Reason’s Progress - a book idea.

[dream_weaver]

Growing up, reading was an encouraged activity at home. The extent of that encouragement got tested one year when I took the liberty to order a magazine that did not meet the parents criteria of what was considered to be fit to read.

The church our family attended had a library. Any books from that library were permitted. Some of the more memorable were C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Anne Frank’s Diary: The Hiding Place and John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.

The style of Pilgrim’s Progress is identified by wikipedia as a Christian allegory. The names of the characters cast the characters of them as well. Additionally, cities and towns were given names that echoed the culture found within.

I’ve given thought to writing a book in this style using key concepts from Objectivism. So far, though, most of my writings have been shorter pieces dealing with a central point with a little bit of embellishment. Most of my reading of late consists of non-fiction.

My initial thoughts on the names for characters were the seven virtues. In Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian followed the path to the Celestial City. Perhaps I’m trying to parallel the structure too closely, I was thinking of having Reason identifying the moral path leading to Happiness.

A few villain names considered were Evasion, and Whim or Whimsical.

A few city names I thought of were Anarchy, Democracy, Theocracy and Capitalism.

It is not likely I’ll pursue this project. My notes were written and slightly edited over ten years ago. I’ve thought of it a few times over the years, and this time I decided to share it here. Maybe there’s a writer looking for an idea like this to possess their pen.