Christian Pilgrimage in The Pilgrim’s Progress
A pilgrimage is a journey that one takes to a land of special significance for self-discovery. Yet in The Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian’s expedition would have been cut short had it not been for those few who decided to aid him along the way. The moment he begins his journey, Evangelist greeted him and directed, then encouraged him towards the Celestial City. As he continued, he met Prudence, Piety and Charity, who provided him with some necessities that he would need for his continued travel. Finally, Christian, along with Hopeful, arrived at to the land of the shepherds. Here, they were both told of “secrets” that would guide them on their way to the Celestial City. Thus, John Bunyan shows that although Christian’s pilgrimage is an individual voyage for his own satisfaction, it’s success could not have been possible without the assistance of others.
Christian’s entire travel is a dream of the author’s, John Bunyan. As the dream begins, a man is wandering, confused and frustrated. Evangelist approached this man, drawn to him by his cries and asks him, “Wherefore dost thou cry”? The man, Christian, responded, “Sir, I perceive by the book in my hand, that I am condemned to die, and after that to come to judgment; and I find that I am not willing to do the first, nor able to do the second”. The book he refers to is the Bible, whose words cause him to fear death and hell. He feels as though he is not “fit” for hell, but because he had not lived a perfectly virtuous life according to “the book”, he knows that he will not be able to enter heaven. Evangelist gives him a roll, that tells him to “flee from the wrath to come”. He tells Christian to flee towards the “wicket-gat...
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...t the assistance of others. Had Christian not encountered Evangelist, he would not have the peace of mind that came along with knowledge of the Celestial City. If he had not come across the house of Prudence, Piety and Charity, he would not have been sheltered, fed, or armored for his oncoming adventures. Finally, had Christian not met the Shepherds, his knowledge of what was to come would have not been enough to continue on to his goal. Others, such as people who have hiked up the Appalachian Trails, have encountered people along the way who are willing to and ready to provide them with accompaniment, food, shelter, or even experiences that will assist them in any way on their travels. In the same way, Christian comes across many people who, unlike some, are placed in his path, by some will of God, in order to help him on his crusade towards religious acceptance.
Throughout all texts discussed, there is a pervasive and unmistakable sense of journey in its unmeasurable and intangible form. The journeys undertaken, are not physically transformative ones but are journeys which usher in an emotional and spiritual alteration. They are all life changing anomaly’s that alter the course and outlook each individual has on their life. Indeed, through the exploitation of knowledge in both a positive and negative context, the canvassed texts accommodate the notion that journeys bear the greatest magnitude when they change your life in some fashion.
...ind of the reader is what method or process was required for the pilgrim to acquire this self-abasing attitude. One key element appears to be the realization of his inability to survive without God's assistance. The failed attempt to climb Mount Purgatory serves as a moment of revelation. After being driven back by the embodiment of his faults, he receives divine assistance in the person of Virgil, who is the medium by which the grace granted by Our Lady is dispatched. The example of docility towards the divine will is a challenge to each reader to cry out in the words of the Psalmist "Not to us Lord, but to your name give the glory." (115:1) The reader is called to shift allegiance, as it were. In order to achieve the redemption promised "in the fullness of time," it is necessary to identify with the self-denying pilgrim rather than the self-edifying sinner.
Urban’s decision to begin the Crusade was based on more than just the idea that he was doing the Lord’s will. The Christian idealism was mind over m...
Rituals are held as a very important part of any society, including ours. They go back to ancient times or can be as simple as maintaining one’s hygiene. Non-western societies have rituals that may seem very foreign to us, but they have been engrained in their communities and are essential to their social structure. This interpretation will focus on the Great Pilgrimage, a ritual performed by Quechuan communities. We will be looking specifically at a community in the area of Sonqo.
A pilgrim, perhaps” (85). Like a pilgrim, McCandless tries to cleanse himself with a power greater than him, believing that with nature his troubles will no longer haunt him. Consumed with an unnerving passion for nature’s harshest, Chris views his holy land as the wilderness, where he can reflect on his inner struggles. He transcends the boundaries of the modern world, giving him a path to the divine elements of nature. Ordinarily, people stress over their future, but Chris is unlike most people. In fact, McCandless does not worry about what his future will be, rather he lives in the now. In such an unmerciful environment, Chris relishes the thought that his every action has an immediate consequence, making his life simpler yet whole, his mental baggage lifted. Even as he approaches his last breath, succumbing to malnutrition, McCandless takes a picture of himself smiling, and there is no mistake: Chris McCandless is “at peace, serene as a monk gone to God” (199). Though Chris understands the inevitability of his death, he remains content with no regrets, proud that he chose to live in the wild. The wild gives him the euphoria that even starvation cannot suppress, his
The author brings to the attention of the pilgrims who read his text that there are many dangers that they might not be aware of, especially in the landscape of their soundings. The text provides the reader with instructions on things that the pilgrims should avoid that could harm them such as poor water sources, insects, and difficult terrain.
The three parables contained in chapter fifteen of the Gospel of Luke are a tightly woven trio anchored on either side by closely related teachings. The preceding chapter gives instruction on humility and hospitality, telling the reader to open the invitation to one’s meal table to all, including the poor, the sick, and the unclean. In the following chapter the reader finds instructions for how to use wealth to benefit those same people. In the middle of these we find chapter fifteen, containing the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal and his brother. As a part of the triplet, the parable of the lost sheep challenges the reader to not only invite the poor into one’s community, but to receive them as family with joy and celebration.
