The central theme of the pilgrim’s progress is that life is a journey. delve more deeply into this theme. describe in your own words how the pilgrim’s journey is meant to represent life.

Christian’s pilgrimage and the obstacles he encounters on his way contain both a literal and allegorical meaning. They signify the trials, tribulations, and temptations that a person might face on the journey to heaven (the Celestial City). Every hardship that Christian faces is symbolic of the problems a person faces on the journey of life. In Bunyan’s allegory, Obstinate and Pliable distract Christian from his goal. In life, resistance to change and a lack of resolution can distract people from their paths.

Further in the journey of life, people encounter temptations in the form of wealth, worldly attractions, beauty, lust, and so on. In The Pilgrim’s Progress, these temptations are symbolized by the Vanity Fair. In life and in Bunyan’s allegory, they prevent people from pursuing the goal of spiritual freedom. Even though Christian manages to be strong-willed and overcomes these temptations, he faces other barriers to his goal. In the same way, people often confront strong opposition from others on their path in life. This idea is expressed in the following lines. PLATO

for example: in, he, a,from

the first proposition is to question economic materialism and victorian christianity. the lines are:

“it moves us not.—great god! i'd rather be

a pagan suckled in a creed outworn; ”

wordsworth is stating that nature no longer interests mankind, that the latter is not “moved” by it and explains that ancient western paganism had a more positive attitude concerning nature since it lacked the perv erted judaeo-christian interpretation of having received the world and all its animals and elements from god to use as we , instead of humans actually being not only part of nature but its wardens, meant to appreciate it and protect it.

the next lines are:

“so might i, standing on this pleasant lea,

have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

have sight of proteus coming from the sea;

or hear old triton blow his wreathed horn.”

wordsworth here make it very clear that by actually looking and contemplating nature, human beings would reconnect with happiness, serenity and purpose. the use of mythological figures is quite evocative as well, proteus is a greek mythological god of the changing sea. he personifies the sea that changes, which symbolizes the way nature changes and inevitably can change to be destructive not only due to natural causes but to human pollution. furthermore, the sea is even more symbolic since all life originated in the sea so it is not only our past but our future since no life form in our planet can survive without water and if all water is destroyed in earth all life will be gone as well.

he then uses triton which is symbolic of the synthesis of both nature and mankind. triton is a mythological greek god that has the upper body of a man and the lower body of a fish (a merman). this human fish duality evokes the fact that humans are not only human but also part of nature, the fish tail representing nature. the main attribute of this god was that he used a conch shell as a horn to calm the roaring seas. in other words, triton uses nature through science for the benefit of human sailors who risk death during tempests. with the use of such metaphor, wordworth is conveying the message that human technology   is supposed to use nature to preserve nature and thereby humanity as well.