The Pilgrim's Progress (full title: The Pilgrim's Progress From This World, To That Which Is to Come: Delivered under the Similtude of a Dream, Wherein is Discovered, the manner of his setting out, His Dangerous Journey, and safe arrival at the Desired Country) is an allegorical work by John Bunyan, first published in 1678. It was written during Mr. Bunyan's terms in prison for holding worship services outside the auspices of the official Church of England.The story is in two parts (originally published separately) and concerns the journey of an everyman named Christian (and, later, his wife and family in the second part) from the City of Destruction (this world) to the Celestial City (the world which is to come, Heaven.) The journey is fraught with dangers, and there are many temptations to leave the straight and narrow road. Christian meets good friends and deadly enemies on the path. Though he makes mistakes along the way that nearly result in his destruction, Christian is forgiven when he returns to the true road, and eventually is allowed to enter the Celestial City.At one time, this book was nearly ubiquitous in the houses of British and American Protestants. Many nineteenth-century literary works refer to it, including Little Women and Villette. It provides the origin for the term "muckraker" for a certain type of journalism and supplied William Makepeace Thackeray with the title for his novel Vanity Fair.
The Pilgrim's Progress contains examples of the following tropes:
All Just a Dream - Subverted: for once, All Just a Dream doesn't need spoiler tags. We are told it's a dream in the very title, we are told in the first sentence, we are reminded it's a dream throughout the story, and the last sentence is "And so I awoke, and behold, it was a dream."
An Aesop - By the zillion. Also, the entire point of the work.
Composite Character - In the original book, the only time John Bunyan actually interacts with the cast is when he asks about the Slough. In the Animated Adaptation from the 70s, Bunyan doesn't appear in the story at all and Christian fulfills the role of inquiring about it.
Designated Evil: One of the characters Christian comes across is Ignorance; a pleasant, friendly young man who tries to get into the Celestial City by doing good works and living his life according to Jesus' example, rather than simply through faith. He gets thrown into Hell for his arrogance.
Despair Event Horizon - The point of Giant Despair's dungeon. Luckily, it doesn't always work.
Heel Face Turn: Hopeful, a former resident of the sinister Vanity Fair, became what his name implies after witnessing Christian and Faithful enduring their torments with patience, and later goes with Christian after Faithful's death.
Joker Jury - When Christian and Faithful are put on trial in Vanity Fair.
"Then went the jury out, whose names were Mr. Blindman, Mr. No-good, Mr. Malice, Mr. Love-lust, Mr. Live-loose, Mr. Heady, Mr. High- mind, Mr. Enmity, Mr. Liar, Mr. Cruelty, Mr. Hate-light, and Mr. Implacable..."
Jumped at the Call - Christian seems all too eager to get rid of his bags any way that he can. Subverted when Pliable tries to follow him, and gives up the second they begin to run into trouble.
Refusal of the Call - Christian's wife needs more convincing to set out from Destruction, apparently.
Stay on the Path - You'd think the characters would figure this out after the first few horrible events directly resulted from wandering away, but no...
The author would probably say that you would think people would figure that out in Real Life but they don't and that is the point.
Take That - A couple at the Catholic Church. There's also some jabs at the notion of government-approved religion (i.e., the Church of England) but these are a bit more subtle.
Textile Work Is Feminine: Mercy's sewing is very attractive, until the wooer realizes she's doing it for the poor.
Took a Level in Badass: Christian goes from a weary traveler that almost drowns in a shallow bog, to a Badass that defeated a demon lord single-handedly.
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