I chose to write about a painting. It is Embarkation of the Pilgrims by American artist Robert W. Weir in 1843. It is oil on canvas and the size is 12’ by 18’. It is about people who seek for religious freedom. The painting takes place on the desk of a ship, gathering for a prayer. There are men, women, and children pictured in this painting. Everything is laid out asymmetrically. People in the painting look in different directions, has different facial emotions, and body gestures. The focal point of this composition is the armor, musket, and the helmet is the primary objects. They lie in the foreground beside a screw and a man holding the Bible and looking up to the sky surrounded by people. The color of the sky and rainbow is warm and bright, driving the feeling of relaxation and the appearance of natural beauty. There are also men and women pledging to the man that is holding the book.
The Social Plane involves the idea of how the pilgrimage is viewed from particular social groups . Traders and innkeepers are going to view the pilgrimage much different than the actual pilgrim themselves. It also provides a collective idea of the pilgrimage through race, gender, age, and social economic status, as well as takes note of who is paying to maintain the pilgrimage. The monks that Brian met while on his pilgrimage in Japan, view the pilgrimage much differently than Brian did.
John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress is an allegorical story about the Christian religion. It allegorizes the journey of a Christian into "the Celestial City, which represents heaven. Although Pilgrim's Progress may seem simple and straightforward, there are many deeper meanings throughout the whole story. Bunyan uses the names of his characters to signify whom the character represents in the story, for example, the character Hopeful represents hopefulness, Help represents people who are willing to help others in need of assistance, Faithful represents people who are faithful to whatever they are associated with, and the main character, Christian, represents all young Christians in the world. His journey to the Celestial City is a journey every Christian must face in their lifetime before allowed into heaven. Within his journey there are many obstacles such as temptations both tangible and intangible for instance, the merchandises sold at Vanity Fair and the shortcuts offered, illustrate temptations real Christians must face and overcome; finding an easy way into heaven, and being thrown off course by material things. The character Christian overcomes many obstacles before reaching his destination, the Celestial City. But during his journey he does not face all these obstacles alone. He meets a variety of people all through his journey to the Celestial City; some of these people mock his traveling to the Celestial City, some decide to follow him, and some help him along his way. Christian meets Faithful who decides to join him on his travels. Faithful is a character that faces many difficulties on his own journey to the Celestial City; his journey has many diff...
In the poem, The Runaway Slave at Pilgrims Point by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Browning based the poem on past experience due to the fact her family had owned slaves in Jamaica for several generations. Once these slaves were set free in 1833; sixteen years later abolitionist repudiated the “ unjust- power of the white slave owners.” ( Stephenson, 43). With Browning rejection of her once slave owning father’s irrational authority to refuse his children to marry and leave home, this poem empowered the rage she had suppressed by years.
The Spiritual and Moral Journeys in The Quest of the Holy Grail. The Quest of the Holy Grail is an exciting tale that follows the adventures of King Arthur's knights as they scour the countryside for the legendary Holy Grail. Throughout their journeys, the knights engage in many exciting jousts and sword fights with a variety of enemies. The author of The Quest of the Holy Grail intends for the story to be more than just entertainment: the knights' search for the Holy Grail is analogous to the pursuit of morality and spiritual chivalry, showing success through asceticism, confession, chastity, and faith.
The author of The Pilgrim's Progress is well described by Coleridge's remark: "His piety was baffled by his genius; and Bunyan the dreamer overcame the Bunyan of the conventicle." This remark points out the difficulty that Bunyan faces when he attempts to write a religious piece of work in the style of allegory. The Pilgrim's Progress is "pious" because it is a piece written in dedication to God. It contains important religious teachings -- what a good Christian should do and what he should not do. What Coleridge means by Bunyan's "genius" is basically the story itself. The story is so well written that people become so interested in the story and forget the whole spiritual truth behind and this worry Bunyan. Coleridge also indicates in his remarks, the tension between "piety" and "dreaming". "Dreaming", as we know is unreal, and it can hardly be connected with "piety". But Bunyan, through his "genius", not only managed to bring these two things together, but in way that would be satisfiable to all.
Geoffrey Chaucer, in The Canterbury Tales, uses both a frame narrative and satire to describe the pilgrimage of thirty pilgrims. The purpose of Chaucer’s use of the frame narrative is to display to the reader the stories within. These pilgrims, as described in the outer frame of the work, embark on a great journey to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury, England. Chaucer created a character from most of the classes to ensure that his work has the characteristics of verisimilitude, yet excluded from the motley crew pilgrims of the highest and the lowest of the social ranks, royalty and serfs, respectively. The twenty-nine pilgrims, including Chaucer the Pilgrim, enter the journey, with Harry Bailly, their Host at the Tabard
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s writing, “The Canterbury Tales”, he writes of a pilgrimage and describes every character that is involved, some more in depth than others. Keep in mind that this writing is dated back in the 1300’s, so there is going to be some distinction between those he described on the pilgrimage compared to how one would describe people of today. If Chaucer did write about people today, three people he would most likely choose would be a teacher or professor, a professional athlete, and a song artist.