Langston Hughes Salvation Essay
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Analysis Of Langston Hughes 'Salvation'
In "Salvation" by Langston Hughes, the overall message is the disappointment Hughes received
when he experienced becoming saved. In the first part of the story Hughes goes to a revival service
with his aunt at her church, to be saved. While at this revival they have a special meeting for kids
that Hughes goes to. After being in the meeting for a long time Hughes realizes he is the only one let
that has not been saved. Because Hughes feels like he is holding everything u he decides to lie about
his experience meeting Jesus and just say that he has been saved even though he hasn't. Finally, after
the revival Hughes fully understands what he did, and he begins to cry. He cannot bear to tell his
aunt that he lied about meeting Jesus, and now he
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Langston Hughes Salvation Analysis
Salvation is something looked for in religion,although many are pressured into finding it ,as found
in Langston Hughes writing. I Believe his writing is a situation many others find themselves come
upon. The key in hughes piece of writing, "Salvation" is peer pressure, and I believe all of us have
ran into a situation that has dealt with this concept. As langston stands at the bench with the other
children; he is religiously pressured to be saved by jesus
. I myself have felt this same feeling, about
two summers ago; i went to church camp due to the fact that all my other friends were going . It was
an exciting experience, until I found myself challenged by the fact does really exist? Thinking about
it , I talked to a camp mentor and she said,
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Langston Hughes Salvation Essay
"Salvation," by Langston Hughes is a short story which is the autobiography of a young man who
has an emotional confrontation with religion. Oftentimes it is debated whether the short story is a
serious piece, rather than an amusing piece. Salvation is a serious piece due to its recognition of peer
pressure while disproving traditional church belief and indicating a meaningful point in the author's
life. Salvation illustrates the influence peer pressure can have on a person's thoughts and decisions.
In the short story, Langston had been participating in a ceremony to relieve the young children of sin
and 'bring them to Jesus.' Despite everybody in the church's expectation, Langston still had not "saw
Jesus," resulting in the entire church to engage in prayer for Langston, which included Langston'
aunt crying, on her knees, for him to be saved. Feeling guilty for disappointing the church members
and more importantly his aunt, Langston lied and pretended to be 'saved' to satisfy everybody. While
lying is a sin on its own, lying while inside of the church is considered highly punishable,
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Although the story is mostly an autobiographical experience, there is a serious, slightly indirect,
theme that typical Christian religious beliefs may be a lie. Many older folk told a tale of how you
would see a light and something would happen, indicating that you have been saved by the lord.
During the ceremony of which Langston participated in, all of the children amongst him claimed to
have been saved except him and another young man, Westley. Due to their eventual impatience, both
Langston and Westley lied claiming they had been saved, with Westley using God's name in vain
during the process. Those two actions are deemed highly punishable in religious belief yet both of
them went unpunished. By sharing this personal experience, Langston targets the misleading beliefs
under which church goers live
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Langston Hughes Salvation Essay
Langston Hughes was a poet, who portrayed events from his life that made him who he was. "I was
saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved (Salvation. Huges)." Langston
Huge's essay "Salvation," is a narrative telling of a time when as a boy he went to a church revival
to be saved, but felt pressured to do so by his aunt and church members. For Langston to be "saved,"
he had to go to Jesus and experience a bright light and an inner change in feelings. Well, this is what
Langston had been told and believed. As the revival at the church proceeded many other young
children began to answer the call for salvation. However, Langston was "unmoved" to stand and
except Jesus. He did not stand because he did not feel Jesus or
...show more content...
Son of Carrie Hughes and James Hughes, which they separated shortly after Hughes was born.
Shortly after Langston's father moved to Mexico, his mother struggled to find a solid foundation for
herself and Langston. As being unable to find a steady home for Langston, his mother thought it was
best for him to live with his maternal grandmother Mary, for a brief extent of time. Hughes
grandmother passed away in 1915, during Langston's teen years. With the loss of his grandmother,
this lead him to reconnect with his mother and moved to Cleveland Ohio, where Hughes attended
high school. Hughes got a thirst for literature and writing poems during his senior year of high
school. Langston became a very popular writer after his graduating high school. Influentially,
Langston Hughes was a poet who expressed his writing's in a strong sense of self–confidence, and
wanted to depict his image as a writer who separated himself from society and its daily issues.
