Editing The Pilgrim's Progress (section)

=== First Part ===
The entire book is presented as a [[dream sequence]] narrated by an [[omniscient narrator]]. The allegory's protagonist, Christian, is an [[everyman]] character, and the plot centres on his journey from his hometown, the "City of Destruction" ("this world"), to the "Celestial City" ("that which is to come": [[Heaven]]) atop Mount [[Zion]]. Christian is weighed down by a great burden—the knowledge of his sin—which he believed came from his reading "the book in his hand" (the [[Bible]]). This burden, which would cause him to sink into Hell, is so unbearable that Christian must seek deliverance. He meets Evangelist as he is walking out in the fields, who directs him to the "[[Wicket gate|Wicket Gate]]" for deliverance. Since Christian cannot see the "Wicket Gate" in the distance, Evangelist directs him to go to a "shining light", which Christian thinks he sees.<ref>[[s:Bible (American Standard)/2 Peter|2 Peter 1:19: "a lamp shining in a dark place"]]</ref> Christian leaves his home, his wife, and children to save himself: he cannot persuade them to accompany him. Obstinate and Pliable go after Christian to bring him back, but Christian refuses. Obstinate returns disgusted, but Pliable is persuaded to go with Christian, hoping to take advantage of the Paradise that Christian claims lies at the end of his journey. Pliable's journey with Christian is cut short when the two of them fall into the [[Slough of Despond]], a boggy mire-like swamp where pilgrims' doubts, fears, temptations, lusts, shames, guilts, and sins of their present condition of being a sinner are used to sink them into the mud of the swamp. It is there in that bog where Pliable abandons Christian after getting himself out. After struggling to the other side of the slough, Christian is pulled out by Help, who has heard his cries and tells him the swamp is made out of the decadence, scum, and filth of sin, but the ground is good at the narrow Wicket Gate.
[[File:Christian in Pilgrim's Progress.jpg|thumb|left|Burdened Christian flees from home]]

On his way to the Wicket Gate, Christian is diverted by the [[secular ethics]] of Mr. Worldly Wiseman into seeking deliverance from his burden through the Law, supposedly with the help of a Mr. Legality and his son Civility in the village of Morality, rather than through Christ, allegorically by way of the Wicket Gate. Evangelist meets the wayward Christian as he stops before [[Mount Sinai]] on the way to Mr. Legality's home. It hangs over the road and threatens to crush any who would pass it; also the mountain flashes with fire. Evangelist exposes Worldly Wiseman, Legality, and Civility for the frauds they are: they would have the pilgrim leave the true path by trusting in his own good deeds to remove his burden. Evangelist directs Christian to return to the way to the Wicket Gate, and Christian complies.

At the Wicket Gate begins the "straight and narrow" King's Highway, and Christian is directed onto it by the gatekeeper Goodwill who saves him from Beelzebub's archers at Beelzebub's castle near the Wicket Gate and shows him the heavenly way he must go. In the Second Part, Goodwill is shown to be [[Jesus]] Himself.<ref>[[s:The Pilgrim's Progress/Part II/Section 1|Go to section 1.2.3.1 Mr. Sagacity leaves the author]]</ref> To Christian's query about relief from his burden, Goodwill directs him forward to "the place of deliverance".<ref name=Sharrock /><ref>A marginal note indicates, "There is no deliverance from the guilt and burden of sin, but by the death and blood of Christ" cf. Sharrock, p. 59.</ref>

Christian makes his way from there to the House of the Interpreter, where he is shown pictures and [[wikt:tableau|tableaux]] that portray or dramatize aspects of the Christian faith and life. Roger Sharrock denotes them "[[emblem book|emblems]]".<ref name=Sharrock /><ref>"Many of the pictures in the House of the Interpreter seem to be derived from emblem books or to be created in the manner and spirit of the emblem. ... Usually, each emblem occupied a page and consisted of an allegorical picture at the top with underneath it a device or motto, a short Latin verse, and a poem explaining the allegory. Bunyan himself wrote an emblem book, ''A Book for Boys and Girls'' (1688) ...", ''cf''. Sharrock, p. 375.</ref>

From the House of the Interpreter, Christian finally reaches the "place of deliverance" (allegorically, the cross of [[Calvary]] and the open [[Sepulchre, Holy|sepulchre of Christ]]), where the "straps" that bound Christian's burden to him break, and it rolls away into the open sepulchre. This event happens relatively early in the narrative: the immediate need of Christian at the beginning of the story is quickly remedied. After Christian is relieved of his burden, he is greeted by three angels, who give him the greeting of peace, new garments, and a scroll as a passport into the Celestial City. Encouraged by all this, Christian happily continues his journey until he comes upon three men named Simple, Sloth, and Presumption. Christian tries to help them, but they disregard his advice. Before coming to the Hill of Difficulty, Christian meets two well-dressed men named Formality and Hypocrisy who prove to be false Christians that perish in the two dangerous bypasses near the hill, named Danger and Destruction. Christian falls asleep at the arbour above the hill and loses his scroll, forcing him to go back and get it. Near the top of the Hill of Difficulty, he meets two weak pilgrims named Mistrust and Timorous who tell him of the great lions of the Palace Beautiful. Christian fearfully avoids the lions through Watchful the porter who tells them that they are chained and put there to test the faith of pilgrims.

