Compare and contrast Everyman and Christian in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress

The Dreamer is the storyteller of this religious allegory. It is based upon the injunction in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) to look for initially the kingdom of God. Christian’s household do not comprehend him, even think him mad possibly. He leaves home carrying the book that motivated him, one of a variety of pilgrims we encounter in the story, and he takes a trip along the King’s highway. He meets many characters and encounters many of the issues all of us deal with in our lives.

He travels alone, almost isolated from all that is going on around him.

As he travels he resists temptations of numerous kinds that would sidetrack him from his journey and eventually he reaches the celestial city. Pilgrim reflects Protestant thinking of the time. Pilgrim travels in hope of paradise, instead of in worry of death as ‘Everyman does. Influenced by her hubby his spouse Christiana eventually makes a similar journey. Pilgrim, though an ‘everyman’ is based on Bunyan’s own experience, instead of a more general one.

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He had actually lain in the dungeons of Doubting Castle and had actually gotten rid of Despair.

His advisor, the Evangelist, is a positive figure rather than the negative one of Death in ‘Everyman’, even though Death is sent by God. The story is told in a very serious way. ‘ Everyman’ is an earlier work, a medieval morality play from the 15th century. It is much more light hearted despite its serious message. The morality plays used allegory just as Bunyan did to show the difficulties that Christians face in life.

The character is told by Death that he is about to die. Everyman is deserted by his false friends, rather than isolating his self from them as Pilgrim does. Even his family desert him.

He would not have carried a bible as they were not available to people in general. In the end it is only his good deeds that he can rely on while Pilgrim relies on Faith. Everyman reminds us right from the start that he represents every creature called to give account of themselves, but Christian is much more of an individual, one among many different people making their way to the Celestial city by various ways. One other difference is that the story of Christian was in book form – available only to the literate. ‘Everyman’ is a play that anyone who speaks the language can follow and learn from.

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