Langston wanted the world to see that it was ok to stand out and be different than what your social
surroundings expected you to
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Langston Hughes Salvation Essay
"Salvation" by Langston Hughes is an Essay written about the pressures young adults can face in
their lifetime. It represented the life of a young boy and the pressures he received to accept Christ
into his life. The story reflected lies, sarcasm, and hypocrisy from his peers, his family, both
immediate and church. This young boy was told that Jesus would come to him, he would "See"
Jesus, he would know. He was faced with the misconception of "How" Jesus would come to him, he
was misguided. The young boy went forward anyway, walking to the pulpit, and accepting Christ.
Although he had never experienced Jesus coming to him, he had never seen Jesus, he goes anyway,
pretending to be saved due to social pressures. Later he returns home and cries
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Critical Essay on "Salvation" by Langston Hughes
Critical Essay – "Salvation" by Langston Hughes
Salvation is defined as the deliverance from sin and its consequences. In a Christianity sense,
salvation is when a person accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior, and they believe the fact that
he died for the sins of Christians. The term of salvation is often referred to as being "saved".
Salvation is when one delivers not only their body in a physical to the church and God, but it is also
a committee to Jesus mentally and spiritually. Getting saved can be a very pressuring and life
changing decision. That is sometimes forced upon young adolescents. Ultimately it can cause one to
question their spiritually sometimes even damaging their belief in Jesus. In Langston Hughes'
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This is not case, when someone is save God comes to you spiritually and mentally but not in the
physical. Langston whole misconception of this concept of being saved ultimately causes he to
believe his decision to be save was a deceitful one. In return damaging Langston belief in Jesus and
the true meaning of salvation. The pressure of seeing all his other peers also played a major role in
his decision. His fear of being "left all alone on the mourners' bench" incited him to become saved.
When he witnessed the last boy on the bench go fourth and be saved, Langston suddenly felt the
pressure of the whole church come down on him. Especially that of his Aunt Reed, she sobbed to
Langston "Langston, why don't you come? Why don't you come and be saved? Oh, Lamb of God!
Why don't you come?" This was the last straw this pressure eventually caused Langston to get saved
out of deceit. When Langston tried to go to bed that night his feelings of dishonesty had overcome
him. He cried not tears of joy but tears of regret and confusion "But I was really crying because I
couldn't bear to tell her that I had lied, that I had deceived everybody in the church, that I hadn't seen
Jesus, and that now I didn't believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn't come to help me." He
cried because he felt in his heart that he lied to his Aunt Reed and the whole church.
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Salvation By Langston Hughes
"Salvation" by Langston Hughes is a true–life drama in his childhood. He reveals how he was
pressurized to see Jesus. He was told by his aunt Reed and preachers, if he sees a light he will be
saved from sin and Jesus will come to his life. He has been waiting but nothing happened even he
and a boy Westley left waiting for light. After some time, Westley told a lie and left. Now, he was all
alone there and everyone wants him to say he also saw the light. He didn't see anything but due to
the pressure of people he also said he has watched the light and saved from sin. Now, everybody
was happy and shouting but he was ashamed and has his believe to Jesus because he didn't see
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Langston Hughes Salvation Analysis
Faith and conformity can go hand in hand. When one has family members that belong to a religion it
is easier to conform to keep the peace then to rebel and strain relationships with one's family. One
may ask if this conformity is worth the guilt that comes with lying to one's family and self. Saying
one thing but doing another can inflict an enormous amount of guilt on a person, especially a young
child. In Langston Hughes's story, "Salvation" (1940), the reader gains insight into what happens
when a twelve year old conforms into a religion they do not truly believe in. People may view
conformity as easier to partake in then rebelling. When a person conforms they do not need to
explain their different viewpoint to close opposers like their family and friends. There is no
opposition, there is only peace. However, this peace can be seen externally to friends and family.
Internally, the person who is reluctantly conforming to keep the amity is racked with guilt and pain.
This can be seen with Langston Hughes's written piece, "Salvation" (1940). Langston Hughes
dramatically describes his relationship with faith in "Salvation" (1940). Many of the paragraphs are
accented with theatrical words and mentions
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In "Salvation" (1940), Langston Hughes makes it clear that when he deceived everyone at Church
by having them believe he was saved, it took a toll on his mental well–being. "I cried, in bed alone,
and couldn't stop. I buried my head under the quilts, but my aunt heard me" (Hughes, 1940, para.
15). It is not normal for a twelve year old to cry excessively and loudly. His extreme crying after the
deception proves that when his words did not match his actions guilt ensued. Hughes mentions he
primarily felt guilty for lying. "But I was really crying because I couldn't bear to tell her that I lied,
that I had deceived everybody in the church" (Hughes, 1940, para.
