Asap
pilgrim’s progress

by john bunyan

summary of part i

christian, who lives in the city of destruction, foresees that the city will be destroyed by god for its sinfulness. a man named evangelist advises christian to flee and make his way to the celestial city—that is, heaven. christian sets off, carrying a heavy burden of past sins on his back, and a series of trials and adventures begins. he falls into a bog called the slough of despond—the bog of despair. after nearly drowning because of his burden, christian meets worldly wiseman, who lives a merry life without religion and tries to convince christian to do the same. turning down this bad advice, christian moves on and is sheltered and counseled by characters named goodwill and the interpreter.

the interpreter sends christian on his way to the wall of salvation. there, christian sees the cross of jesus christ, and his burden of sin is lifted from him. three angelic beings called the shining ones appear and give christian a scroll of the bible, which will be his ticket into the celestial city, but christian falls asleep and loses it.

christian now realizes that he needs to stay wakeful in order to reach salvation. he finds the scroll again, and proceeds to the palace beautiful, where he is fed and rested. thus prepared, he continues onward, fighting off a monster named apollyon, who is a form of satan and who tries unsuccessfully to tempt christian away from god. an even more difficult trial comes up next: christian must walk through the valley of the shadow of death, past the doorway to hell, tormented by demons all the way.

escaping with his life and faith intact, christian meets faithful, another seeker. the two friends, who had been neighbors in the city of destruction, travel onward to vanity fair, a magnificent fair established by satan, where all sorts of tempting luxury items are sold. after refusing to give in to the temptation of worldly possessions, christian and faithful are imprisoned by the residents of vanity fair, and faithful is burned at the stake.

christian escapes from prison and continues his journey. he meets hopeful, who has recently converted to christianity after witnessing the courage with which faithful faced death. as the pilgrims continue, they are tempted by a series of characters who try to convince them that religion and the pursuit of wealth can be combined.

passing through the plain of ease, the pair rest for the night at doubting castle, where the owner, the giant despair, imprisons and tortures them. escape is once again possible, however, for the pilgrims have the key, promise, which opens all doors in the realm of despair.

christian and hopeful are nearing the celestial city. at the delectable mountains, shepherds warn them of the danger of the two deadly mountains error and caution. the shepherds also warn them to avoid shortcuts, because shortcuts may really be paths to hell.

next, the two travelers meet ignorance, who believes that living a good life is enough to achieve salvation. christian tries to convince ignorance that goodness is not enough, for faith is also necessary, but ignorance does not believe him, and parts from christian and hopeful. more convinced than ever that they must continue on their path and resist temptation, the two pilgrims successfully resist flatterer, who tries to trap them with a net, and atheist, who tries to convince them that the celestial city does not exist. the next obstacle is the enchanted ground, which can put people to sleep; the pilgrims stay awake by discussing their religious beliefs.

at last they reach beulah land, where the celestial city stands. the streets are paved with gold; the residents surround the pilgrims with songs of welcome. but to enter the city, the pilgrims must swim across a river. christian doubts whether he can make it across, for the memory of his past sins weighs on him once again, but hopeful reminds him that christ’s love will take away those sins. encouraged, both men reach the other shore, and angels usher them into the beautiful city.

the final scene of part i, however, is a warning to the reader: ignorance has crossed the river on a ferry called vain hope, and yet he will not be admitted to the celestial city, because he doesn’t have the scroll-ticket. ignorance is turned away from salvation; at the very gate of heaven he is tied up and sent to hell, for false faith cannot save him.

based on this summary, how does the archetype of the questing hero affect this work?

a. it leads readers to believe in christian as they believe in other archetypal questing heroes.

b. it makes readers expect that even after christian reaches the celestial city, there is more for him to do.

c. it demonstrates that everyone, even christian, needs a mentor in order to be successful.

d. it encourages readers who identify with christian to realize they, too, can be successful on a similar path.