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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 is written in the past tense and the narrator mentions that he was 'going on thirteen' (181), we know the speaker is now older. After reading a little further, we find that the style becomes more complex, with a more select choice of words and longer sentences. The contrast between simple and complex styles is present all through the rest of the essay, and creates a more personal atmosphere. Another particularity of 'Salvation' is the fact that the story recounts Langston Hughes' own personal experiences as a young boy. This high degree of intimacy allows Hughes to supply the reader with some very concrete details and vivid descriptions. The beauty in Hughes? personal insights lies in their power to reach our senses. We can clearly picture th...
On the other hand we have a story that is also humorous; however, his literary devices achieve a more childlike tone and his story concludes with a sympathetic effect on the reader . In “Salvation”, by Langston Hughes he takes us back to his inner thirteen year old self and his experience with being “saved” in a church. He explains the internal struggle he faces when he is pressured by a whole congregation to “see jesus” and the ironic effect it has on his perspective towards Jesus.
In Langston Hughes’ poem, the author gives us vivid examples of how dreams get lost in the weariness of everyday life. The author uses words like dry, fester, rot, and stink, to give us a picture of how something that was originally intended for good, could end up in defeat. Throughout the play, I was able to feel how each character seemed to have their dreams that fell apart as the story went on. I believe the central theme of the play has everything to do with the pain each character goes thru after losing control of the plans they had in mind. I will attempt to break down each character’s dream and how they each fell apart as the play went on.
After reading the short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes and an excerpt from Black Boy by Richard Wright, it is apparent to the reader that both stories reflect how young African American males perceive church. Both experiences in church talk about how the idea of God/ faith is imposed upon young Hughes and Wright by loved ones as well as society. However, each character undergoes the internal conflict of whether or not to conform. The validity of the central idea, individual versus society, is revealed through both character’s choices to either be the pariah within their community or fall under peer pressure in order to attain false acceptance.
'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.
All Langston Hughes ever wanted was for people to have their dreams accomplished and the motivation to bring change forward. However, Hughes’ dreams almost came tumbling down for speaking out in one of his poems like he typically does. In 1940, Hughes had been investigated by the FBI following the release of his poem “Goodbye Christ”. Numerous accusations had arisen, stating Hughes “…[was a] member of the Communist Party, [ran] for public office, called for a race war, married a white woman, and studied Communism in the U.S.S.R.” (Dyson, p. 45, 2002). Although it looked as if Hughes’s days with the rest of society were numbered, Hughes made sure that his dreams were not forgotten. Hughes continued to write poetry during this difficult time period which included his poem “A Dream Deferred”. Hughes realized that when he wrote this poem, it had to be worded in a way that would get his message across while not raising any red flags. Even though his poem would get published, the publishers who helped Hughes had gotten fired (Miller, n.p., 2012). When Hughes was ordered to appear before the Committee of Un-American Activities in 1953, he looked to ensure that he would not end up in jail without abandoning his ideals. Hughes then released a statement regarding himself and his poetry saying that he believes “‘…in an America that changes as Americans want it to change’” which is exactly what is reflected in “A Dream Deferred” (Dyson, p. 45, 2002). When looking into the past events Hughes encountered prior to “A Dream Deferred” being published, it is evident that one can see the importance of pursuing dreams. People will try to get in the way of achieving dreams, whether it be Hughes’s, Harlem’s, of the African-American communit...
Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He lived in an unstable home environment as his father abandoned the family and moved to Mexico. His father studied law but was prohibited from testing for the bar exam due to his race. This may have led to his decision to leave the states (Pesonen, 1997-2008). His mother was a school teacher was but was always traveling to find employment with better wages. Young James Langston Hughes was never in one place for long, after his parents’ divorce he went to live with his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas until he was thirteen years old. Much of the author’s work can be attributed to his grandmother as she was very influential to him. She would tell him stories of how black people faugh to be liberated and treated equally. His grandmother taught him how to use his sadness to his advantage (Langston Hughes, 1997-2010). To no avail he did exactly what his grandmother told him. As a young man he traveled the world taking bits and pieces of life experiences, placing them in his literary works. Langston Hughes has brought the afflictions of Black Americans in the nineteenth and twentieth century and placed them in view for the world to see.