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Langston Hughes' Salvation Essay example
Langston Hughes' Salvation
In most people's lives, there comes a point in time where their perception changes abruptly; a single
moment in their life when they come to a sudden realization. In Langston Hughes' 'Salvation',
contrary to all expectations, a young Hughes is not saved by Jesus, but is saved from his own
innocence.
'Salvation' is the story of a young boy who has an experience of revelation. While attending a church
revival, he comes to the sudden realization that Jesus will not physically come save him.
In the first three sentences of the essay, the speaker adopts a very childlike style. He makes use of
simple words and keeps the sentences short, similar in style to that of an early aged teenager. But
since the text
...show more content...
(182) praying at the church, or hear the sound of ?mighty wail of moans and voices? (182). And it is
almost impossible not to feel the warmth contained in the ?hot, crowded church? (181). In short, the
technique used by Hughes is set to put the reader in the same ambiance the young boy is in, thus
giving us a closer look at his innocence.
The innocence shown by the young boy at the beginning of the story can be attributed to many
factors, the main reason being his Auntie Reed. She goes on talking for days about the big revival.
Just like any other kid would, Hughes listens and believes word–for–word what his aunt tells him: ?
She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul.? (181) This naivete is characteristic of
youths of that age group. After all, he ?heard a great many old people say the same thing? (181) and
it seemed to him ?they ought to know? (181). With all the hype and anticipation surrounding this
event, Hughes is certain something is bound to happen. His disappointment is manifested when he
does not literally see Jesus. From what he has been told, Hughes is expecting to see a human
incarnation of Jesus. He is actually more than just expecting to see him; he badly wants to be saved!
Seeing Westley give up so carelessly, triggers an awkward feeling inside of Hughes. The thought
that Jesus is not going to show up after all is starting to grow. That leads him to eventually give up
and join Westley in lying. It is only at night that he comes
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Essay on Salvation (Langston Hughes)
Saved From Innocence
In most people's lives, there comes a point in time where their perception changes abruptly; a single
moment in their life when they come to a sudden realization. In Langston Hughes' "Salvation",
contrary to all expectations, a young Hughes is not saved by Jesus
, but is saved from his own
innocence.
"Salvation" is the story of a young boy who has an experience of revelation. While attending a
church revival, he comes to the sudden realization that Jesus will not physically come save him.
In the first three sentences of the essay, the speaker adopts a very childlike style. He makes use of
simple words and keeps the sentences short, similar in style to that of an early aged teenager. But
since the text is written
...show more content...
Just like any other kid would, Hughes listens and believes word–for–word what his aunt tells him:
"She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul." (181) This naivete is characteristic of
youths of that age group. After all, he "heard a great many old people say the same thing" (181) and
it seemed to him "they ought to know" (181). With all the hype and anticipation surrounding this
event, Hughes is certain something is bound to happen. His disappointment is manifested when he
does not literally see Jesus. From what he has been told, Hughes is expecting to see a human
incarnation of Jesus. He is actually more than just expecting to see him; he badly wants to be saved!
Seeing Westley give up so carelessly, triggers an awkward feeling inside of Hughes. The thought
that Jesus is not going to show up after all is starting to grow. That leads him to eventually give up
and join Westley in lying. It is only at night that he comes to the realization that he was fooled. All
the stories and preaching he heard were just fabulations. He wanted to see Jesus, but Jesus did not
come at his rescue. His perception changed because he went from being an innocent child to
someone who has acquired the personal experience to make his own judgements. Through
"Salvation", Langston Hughes offers his thoughts on how young individuals' minds can be
manipulated by religious authorities. However, he stresses that it is important to keep a strong mind
to be
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Short Story 'Salvation' By Langston Hughes
In Langston Hughes short story Salvation A growing 12 year old boy from Joplin, Missouri,
experiences the hardship of facing religious expectations that his family holds. A saddening story
that not only emotionally tore him down but in the process strengthened his religious beliefs Hughes
finds clarity as a result of a lie. In one of the last lines of Salvation Hughes expresses his feeling of
being alone crying the words "I cried, I cried, in bed alone, and couldn't stop." Which comes as a
result of him lying to his aunt and the rest of the congregation. The overwhelming pressure and his
expectation to come to Jesus and the light as every other child had done before him had taken a toll
on Hughes. Hughes taking every word literally as most
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Langston Hughes Salvation Essay
In the short story Salvation by Langston Hughes, Hughes describers a time when his aunt and the
people of the church predicted Langston would be saved, not in God's timing but in their own
timing. As a result, Langston questioned if God was real. Believe it or not, most of us have had an
