'The Pilgrim's Progress, Part 1' by John Bunyan (and Alan Vermilye)

MY THOUGHTS: 

I've been plowing through The Pilgrim's Progress for a class assignment I'm working on, and supplementing the original text from 1678 with 'A Readable Modern Day Version' by Alan Vermilye, who has taken pains to retain every detail from the original text while making it easier for 21st century readers. Having both side by side, I have to agree Vermilye does us all a big favour. 

 This classic was first written from prison, where Puritan author Bunyan was incarcerated for his supposedly radical preaching. He explains at the start how a flash of inspiration (or providence) led him to explore the Christian faith in the form of an extended metaphor. Since he had plenty of time on his hands, why not give it a crack? So this is the tale of a long and often arduous quest. Each character represents an aspect of human nature, making them very one-dimensional. If you want subtle character nuances, you'll have to find another book. With characters bearing names such as Ignorance, Flatterer and Talkative, what we see is basically all we get.

In a similar manner, all the geographical and topographical locations along the path represent life experiences and attitudes. So the Slough of Despond and the Hill of Difficulty aren't places we'd choose to add to our itineraries, yet unfortunately for the pilgrims, they lie along the route to the Celestial City and detours are impossible.

The main character, aptly named Christian, leaves his home in the City of Destruction to journey on foot to the Celestial City, where he'll be in God's presence and all his problems will be over. The burden he bears on his back is super heavy, but a kind mentor named Evangelist assures Christian that if he watches his step, it will fall off spontaneously enroute, when he reaches the place of the Cross. Christian is instructed to stick strictly to the narrow path, yet his experiences prove how easy it is to veer right or left with the best intentions. Naturally he meets plenty of fellow pilgrims along the way, whose revealing names give us readers broad clues of whether or not they'll be trustworthy.

Whew, I can't deny it's a moralistic read with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, yet strangely compelling. Christian's forced face-off with the fiend Apollyon must have wowed those 17th century readers. Not only does Apollyon's appearance sound super stunning (fish scales, dragon wings, bear feet, and lion mouth), but he breathes intimidating lines with smoke and fire. 'You've already been unfaithful to your king... prepare to die. I swear by my infernal den that you will go no further. It's here that I will spill your soul.'  Then we have our unassuming hero Christian's comeback, 'Don't celebrate just yet, Apollyon!' 

(Christian doesn't actually manage to kill Apollyon. Nope, this symbol of Satan merely flies off, to presumably hang out for a more opportune time.) 

We get toured through several abysmal places where we've probably all occasionally found ourselves. There's the Valley of the Shadow of Death, where Christian can't recognise his own voice and believes a demon's hateful whispers are coming from his own soul. And there's Vanity Fair, the perpetual party town where pleasure seekers hang out to gorge on the products of sensual stalls and sideshows. Further on again, Christian and his friend Hopeful are captured by the giant Despair and taken to his Doubting Castle. This oversized fellow leaves his prisoners with the option of committing suicide by whatever means they choose, whether knife, noose or poison. Ouch, that's how Despair operates. 

From my modern perspective, I was intrigued by the hapless young man, Ignorance, who struts along confident that his own sound heart, with its comforting whispers, will gain him entry to the Celestial City. Christian and Hopeful are inspired to ask him bluntly, 'How can you even believe in Christ when you don't see any need for him? You don't see original sin or your actual transgressions but rather have such a high opinion of yourself.' Ouch, is Ignorance a harbinger of our own era, in which we are encouraged to keep building up our self-esteem, focusing on our brilliance and excusing ourselves for our shortcomings? I actually found myself liking this lad, for his refusal to let Christian and Hopeful tarnish his rosy outlook, which I know may be a worrying sign of our times since we're clearly not supposed to. I suspect if Bunyan could time travel to the twenty twenties, he'd discover plenty of Ignorance's descendants walking around, even filling church pews. 

I'm glad to have read this classic. Sure, Christian sometimes comes across as a smug, inflexible know-it-all, but yet again, I can't help wondering whether it's our laissez faire 21st century outlook that paints him as such. I'm more than happy to continue with Part 2, in which Christian's wife, Christiana, and their four sons, having repented of brushing him off at his journey's outset, decide to follow in his footsteps. Yay, bring on more adventures in this apparent fantasy world which, in fact, represents an average human life. 

I'd considered taking off a star for its dated style and heavy-handedness, but on second thoughts, it totally deserves five stars for its creative presentation of theology, its incredibly ambitious scope and John Bunyan's scriptural references peppered all through, so impressive because he had no computer file to store them in. What an amazing effort! 

Kudos to Alan Vermilye too, for his translation. I recommend reading both, as I've been doing. 

Update: Check out my review of A Pilgrim's Progress, Part 2

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