Evans Shannon Evans 09/21/12 English 318: 18th Century Fiction Short Paper

"Wouldest Thou See a Truth Within a Fable?" Dissociating the Word of God from the Ideas of Men Pilgrim's Progress

When one finishes the journey that is John Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress, they are warned to be wary of misinterpretation (Bunyan 359). The story that is up for discussion is relatively short and concise yet its parables have natural depth that comes from another text all its own. Readers may even require some prior knowledge to selective biblical passages in order to understand the stories that Bunyan has chosen to weave his own beliefs in and out off. The word selective is key here because many of the passages and lessons are not too controversial for most Christians. Where the trouble lies is in the allegorical nature of Pilgrim's Progress and its protagonist, Christian's, individual actions. These are the topics in question because they have the potential to make the books audience feel unstable while judging the reliability of both Bunyan and the narrator. Bunyan's audience was primarily contrived of people who held similar beliefs. Many of these people will blindly follow the author's strategic method of intertwining the biblical with the not without too much questioning, but inevitably others will inquire; causing an important conflict. Like many other texts, this book does not possess a universal validity. It is up for questioning. A few of the instances are up for inquiry because instead of being extracted directly from The Bible they are taken from the ideas and interpretations of Bunyan and his Reformed Baptist faith (Christians solitude, Biblical literalism). It is ironic that Bunyan chooses an allegorical style to write about lessons he takes very realistically. He gives himself the power

to tell a biblical- based tale such as this but with that action comes readers reservations. It makes Christians consider, should a Man have the authority to make parables as Jesus did? Some will easily trust Bunyan but investigative readers will see that often he is his own interpreter. In order to fully dissect the tale, Bunyan's integrity and reliability should be questioned. Ultimately he is not only giving you the words and lessons of the bible but also his own ideas on how these should be lived and conducted by all Christians. When he precautions the reader of misinterpretation he is not only warning one against wrong perceptions of the parables; he is also hoping one will take his own interpretations without too much variation, as Christian did with the Interpreter (90). There are also some additional hardships with this story since it is an allegory. Real life is nothing like Christian's journey, surely there are lessons to be learned and applied to the real world but Bunyan's famous quote "This book will make a traveler of thee"(19) does not exactly resonate in a tangible existence. He attempts to cross the barrier between the fictitious and realistic in terms of lessons but Christian's world is one dimensional, black and white; based on concrete virtues. It is hard to see his characters and settings in this manner and transcend them to our own complicated existences. One may be able to see parallels between the two but without a sense of realism one cannot act in the exact same manner as Christian, Faithful and Hopeful. The combination of all these things make Pilgrim's Progress a very interesting yet evasive text. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). When one believes their understanding of their religion is God-given it is hard to accept that there are others who can read the same words and feel differently about their meanings. It seems that since John Bunyan takes the position as his own interpreter that he is under this effect. He insinuates that to question his writings too thoroughly can quickly become ungodly (359). Bunyan conducted much of his preaching freely during the commonwealth era

Evans but was soon subjected to political ridicule when Charles the Second took the throne. He was famously incarcerated while writing Pilgrim's Progress which was published in 1678. It appears that Bunyan partially wrote it as a precautionary tale for people to remember to live life according to the bible and ward off the new figurative interpretations that were beginning to present themselves with the emergence of Anglican and Catholic religions. Historically his fears were not unwarranted, as the reign of James the Second (who was openly Catholic) was on the horizon. The story mixes influences of both the bible and Bunyan's Baptist opinion in a way that is gives an illusory confidence that he is a truthful storyteller but followers from other Christian sects might see some aspects of the narrative that are not universal ideas. One that is quite noticeable is the individualistic characteristics of the main character Christian. Pilgrim's Progress is the story of a sole man's pilgrimage; it is not the enlightening of many but rather one man's salvation. Christian takes it upon himself to abruptly leave his family for the goal of releasing his burden (22). and making it to the Celestial City (what can be equated to as Heaven). When Christian and Hopeful see the pillar that has "Remember Lot's Wife" (239). inscribed on it he is reminded not to look back at his previous life. Christian also moves on without Pliable with a no questions asked mantra "So he went away and Christian saw him no more" (34). Christian also tries to lecture characters like Hypocrisy and Ignorance but when he sees they will not change when he shares his opinion he gives up and calls them fools (272). Christian is steadfast in his determination to get to the Celestial City but it seems he feels that everyone else should take it upon themselves to make it their own prerogative. In this allegory Christian is supposed to represent a good model for real world Christians to follow. This detail is a very subtle yet a very important one to other Christians reading this text; it is hard to truly believe this is what God would have wanted one to do. In the New Testament Jesus says Thou

shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Mark 12:31) this command seems pretty self-explanatory. If Christian cares so much about his own salvation shouldnt he care more about the deliverance of others? In many different religions (that were not part of the protestant reformation) this ideology was not acknowledged or widely believed. Notably many Catholic churches put a high emphasis on trying to help others reach heaven and an abundance of parishes still teach this idea today. Therefore when followers of other religions read this book they might just notice that Christian, though admirable in many of his endeavors, is not entirely a suitable example. As said in the book of John Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends (15:13). It is clear that Christian does not recognize or uphold this greater love that many others consider pivotal, and through this one sees holes in Bunyans story; he considers some scriptures more important and more valid than others. The Bible is not a facile read, nor is it simply interpreted. When it comes to understanding the complexities of The Bible readers have many variances in opinion. Two of the main conceptions are that the readings can be interpreted either literally or figuratively. Many Christians have taken one side or the other in this ongoing debate. In Pilgrims Progress it seems as though Bunyan is more accustomed to the literal approach (which is ironic since it is a fictional allegory). The concept of Biblical Literalism became very popular after the Protestant Reformation because some Protestants saw The Bible as a higher authority than the officials that help to dictate biblical meaning in other religions (Tomkins). An example of Bunyan showing his alignment with what has come to be known as Biblical Literalism is displayed throughout the novel in Christians ongoing struggle and journey through hardships. When hearing this quote And I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24) one could reasonably assume that

Evans this quote would resonate with Bunyan who believed in Christians living a life of hardships and suffering; he probably would have taken this quote very literally and looked happily upon the purposefully impoverished. If it were today Bunyan might favor groups like the Amish and the Mennonites who live without worldly technology for religious purposes. Bunyans thoughts are a commendable interpretation but other religious groups have divergent readings of the same quote. Sticking with the literal versus figurative debate, the literal reading might pick out ideas or concepts from the scripture such as one should avoid materialism, ward of selfishness/narcissism and focus on helping others. Figurative readers might also differ on the view that Christians should live a life of suffering. In the Bible it says Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have (Hebrews 13:5) figurative readers could use this quote to defend why they dont believe in causal suffering. This passage says to do not covet others goods but it also makes a point to say be content with what you have. Content is the major word to focus on in this defense. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word Content as satisfied, and many more believe it to be defined as feelings of happiness. Should Christians be content and appreciate what they have? Or should they purposefully try to create adversity to show their commitment? Many different things can come out of the same scriptures but Bunyan writes with his own ideas in mind, which gives him the role of The Interpreter (64). Many up and coming Catholics believed in reading the bible more figuratively. Having authoritarian figures like the Pope, Vatican and priests may have had to do with this. Bunyan feared Catholicism so he made a book that could have appeal to both the literal readers as well as the figurative (enticing the figurative readers could have been a motive for making his story an unrealistic allegory but still be very literal in terms of morality). Thus making his story

with inevitable biases (even if this bias was unbeknownst to himself) had an unfortunate effect. His work could never be as reliable as the original scriptures. If ones stance is very similar to Bunyan than this book would probably be a very enriching experience and maybe he could make a traveler of thee (19), but if not tread carefully! Listen to Bunyans words about his own tale seriously Take heed of misinterpreting; for that, instead of doing good, will but thyself abuse: By misinterpreting, evil ensues (359). Bunyan warns against straying too far from thinking about things other than the way he wrote them. He has his own beliefs in mind, but if the reader knows this book is not completely reliable they might be able to take Bunyans own words and see the suspiciousness in them. That way they can learn how to not be blind sheep that unabashedly follow. Instead they could have just the kind of misinterpretation that Bunyan warranted against (thinking figuratively instead of literally, or having knowledge of different scriptures that he does not deem necessarily important), but the final irony is that to others this misinterpretation could be commendable and beneficial; it really all just depends on who the reader is and what they think.

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Evans Citations Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim's Progress. Madison WI: Cricket House, 2012. E-book "Content." Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 2012. Merriam-Webster. Web. 25 Sept.2012. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/content>.

King James Bible. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible, 1973. Tomkins, Stephen. "How Biblical Literalism Took Root." The Guardian. N.p., 21 Feb.2011.Web.<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/feb/21/bib lical-literalism-bible-christians>.