Pilgrim's Progress

The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, 303 pages

 

John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress while in prison for religious non-conformity in the late 17th century, and it quickly acquired the status of a classic.  The book is the allegorical tale of Christian, who leaves his home in Destruction to seek the Celestial City of his Lord and Savior.  Along the way he faces obstacles such as the Slough of Despond and the Valley of Humility, encounters friends such as Patience and Faithful and not-friends like Talkative and Pliable, and moves - or is pulled - onward until he reaches his goal.  Then Part II begins, as his wife and children follow him across the same allegorical landscape.

 

Many of Bunyan's creations are vivid manifestations of spiritual truths, which is why some of them - Vanity Fair, the Giant Doubt - have become cultural touchstones.  The actual narrative, on the other hand, is awful.  The title implies an actual progression, but, in part due to the nature of allegory and in part due to the author's theological positions, there is no character development and therefore no real progress.  Most of the vignettes could be swapped out with others happening earlier or later without difficulty - there's no real reason why Christian couldn't fight Doubt when he fights Apollyon and vice versa, or why the Slough of Despond couldn't be swapped with the Enchanted Land.  The problem becomes worse in the sequel, which repeats much of the original, adds little of value, and lacks even the slightest sense of danger or drama.

 

A book better read for cultural literacy than for pleasure.