PILGRIM’S PROGRESS

a religious novel written between 1678 and 1684 by John Bunyan . It is an allegory (= a story in which the characters and events are symbols representing other things, such as truths, fears and human qualities) about a man’s journey through life to heaven. The man, whose name is Christian, meets many symbolic difficulties on the way, including the Slough of Despond , Vanity Fair and Giant Despair. He finally reaches heaven, and his wife and children follow him.