The Pilgrim's Progress

Jason Groth

Mrs. Wilson

English IV B

8^th May 2013

Neoclassical Period

John Bunyan uses irony, symbolism, imagery and allegory to tell a story that proves what King Charles II is doing is wrong. After King Charles I, Olive Cromwell who was not heir to the throne put his country in solitude confinement by getting rid of anything that he seemed unnatural. He got rid of theatre. When Cromwell died, King Charles II came to take back his broken country and brought back the beloved theatre, but added his taste of prostitutes, gambling and anything that society thought was inappropriate. Bunyan disliked this new addition and began to preach. After these new rules were added about not preaching without a license he was arrested.

            During Bunyan’s arrest, he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress that might have been about his own life experience. In this excerpt, we meet the character Christian that might have been Bunyan himself and Faithful as one of his followers. When the two characters were “…walking to the Celestial City, as these two honest persons are; and Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion…” (Bunyan 421) one might think that Beelzebub could represent King Charles II. We can assume this because “all such merchandise sold, as houses, lands, trades, places […] pleasures, and delights of all sorts, as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children…” (Bunyan 421) can all follow under King Charles II with his new addition to theatre.

            Bunyan goes on about Christian and Faithful being different by their “…clothed with such kind of raiment […] likewise at their speech […] cared not so much as to look upon them…” (Bunyan 421). Then they are jailed for doing so. In Bunyan’s life he was jailed for preaching without a license which was a big no by Charles II. This imprisonment that he took part of, allowed him to create the story to fit his background. “[O]utlandish-men” (Bunyan 422) could mean that he, Bunyan is different than the average person because he enjoys the preaching to individuals that the King took away from him.

            The use of irony is mostly seen during the examination of Faithful. When they begin to talk about what they should do with Faithful, Mr. Blind-man says, “I see clearly that this man is heretic” (Bunyan 422). Mr. Blind-man is basically saying that he can see Faithful and that he is heretic. Then when we swing to Mr. Cruelty he says that a hanging isn’t severe enough, even though a hanging to most people is considered just as cruel.

            We also experience the allegory that is present throughout the entire piece. It could Celestial City as Bunyan’s goal to have finally finished Pilgrim’s Progress. Faithful and Hopeful could be symbols for Bunyan’s followers as he preached to them in secret. Beelzebub, as mentioned before as King Charles II when he began his rule with new laws that got rid of most religion and adding in gambling and prostitutes and is seen in the town of Vanity. Bunyan is very smart for disguising his story through allegory and creating symbols that everyone during his time and even today understands.

            When Faithful is being tried by the jury, he is quickly sentenced to death. During this painful scene “…they scourged him, then they buffeted him, then they lanced his flesh with knives; after that they stoned him with stones, then pricked him with their swords; and last of all they burned him to ashes at the stake” (Bunyan 423). With this imagery we can feel the pain and suffering Bunyan has put into the death of Faithful.

            As Christian has escaped the prison he was help at, Bunyan uses more imagery to describe Celestial City. “…the City shone like the sun, the streets also were paved with gold…” (Bunyan 423). This use of imagery helps define what the character is seeing and is helping the reader understand even more that Celestial City could be a city made out of gold.

            The theme of good and evil also play a huge role in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. When both Christian and Faithful refuse to partake in the “fun of the fair”, the evil and envious men Beelzebub, Apollyon and Legion seize and take them away. There are also the evil acts of cruel punishment that Mr. Cruelty says is not severe enough. It is disgusting to think that these evil acts had an impact on society as a whole to scare people to not steal food or pickpocketing. Theme of good allows people to have hope and joy that one day they will experience the good inside of them. As Christian headed to Celestial City, he was accepted as good individual by God to come forth and present himself in front of the gates.

            John Bunyan has allowed the use of irony, symbolism, allegory and imagery to help individuals understand the wrong doing of King Charles II as it relates to the factual history and life of Bunyan. The text evidence that help support that this story is about a portion of Bunyan’s life helps the reader fully understand the era of the Neoclassical Period as it follows the rule of King Charles II.

Work Cited

"A Commentary on John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress"" By The Revd. Eric Little. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2013.

"Types of Punishment - Hanging - Victorian Crime and Punishment from E2BN." Types of Punishment - Hanging - Victorian Crime and Punishment from E2BN. East of England Broadband Network, 2006. Web. 08 May 2013.