In Langston Hughes’ essay “Salvation,” Langston talks about the first time he is going to be saved from sin. Langston is a young boy around the age of thirteen. He is going to church to see Jesus for the first time. In which case, he truly experiences religion for the first time in his life. Throughout this essay Langston uses many narrative techniques such as, imagery, metaphors, and irony to explain his interpretation of that one night when he did not see Jesus.
of a grape going into a raisin. Hughes knew the pain and sorrow internally and externally that the
In "Salvation" Langston Hughes describes an event in his childhood when he pretended to be saved by Jesus Christ in order to save his congregation more aggravation and trouble. At the age of 12 Hughes was called a sinner. He was placed on the mourners bench in his church with several other children who were about to be brought to "the fold". Hughes was told that he would "feel Jesus" in his soul, and he believed them because they were older and supposedly knew better.
In Langston Hughes 's definition essay entitled "Salvation" he discusses the social and emotional pressures that effect young people. He pulls in his own experiences from being an active member in his church, and the moment he was supposed to experience revival of twelve. Hughes 's purpose for writing this definition essay is to show the peer pressures and internal conflicts that come from both church and the religious community, and his personal experiences that led to the pressures that were put upon him in his youth. The audiences that “Salvation” was pointed towards are adults; it shows the pressures that are put upon the youth, while the child does not fully grasp the idea being expressed to them. Langston Hughes 's overall message to
In Langston Hughes’ short story, “Salvation”, Hughes tells a part of his childhood when he was saved but not really. Hughes describes when he tried to discover the truth about faith and religion. In the story, Aunt Reed, Hughes’ religious aunt, takes him to a church meeting when he was twelve. All the children are made to sit in the front row so that the rest of the church can pray for them. Hughes and Westley, another little boy, are the only ones left of all the children to get saved. Westley eventually decides to get saved because he is tired of sitting. Hughes takes a while longer to get up because he expects to physically see Jesus, but nothing happens. The preacher and his aunt pressures Hughes to get saved. He realizes that he is holding up the service and feels that he should lie and get up. He says, “Now it was really getting late. I began to be ashamed of myself, holding everything up so long.” (112) He pretends to see Jesus even though he is certain that the other children are lying about it. The guilt Hughes feels for lying makes the conclusion that he has discovered the true spirit of religion.
How easy is it to overstep ones boundaries with religion? In Langston Hughes’s short story “Salvation”, from his autobiographical (“The Big Sea”), Langston tells the story of his experiences with religion. Langston Hughes was a key player in the Harlem Renaissance”The first major movement of African-American literature, beginning around 1923 and flourishing until the depression, but providing a stimulus that lasted through the 1940s.”(“1920's-Mid-1930's Harlem Renaissance”, Matterson, Stephen 2003). While staying with his Auntie Reed, Langston goes to a church revival. Auntie Reed encouraged Langston to be saved from his sins, embedded these fantasy notions of receiving a sign from jesus once you are saved; “when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life!”(#3
In Langston Hughes's "Salvation", towards the end of the story, Langston basically shows signs that he has accepted God into his life, even though he didn't "believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn't come to help me." Langston said "I cried, in bed alone, and couldn't stop." He was showing remorse for deceiving his Aunt and the other people of the church. The Bible states in Leviticus 19:11 "You shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another." Langston had been raised in a Christian home, thus knowing that lying was a sin. By lying to his Aunt and the church members, Langston defied the Bible, thus he sinned. Not only did Langston deceive his Aunt and church members, he deceived them in the house of God. Finally,
Salvation, by Langston Hughes, is a story about a boy who is forced to conform to a religious belief and “see Jesus.” Many cultures and religions today impact young children by pushing them to accept and believe is something that is far greater than what they are ready for. I personally, have had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with this firsthand, having someone push “good Christian ideals” and values down my throat since a young age, an age where I was not necessarily ready to comprehend everything that was being thrown at me.
The seven miracle stories recorded in John are, first, the turning of water into wine at a marriage feast in Cana. Second, the healing of a nobleman's son who was at the point of death. Third, the healing of a man at the sheep-gate pool. Fourth, the walking on water. Fifth, the feeding of five thousand. Sixth, the healing of the man born blind: and seventh, the raising of Lazarus. Each of these stories is used as an introduction to a discourse concerning the significance of Jesus and His message in relation to the quality of a person's life. This use of the miracle stories for the purpose of teaching spiritual lessons is made possible by analogies and, in many instances, by allegorizing the materials found in the stories. For example, the story of Jesus' turning water into wine is interpreted to mean the contrast between the old and the new dispensations. The water symbolizes a cleansing, and the transformation that takes place when a person's life is filled with the spirit present in Jesus