John Bunyan’s Pilgrime's Progress Essay

In Virtuous Minds, Phillip Dow helps the reader understand what it means to love God with all of their minds. Dow does this by giving the reader a list of seven intellectual virtues, which can be performed in good or bad ways. Some may choose the path of cheating, arrogance, laziness, or cowardice, but Dow hopes this book will provide an option for recovering intellectual character. He splits the book into three separate parts, part one defines the seven intellectual virtues, while part two presents the awards that will come with these virtues, and finally part three provides the reader with a series of steps to reach this character.

During childhood we begin to learn the meaning of integrity. Having patiently awaited Jesus? appearance for what must have seemed an interminable amount of time, the pressure on Hughes to get up and go to the altar must have been ponderous. Finally, when Jesus failed to make an appearance that evening Hughes had a choice of continuing to wait or rising and satisfying the expectations of the congregation. In making his decision to approach the altar, Hughes is fearful, as most children are when disobeying the ?rules?. Hughes? reticence in coming forward probably reflects his type of up bringing, and he watches his friend to see what punishment God will mete out and bases his decision on the fact that nothing appears to happen. In embracing his friend Westley?s deception, in being saved without seeing Jesus, and because of his own up bringing, Hughes had to acknowledge his own dishonesty.

The paths taken in each person’s lifetime can associate with any factor or situation that one may come across. For example, one could come across a path that stands for tradition and the effect of traditional beliefs on a society like the one represented in “Dead Man’s Path.” Another example could be a path that stands for the power of love and the effect of unselfishness that makes one continue with life like the one represented in “A Worn Path.” An additional example could be a path that stands for overcoming doubts of beliefs as these may uphold or tear one apart like the path represented in “Young Goodman Brown.” No path is easier than another and they all hold a spectacular significance in each person’s life. Therefore, in this independent

“One may say that pilgrimages are just as much about the journey as they are about the destination.” (Higl) Pilgrimages are very important to religions around the world. They are important for people when they are working on a deeper faith, and these pilgrimages are to places of great importance. It is important to note that people do not only learn when they are at their destination, but also on the trip to those destinations. “The Canterbury Tales”, Chaucer’s unfinished work, was a group of stories about a group on pilgrimage, but the stories did not take place at the destination. These were stories told on the way to Canterbury. They were also very satiric stories. They showed great hypocrisy, and immorality. The stories seemed to have

John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress is an allegorical story about the Christian religion. It allegorizes the journey of a Christian into "the Celestial City, which represents heaven. Although Pilgrim's Progress may seem simple and straightforward, there are many deeper meanings throughout the whole story. Bunyan uses the names of his characters to signify whom the character represents in the story, for example, the character Hopeful represents hopefulness, Help represents people who are willing to help others in need of assistance, Faithful represents people who are faithful to whatever they are associated with, and the main character, Christian, represents all young

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, written by Annie Dillard, is a novel based on the writers

With this pride, he will never truly be a part of the Christian group, and will always be detached from his faith. Lewis uses this as an example of how pride can corrupt even the purest intentions. The patient lets his intellect

Whither, then, could these holy men be journeying, so deep into the heathen wilderness? Young Goodman Brown caught hold of a tree, for support, being ready to sink down on the ground, faint and overburthened with the heavy sickness of his heart. He looked up to the sky, doubting whether there really

In response to Desperate Passage: The Untold Story of the Mayflower, it was clear that what was experienced vs what we read and hear about in today’s literature is two completely different stories. Never will we know the torture experienced by our ancestors that ultimately questioned their faith and courage. The grueling adventure is documented in detail by William Bradford but to the sailors, woman and children on board, the experience was far more miserable than anything put on paper.

The people besides Christian and a handful of others he meets such as Faithful and Hopeful are all quite worldly, and seek to focus on themselves and their fleshly desires. Christian is tempted multiple times to stray away from the path he was told to follow. Only once did he stray, because Mr. Worldly Wiseman told him that there was an easier way to remove his burden. This would have led to his death had Evangelist not turned him around. He also manages to overcome temptation by staying on the path as well as remembering scripture and trusting in the Lord. Throughout the temptations, Christian overcomes with the help of God.

In 1676, Bunyan went back to prison for not attending the parish. During his year in prison Bunyan continued writing The Pilgrim’s Progress. Six years after he was released from prison, he published The Pilgrim’s Progress. This book is about someone named Christian who is going to the Celestial City. There are many obstacles in his way. These obstacles were similar to the landscape where he lived. The other characters were also reflections of real people.

One stormy night a man finds a cave in which he can rest. This man closes his eyes and dreams of a man named Christian. Christian is greatly distressed and carries with him a heavy burden on his back. Wanting to escape these burdens he carries on his back, Christian learns that the city he lives in will soon be destroyed by the fire from heaven. The author states through Christian, “...I have received information that the city in which we live will be burned with fire from Heaven.” (Bunyan, 19-20) Christian tries to convince his family of this, but they do not believe him, instead they laugh. That is when Christian meets a man named Evangelist, who points him in the direction of a narrow gate. He is told that when he reaches this gate he will

The author of The Pilgrim's Progress is well described by Coleridge's remark: "His piety was baffled by his genius; and Bunyan the dreamer overcame the Bunyan of the conventicle." This remark points out the difficulty that Bunyan faces when he attempts to write a religious piece of work in the style of allegory. The Pilgrim's Progress is "pious" because it is a piece written in dedication to God. It contains important religious teachings -- what a good Christian should do and what he should not do. What Coleridge means by Bunyan's "genius" is basically the story itself. The story is so well written that people become so interested in the story and forget the whole spiritual truth behind and this worry Bunyan.

The Christian dwells on all the good things that are possible to enjoy, and remains looking the finest things in the world . Many Christians experiences God by using their senses and feelings with the only purpose of obtaining His blessing. Some others go to church to divert themselves by the social gathering of believers, or to hear the noisy praises of the Christians groups in order to feel good and happy. However, what they do not know is that, “Vanity Fair” has trapped them. They are involved in youth gatherings, social prayer meetings, youth volleyball on Friday nights, and attending to a vast variety of Churches every Sunday morning. All these are distraction diverted Christians, so they could stop thinking about their own circumstance.

In the poems “The Wanderer” and “The Dream of the Rood,” anonymous authors give way to the idea that an Almighty God will solve every problem a person has by doing two things: 1) drawing upon the memories of a warrior who has lost everything near and dear to him due to war, and 2) entering the dream of a man who has been exiled and isolated. Each piece takes its reader through the trials and tribulations that one may not relate to in this era, yet the reader is still there alongside the character wanting them to find peace with their world and themselves. Initially, it is believed that the characters will overcome their hardships and achieve the happiness they seek. However, as the reader delves deeper into the character’s story, there is an overwhelming sense of incompleteness. What actually happens at the end of each piece is not written in stone - telling us the story is not whole - nor has a conclusion been reached. The intrapersonal thoughts being shared with the reader reveal the obstacles that keep an overall wholeness from occurring.