be destroyed. Christian knows of this catastrophe because he had read about it in the book—the Bible—that he holds in his hands.

Evangelist, the preacher of Christianity, soon comes up to Christian and presents him with a roll of paper on which it is written that he should flee from the wrath of God and make his way from the City of Destruction to the City of Zion. Running home with this hope of salvation, Christian tries to get his neighbors and family to go away with him, but they do not listen and think he is either sick or mad. Finally, he shuts his ears to his family’s entreaties to stay with them and runs off toward the light in the distance. Under the light, he knows he will find the wicket gate that opens into Heaven.

On his way, Christian meets Pliant and Obstinate; Christian is so distracted by them that he falls in a bog called the Slough of Despond. He cannot get out because of the bundle of sins on his back. Finally, Help comes along and helps Christian out of the sticky mire. Going on his way, he soon falls in with Mr. Worldly Wiseman, who tries to convince Christian that he could lead a happier life if he gives up his trip toward the light and settles down to the comforts of a burdenless town life. Fearing that Christian is about to be led astray, Evangelist comes up to the two men and quickly shows the errors in Mr. Worldly Wiseman’s arguments.

Soon, Christian arrives at a closed gate where he meets Good-Will, who tells him that if he knocks, the gate will be opened to him. Christian does so. He is invited into the gatekeeper’s house by the Interpreter and learns from him the meaning of many of the Christian mysteries. He is shown pictures of Christ and Passion and Patience; Despair in a cage of iron bars; and a vision of the Day of Judgment, when evil people will be sent to the bottomless pit and good people will be carried up to Heaven. Christian is filled with both hope and fear after having seen these things. Continuing on his journey, he comes to the Holy Cross and the Sepulchre of Christ. There his burden of sins falls off, and he is able to take to the road with renewed vigor.

Soon he meets Sloth, Simple, Presumption, Formalism, and Hypocrisy, but he keeps to his way and they keep to theirs. Later, Christian lies down to sleep for a while. When he continues on again, he forgets to pick up the roll of paper Evangelist had given him. Remembering it later, he runs back to find it. Running to make up the time lost, he suddenly finds himself confronted by two lions. He is afraid to pass by them until the porter of the house by the side of the road tells him that the lions are chained and that he has nothing to fear. The porter then asks Christian to come into the house. There he is well treated and shown some of the relics of biblical antiquity by four virgins: Discretion, Prudence, Piety, and Charity. They give him good advice and send him on his journey, armed with the sword and shield of Christian faith.

In the Valley of Humiliation, Christian is forced to fight the giant devil, Apollyon, whose body is covered with the shiny scales of pride. Christian is wounded in this battle, but after he has chased away the devil, he heals his wounds with leaves from the Tree of Life that grew nearby. After the Valley of Humiliation comes the Valley of the Shadow of Death, in which Christian has to pass one of the gates to Hell. To save himself from the devils who issue out of the terrible hole, he recites some of the verses from the Psalms.

After passing through this danger, he has to go by the caves of the old giants, Pope and Pagan; when he has done so, he catches up with a fellow traveler, Faithful. As the two companions go along, they meet Evangelist, who warns them of the dangers in the town of Vanity Fair.

Vanity Fair is a town of ancient foundation that, since the beginning of time, has tried to lure travelers away from the path to Heaven. Here all the vanities of the world are sold, and the people who dwell there are cruel and stupid and have no love for travelers such as Christian and Faithful. After having learned these things, the two companions promise to be careful and continue into the town. There they are arrested and tried because they would buy none of the town’s goods. Faithful is sentenced to be burned alive, and Christian is put in prison. When Faithful dies in the fire, a chariot comes down from Heaven and takes him up to God. Christian escapes from the prison. Accompanied by a young man named Hopeful, who had been impressed by Faithful’s reward, he sets off once more.

They pass through the Valley of Ease, where they are tempted to dig in a silver mine free to all. As they leave the valley, they see the pillar of salt that had once been Lot’s wife. They become lost and are captured by a giant, Despair, who lives in Doubting Castle; there they are locked in the vaults beneath the castle walls and lie there until Christian remembers he has a key called Promise in his pocket; with this, they escape from the prison.

They meet the four shepherds—Knowledge, Experience, Watchful, and Sincere—who show them the Celestial Gate and warn them of the paths to Hell. Then the two pilgrims pass by the Valley of Conceit, where they are met by Ignorance and others who had not kept to the straight-and-narrow path. They pass on to the country of Beulah. Far off, they see the gates of the city of Heaven glistening with pearls and precious stones. Thinking that all their troubles are behind them, they lie down to rest.

When they go toward the city, they come to the River of Death. They enter the river and begin to wade through the water. Soon, Christian becomes afraid, and the more afraid he gets, the deeper the waters roll. Hopeful shouts to him to have hope and faith. Cheered by these words, Christian gains confidence, the water becomes less deep, and finally, with Hopeful, crosses the river safely. They run up the hill toward Heaven, and shining angels lead them through the gates.

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