Atop the Hill of Difficulty, Christian makes his first stop for the night at the House of the Palace Beautiful, which is a place built by God for the refreshment of pilgrims and godly travellers. Christian spends three days here, and leaves clothed with the Armour of God (Eph. 6:11–18),<ref>"[[s:Bible (American Standard)/Ephesians#Chapter 6|the whole armour (panoply) of God]]"</ref> which stands him in good stead in his battle against the demonic dragon-like [[Apollyon]] (the lord and god of the City of Destruction) in the Valley of Humiliation. This battle lasts "over half a day" until Christian manages to wound and stab Apollyon with his two-edged sword (a reference to the Bible, Heb. 4:12).<ref>"[[s:Bible (American Standard)/Hebrews#Chapter 4|the whole armor (panoply) of God]]"</ref> "And with that Apollyon spread his dragon wings and sped away."
[[File:William Blake - John Bunyan - Cristian Reading in His Book - Frick Collection New York.jpg|thumb|[[William Blake]]: Christian Reading in His Book (Plate 2, 1824–1827)]]
As night falls, Christian enters the fearful Valley of the Shadow of Death. When he is in the middle of the Valley amidst the gloom, terror, and demons, he hears the words of the [[23rd Psalm|Twenty-third Psalm]], spoken possibly by his friend Faithful: <blockquote>Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ([[Psalms|Psalm]] 23:4.)</blockquote> As he leaves this valley the sun rises on a new day.

Just outside the Valley of the Shadow of Death he meets Faithful, also a former resident of the City of Destruction, who accompanies him to Vanity Fair, a place built by Beelzebub where every thing to a human's taste, delight, and lust is sold daily, where both are arrested and detained because of their disdain for the wares and business of the Fair. Faithful is put on trial and executed by burning at the stake as a martyr. A celestial chariot then takes Faithful to the Celestial City, martyrdom being a shortcut there. Hopeful, a resident of Vanity Fair, takes Faithful's place to be Christian's companion for the rest of the way.

Christian and Hopeful then come to a hill called Lucre where there is a silver mine. A man called Demas urges them to join in the mining going on, but Christian sees through Demas's trickery and they avoid the mine. Afterward, a false pilgrim named By-Ends and his friends, who followed Christian and Hopeful only to take advantage of them, perish at the Hill Lucre, never to be seen or heard from again. On a rough, stony stretch of road, Christian and Hopeful leave the highway to travel on the easier By-Path Meadow, where a rainstorm forces them to spend the night. In the morning they are captured by Giant Despair, who is known for his savage cruelty, and his wife Diffidence; the pilgrims are taken to the Giant's Doubting Castle, where they are imprisoned, beaten and starved. The Giant and the Giantess want them to commit [[suicide]], but they endure the ordeal until Christian realizes that a key he has, called Promise, will open all the doors and gates of Doubting Castle. Using the key and the Giant's vulnerability to sunlight, they escape.

The Delectable Mountains form the next stage of Christian and Hopeful's journey, where the shepherds show them some of the wonders of the place also known as "Immanuel's Land". The pilgrims are shown sights that strengthen their faith and warn them against sinning, like the Hill Error or the Mountain Caution. On Mount Clear, they are able to see the Celestial City through the shepherd's "perspective glass", which serves as a telescope. (This device is given to Mercy in the Second Part at her request.) The shepherds tell the pilgrims to beware of the Flatterer and to avoid the Enchanted Ground. Soon they come to a crossroad and a man dressed in white comes to help them. Thinking he is a "shining one" (angel), the pilgrims follow the man, but soon get stuck in a net and realize their so-called angelic guide was the Flatterer. A true shining one comes and frees them from the net. The Angel punishes them for following the Flatterer and then puts them back on the right path. The pilgrims meet an Atheist, who tells them Heaven and God do not exist, but Christian and Hopeful remember the shepherds and pay no attention to the man. Christian and Hopeful come to a place where a man named Wanton Professor is chained by the ropes of seven demons who take him to a shortcut to the Lake of Fire (Hell). This reminds them of a man named Little Faith, who had been mugged by thieves that stole his spending money and resulted in him having a hard life, although the thieves did not take Little Faith's scroll or his jewels, which he kept safe through his journey.

On the way, Christian and Hopeful meet a lad named Ignorance, who believes that he will be allowed into the Celestial City through his own good deeds rather than as a gift of God's grace. Christian and Hopeful meet up with him twice and try to persuade him to journey to the Celestial City in the right way. Ignorance persists in his own way that he thinks will lead him into Heaven. After getting over the River of Death on the ferry boat of Vain Hope without overcoming the hazards of wading across it, Ignorance appears before the gates of Celestial City without a passport, which he would have acquired had he gone into the King's Highway through the Wicket Gate. The Lord of the Celestial City orders the shining ones (angels) to take Ignorance to one of the byways of Hell and throw him in.

Christian and Hopeful, with deep discourse about the truth of their glorious salvation, manage to make it through the dangerous Enchanted Ground (a place where the air makes them sleepy and if they fall asleep, they never wake up) into the Land of Beulah, where they ready themselves to cross the dreaded River of Death on foot to Mount Zion and the Celestial City. Christian has a rough time of it because of his past sins wearing him down, but Hopeful helps him over, and they are welcomed into the Celestial City.