Freed 1 Spencer Freed Cosmin Ritivoiu English 102 18 March 2014 Holy War Chapter 1: Simple Symbols In the

very first chapter of the allegory Holy War, author John Bunyan lays the foundation for the story of the great controversy between God and Satan. By the second sentence he gives away that this story is an allegory. It was my chance to happen into that famous continent of Universe (Bunyan 8). The name of this continent reveals its meaning. This is made obvious when the author continues using names of things that arent normally attributed to certain places, people, or things. In Universe, there is a town called Mansoul, which was built by King Shaddai and meant for his inhabitation. Shaddai was a Judaic name for God. At first glance it may seem as though Mansoul refers to the souls of men in general, which in part it does; however, the story of its beginning shows that it also refers the first man, Adam and Eve, the parents of humanity. The author retells the story of one of the kings servants, Diablos, and his quest to overcome Mansoul. This Diabolus was made son of the morning, he seeing himself thus exalted to greatness and honour begins to think with himself how he might be set up as lord over all, and have the sole power under Shaddai (Bunyan

Freed 2 9). This story is clearly a retelling of the origin and downfall of Satan. Isaiah writes of Satans demotion, saying, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!... For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God (King James Version Isa 14.12,13). Diablos and his followers are cast out of the kingdom, and out of spite, they plan to subtly overcome Mansoul. Diablos, as if he had been a lamb, began his oration (Bunyan 12) to tempt the gate keeper to overthrow Kind Shaddai. Here is where Bunyan makes a correlation with the story of humanities downfall in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). This is why Mansoul not only refers to humanity as a whole, but to the first souls created, namely Adam and Eve. This famous town of Mansoul had five gates The names of the gates were these: Ear-gate, Eye-gate, Mouth-gate, Nose-gate, and Feel-gate (Bunyan 9). These five gates refer to the five senses. The gate imagery was chosen rather than a window or something else because it shows that the senses are the only way to enter into the soul. The author then foreshadows the over-throw of this city. This place Shaddai made also a garrison of; but committed the keeping of it only to the men of the town. (Bunyan 8). The town could not be overthrown unless the townsmen gave consent thereto (Bunyan 9). Although the careless reader may see this

Freed 3 as insignificant information, this exposing of the only weak link in the protection of the city is a foreshadowing to its overthrow by Diablos. It also goes to show that each individual is responsible for the choices of what he or she allows into his or her mind. While Diablos is planning on how to take over Mansoul, he seems to be conversing with other demons. The names of the demons are Alecto, Apollyon, Beelsebub, and Lucifer. All of these names, excluding Alecto, are Biblical names that many believe are attributed to Satan. It may seem as though Bunyan believes that the Biblical names for Satan actually represent other demons; however, other conclusions should be considered. One possibility is that the names refer to the different characteristics of Satan, or Diablos. The fact that the demons are arguing seems to disprove that theory though. Perhaps Bunyan just needed names for the demons, and thought that satanic names would be the most applicable. The intent of using these names may never be fully understood. The one thing that is clear is that the imagery used throughout the first chapter is obvious in its meaning. Its simplicity of meaning keeps the reader from getting tired of deciphering each symbols significance. Its straightforward names also allow for an easy relation to the story because of the readers personal knowledge and experience.

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