experience where our loved ones or someone we've look up to holds us accountable to maintain a
certain image or expectation. To avoid hurting the one's we love, we do whatever it takes to live up
to this expectation even if it hurts us, as in Langston's case. Langston began the story talking about
the revival at his Aunt Reed's church, at this revival all the children who had not yet been saved
would be. Langston seemed excited to finally be saved. I believe this excitement came
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According to Langston, his aunt explained that once he was saved; he would see God and feel the
Holy Ghost. Speaking from experience, you do in fact feel the Holy Ghost once you are saved. But
as far as seeing God, no one has or will see God until he returns to earth at the end of time or you
meet him in heaven. But Langston being only twelve years old believed he would see God. Which is
expected, any twelve year old who doesn't know much about being saved or the word of God would
believe it. Langston explains how he waited to see God, as if once he saw God that meant he was
saved. But Langston never saw God, he waited and waited but never saw his face. So when it came
time for the children to go up to the Alter to be saved, Langston didn't wanted to go. When he finally
went up, it wasn't because he felt lead to, but because he felt pressured. Aside from the church
service going on longer than expected because of Langston's dilemma; Langston was surrounded by
deacons, praying mothers of the church, and his aunt sobbing at his feet. Now if you ever been to a
Christian church, once you are surrounded by the deacons and praying mothers you will not leave
that
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Langston Hughes Salvation Summary
Salvation by Langston Hughes is a short story that explains dealings with religion and basic beliefs.
In the story, Hughes attends a revival at his church with his aunt. Prior conversations with his aunt
had given Hughes the impression that when you are saved you see a light and you feel something
inside of you. Aware that a time of the service would be dedicate to bringing youth to Jesus
, Hughs
heads down to the designated row and listens to the pastor, sang when necessary and awaited the
time that "the light of Jesus would be shown to him". One by one children handed their lives over to
Jesus, still awaiting the feeling Hughes sat and searched for anything that could match the
description that he had been given. As time goes on church goers
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Langston Hughes Salvation Essay
In the short story Salvation by Langston Hughes, Hughes talks about his first time being saved.
Langston believed that once he got saved, he would see God and have a spiritual feeling flow
through him as his aunt made him believe. But on the night of the revival at his aunt's church, he
didn't see God or feel any different. But that didn't stop Langston from going up to the Alter to be
saved. He didn't go up to be saved because he wanted to, but because he was forced. The church
made the decision that all children must come up to the Alter and no one would leave the church
until every child had been saved. Forcing Langston to be saved changed Langston's belief toward
God
. Langston no longer believed God exist simply because nothing super spiritual happened which
to
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For some people this may be acceptable, but for most being told when you're going to be saved
weather ready or not can be traumatic, causing you to questions you're belief/religion. Sadly this is
not the case for on Christian households but household of many religions. In most cases many
children are told what religion they are expect to believe in and when they will practice the beliefs
of that specific religion. For example in Langston's case when all the kids who had not been saved,
were asked to go up to the Alter at the revival to be saved. Most of those kids probably had no idea
what it really meant to be saved. I remember when I was a child and I went up to be saved for the
first time, I had no idea what was going on. I just figured the pastor was praying for me but it was
much deeper than that, at that moment I had accepted God into my life without knowing the true
meaning for it. My experience wasn't as traumatic as Langston but I didn't take it as serious as I
should have. Unlike now that I am older and I understand what it means to be saved and why I
chose to be
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Langston Hughes's 'Salvation'
"Salvation" is a wonderful narrative by Langston Hughes explaining his first time attending church.
The story is portrayed in both a book and film version. Both versions do their jobs by explaining
how Langston felt when he falsely claimed he was saved by Christ. Each version has different
strengths and weaknesses, but the book is dull compared to the film. The film gives a better insight
into Langston's life;therefore, the film version is superior to the book. The details provided in the
book explain the story moderately well. In the book, Langston writes about how much pressure he
felt from the altar to be saved by Christ. The book paints a good visual picture on how crowded and
hot the church was. In the book , Langston explains how devoted
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My Response To Salvation By Langston Hughes
Personally, I can relate to "Salvation", as I had a similar (confusion of) religion as a child. When I
first read Hughes' story, I was angry at the adults that had put him and the other children through
such an experience. It reminded me of the time my foster parents forced my sister and I to go to
church at least twice a week, sometimes more because they were quite involved in the community.
