1. John Bunyan and The Pilgrim’s Progress

2. Biography
An ill-educated traveling tinker (mender of pots, pans, utensils)
Self-educated by reading the Bible and two other religious tracts (pamphlets)
Left home at 16 to join the parliamentary army
Became an unlicensed and nonconformist minister after several years of intense spiritual struggles

3. Biography - Adult
Arrested when he refused to renounce his faith - spent 12 years in prison
Continued to minister in a barn that served as his church after his release
Imprisoned again; wrote first half of Pilgrim’s Progress; finished it several years later

4. The Pilgrim’s Progress
Most widely read book by an English author

5. The Pilgrim’s Progress
Translated into over 100 languages
Allegory - plot, characters, setting clearly represent abstract ideas; purpose is to teach while entertaining

6. Summary
Autobiographical account of the adventures and dangers a Christian encounters in his passage through life
Characters: Christian (hero), Faithful (his friend), Beelzebub (organizer of the fair), citizens of Vanity