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Petra's Reviews > The Pilgrim's Progress
The Pilgrim's Progress
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I'm glad I read this and I'm glad I'm finished.
At times humorous and entertaining, this book is also at times preachy and boring. The storyline holds together well (beginning, middle, end) and Bunyan had intense knowledge of the Bible pulling together references and quotes to show the continuity of his story.
This book reads like a chaste Don Quixote, with travels, meeting strangers, fights, good times and then parting and moving on with one's journey.
Although an interesting read, I found the harsh God of Bunyan's times very unforgiving and rigid. Some of the strangers met along the way are good people (Ignorance, for example) leading good lives....yet not good enough, it seems. To read about such a fate as Ignorance's after leading a good life may make a good person turn away from a good life because....what's the point of trying? It was a conflicting point.
If one takes the religiousness away from the book, there's still the story of a man who tries to remain true to himself while living a good life and not hurting others. That's not a bad message...but it's probably not one that Bunyan meant to write about. This is Hell and Damnation if one veers from The Path by even an iota.....and a lot of "I told you so" from Christian.
Curious: I'm not up on the Bible but I thought that Moses did not get into the Kingdom of Heaven because of a moment of doubt? In Bunyan's book, Moses made it. Bunyan knows his Bible, so he's right, of course, and I found that tiny fact surprising.
At times humorous and entertaining, this book is also at times preachy and boring. The storyline holds together well (beginning, middle, end) and Bunyan had intense knowledge of the Bible pulling together references and quotes to show the continuity of his story.
This book reads like a chaste Don Quixote, with travels, meeting strangers, fights, good times and then parting and moving on with one's journey.
Although an interesting read, I found the harsh God of Bunyan's times very unforgiving and rigid. Some of the strangers met along the way are good people (Ignorance, for example) leading good lives....yet not good enough, it seems. To read about such a fate as Ignorance's after leading a good life may make a good person turn away from a good life because....what's the point of trying? It was a conflicting point.
If one takes the religiousness away from the book, there's still the story of a man who tries to remain true to himself while living a good life and not hurting others. That's not a bad message...but it's probably not one that Bunyan meant to write about. This is Hell and Damnation if one veers from The Path by even an iota.....and a lot of "I told you so" from Christian.
Curious: I'm not up on the Bible but I thought that Moses did not get into the Kingdom of Heaven because of a moment of doubt? In Bunyan's book, Moses made it. Bunyan knows his Bible, so he's right, of course, and I found that tiny fact surprising.
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Reading Progress
March 25, 2015
–
Started Reading
March 25, 2015
– Shelved
March 28, 2015
–
Finished Reading
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Sheila
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Mar 30, 2015 07:59AM
I've had a copy of this book on my shelf for many years (decades?) but I've never ventured to read it.
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I'm glad I read it, Sheila. It reads quickly. It's also a bit repetitive (forgot to mention that in the review). There's enough fun, humorous times to make it mostly entertaining. Have you read Don Quixote? It kind of follows that format (travel, episode, travel, episode).
Another curiosity: the wilderness is safe.....I'd always thought that in the Bible, the wilderness was a place of scary things, hard times, fear, etc....but that doesn't seem to be so. :D
Yes, I read Don Quixote, so that reference made me think maybe I should actually try this one some day. :-)
