Christian

John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress has only one main character, Christian, the Pilgrim, formerly known as Graceless, or just 'Man'. He is an everyman character. He is meant to inspire readers, just as his story inspires other characters in the text. Christian had a book, the Bible, in hand and a great burden, the weight of worldly cares and concerns, on back.  This burden, which would cause him to sink into Hell, is so unbearable that Christian must seek deliverance. He meets Evangelist as he is walking out in the fields, who directs him to the "Wicket Gate" for deliverance. Since Christian cannot see the "Wicket Gate" in the distance, Evangelist directs him to go to a "shining light," which Christian thinks he sees. Christian leaves his home, his wife, and children to save himself: he cannot persuade them to accompany him. He appears in every scene and dominates them all. Other characters are those he chances to meet on his journey and with whom he talks for a longer or shorter time. His intelligence and worldliness improve a great deal over the course of the text because he learns from each misstep. He proves that tenacity and diligence, when matched with God's grace, are the keys to entering heaven. He stops at nothing in order to achieve his salvation, even though it means leaving his family and his hometown behind. He is eager to share what he has learned with other pilgrims along the way, but he is humble enough to absorb their teachings as well.