Allegory In The Pilgrim's Progress By John Bunyan

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The Pilgrim’s Progress is a poem written by John Bunyan. In this poem, the author lays out his words and does not really attempt to hide anything. Even though the poem is easy to follow, it does have allegory in it. Allegory is, “A work of art, such as a story or painting, in which the characters, images, and/or events act as symbols. The symbolism in an allegory can be interpreted to have a deeper meaning. An author may use allegory to illustrate a moral or spiritual truth, or political or historical situation” (Allegory). The allegory in this poem is about the difficulties of getting to heaven and Bunyan does a great job of illustrating this. Bunyan does not hide his cards, he is an open book and he writes about the many struggles a person deals with while trying to achieve their goals. Bunyan does not try to hide anything, in fact, he openly writes about it, “Turn up my Metaphors, and do not fail / There, if thou seekest them, such things to find / As will be helpful to an honest mind” (Bunyan). Bunyan is stating that if readers look close enough they can find the “hidden” meaning, which is not really all that hidden. The “hidden” meaning in The Pilgrim’s Progress is about the journey to heaven. There are many little stories within the poem that show different parts of the journey. The characters and towns have names that tell the reader exactly what Bunyan wants them to see. These characters, towns, and objects in the story serve as symbols that help

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