Before then, I had grown up in a non–religious household, and was intimidated by the idea of
church and God
. I didn't understand why I wasn't allowed to choose my faith simply because I was a
child, or even because I was an 'unfortunate' child. Unlike me, Hughes was raised religious and
afterwards lost his faith, but he is relatable to me because he is
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Essay about Salvation by Langston Hughes
Salvation by Langston Hughes
'Salvation', by Langston Hughes is part of an autobiographical work written in 1940. The author
narrates a story centering on a revival gathering that happened in his childhood. During the days
leading up to the event, Hughes' aunt tells him repeatedly that he will be '
saved
', stressing that he
will see a light and Jesus will come into his life. He attends the meeting but when Jesus fails to
appear, he is forced by peer pressure to lie and go up and be 'saved'. Hughes uses his story to
illustrate how easy it is for children to misinterpret adults and subsequently become disillusioned.
Adults sometimes forget that children communicate on a much more literal level than they do; their
conversation is often
...show more content...
As time passed the congregation became more and more animated, wailing for Hughes to come up
and be saved. Hughes became more and more impatient and extremely agitated. At the same time he
must have been very curious as to why all the others were going up to the altar.
During childhood we begin to learn the meaning of integrity. Having patiently awaited Jesus?
appearance for what must have seemed an interminable amount of time, the pressure on Hughes to
get up and go to the altar must have been ponderous. Finally, when Jesus failed to make an
appearance that evening Hughes had a choice of continuing to wait or rising and satisfying the
expectations of the congregation. In making his decision to approach the altar, Hughes is fearful, as
most children are when disobeying the ?rules?. Hughes? reticence in coming forward probably
reflects his type of up bringing, and he watches his friend to see what punishment God will mete out
and bases his decision on the fact that nothing appears to happen. In embracing his friend Westley?s
deception, in being saved without seeing Jesus, and because of his own up bringing, Hughes had to
acknowledge his own dishonesty.
Children trust the words of adults and despite the misunderstanding associated with the words his
aunt used, Hughes believed her unquestionably. Later that evening when his aunt heard Hughes
crying in bed, she assumed it is because he had been moved by his experience at church in receiving
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Langston Hughes Salvation
To children, communication and understanding come literally. Figurative speech is difficult and
problematic for a young mind to grasp. This is explicated in the short story "Salvation" by Langston
Hughes. Langston goes through a dilemma during salvation, defined in the sense of Theology as
"the deliverance from sin and its consequences," ("salvation, n") when his aunt apprises him of Jesus
coming down in the form of bright light for his liberation. His literal interpretation of his aunt's
metaphoric language led to a host of emotions and confusion on his path to redemption. The essay
becomes one of consternation and cynicism toward his religion.
Living with his aunt and uncle at the time, Langston was now 13 and ready to be saved.
Regrettably,
...show more content...
It is, thus, a pressuring and life–changing moment. Langston Hughes
, the author and narrator of the
composition, "Salvation," is met with a barrage of thought and emotion come deliverance. Langton's
naivete mistook his aunt's metaphoric description of salvation, and this led to an absence of spiritual
epiphany when the time came. Ultimately, this evoked great dismay and skepticism toward his
indoctrinated ideology, causing him to lose faith in the church and
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Langston Hughes's Salvation
In Langston Hughes's short story entitled "Salvation" he discusses about the first time he is going to
be saved from sin. The story takes place on the night of the big revival, Langston, a young boy
around the age of thirteen, was brought to his aunt Reed's church to see Jesus and be saved from sin.
Aunt Reed had told him that if he was saved he would see a light, meaning Jesus had come into his
life. Langston believed her. Also, he had heard other adults mention the same light. So he sat in
church, waiting to see this mysterious light and for a big change. Since The preacher's sermon was
very powerful. His words made some young girls cry, and rush to the preacher to be saved.
However, many continued to sit and wait. Even after many adults prayed at the children's feet, the
narrator refused to move until he saw Jesus.
...show more content...
Westley whispered that he was tired of sitting there for a while, Westley decided to get up and be
saved as if he had seen the light, so he might be saved too. Though his aunt continued to pray for
him, nothing happened. He could not understand this and felt ashamed. He wondered what God
thought of Westley; God had not, after all, punish him for lying. So the narrator decided it might
make less trouble if he, too, lied about seeing Jesus. So he stood up, and the whole congregation
burst into shouts of joy. For the first time in his life, later that night, he cried. When his aunt heard,
she believed the tears were caused by the Holy Ghost, but the narrator was crying because he could
not bear to tell her he had lied to her and the congregation. Not only had he not seen Jesus, the
whole experience left his belief in
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