Pilgrim's Progress

Author: Gao Manman
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Over two hundred years ago, a poor white ironmonger named John Bunyan was sent to Bedford prison because he considered it his duty to preach to his friends and neighbors. He encouraged people to do good, love God, and avoid evil, but as a Baptist, he refused to attend church. Therefore, he was sent to prison by ministers who believed only they had the right to preach to people. In prison, he wrote a small book titled The Pilgrim's Progress. Since then, this book has been widely read and praised worldwide, becoming the most widely published book in the world after the Bible. Bunyan's experiences of the various adventures of the pilgrim are allegorical figures representing ordinary people, and his pilgrimage journey is the story of everyone. One day, he realized that living only to please himself inevitably leads to death. Thus, the pilgrim embarked on a journey to the Holy City with the desire to improve himself. It is interesting that Bunyan used the metaphor of a journey to tell the story, as this reflected his own life as a wandering tinker and possibly because he lived in an era when maps were being drawn, and great pioneers were discovering new continents. This journey was not simply a travel from one place to another but represented a process of enlightenment, the spiritual growth of the male protagonist, a Christian. Part of the story tells the story of a Christian, his difficult journey to the Holy City, and his process of being saved; the second part tells the story of his wife and family who followed him to the Holy City. In both parts, readers can see how the characters learn and grow from the hardships of the journey. The names of the people and places in the book are all symbolic.