“Salvation" by Langston Hughes is the story of a young boy who has an experience of revelation or realization. While attending a church revival, he comes to the sudden realization that Jesus can not physically come save him and isn’t truly there for him . In the first few sentences of the essay, Langston adopts a very childlike style of writing. He uses simple words and keeps the sentences short, similar to the style 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" (P#1), 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. As it got further into the story is said all of the grown ups in the building were praying for his salvation. “The old woman with the jet black faces and braided hair”(p#4) and “the men with the work-gnarled hands”(P#4) giving the mood of almost fear and distress portraying that Langston is going through something. In the end, Langston stood up along with the boy who stood up so he was accepted- “Goddamn! I'm tired o' sitting here. Let's get up and be saved." (P#6) the boy said. After sitting for hours Langston stood up realizing he wasn’t going to be saved, and he cried all that night, because he had lied and with never be able to believe in Jesus anymore, thus illustrating him loosing his true innocence.
Another work of literature that really exposed the loss of innocence in people was The Lord Of The Flies, written by John Steinbeck. This story is about a plane full of British pri...
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... a real shock when Bob Ewell attempted to kill both her and Jem, just to get to Atticus because he was representing the black man on the defense. This was malice in its purest form. In the end, these were all defining moments for Scout and Jem, and their innocence was lost as she had realized the real bitterness in the world.
Works Cited
"English 103: Langston Hughes "Salvation"" English 103: Langston Hughes "Salvation" N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. Print.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Screenplay by Horton Foote. Dir. Robert Mulligan. Perfs. Gregory Peck, Brock Peters, Mary Badham. 1962. DVD. Universal, 2005.Foote, Horton, Screenplay. To Kill a Mockingbird. Based on the Novel by Harper Lee. Dir. Robert Mulligan. Perfs. Gregory Peck, Brock Peters, Mary Badham. 1962. DVD. Universal, 2005.
Jems naïve views are soon corrupted as he goes through experiences like with Boo Radley, but Jem manages to grow in strength as he sheds his pure qualities and learns to have hope. Jem and Scouts childhood friend Dill represents another killing of a mockingbird, as his innocence is destroyed during his trial experience. Scouts childish views dissipates as she witnesses different events in her life, and she grows in experience and maturity as she encounters racial prejudice, making her learn how to maintain her pure conscience that Atticus has developed without losing hope or becoming cynical. Harper Lee’s novel explores human morality, as she weaves the path from childhood to a more adult perspective, illustrating the evils in a corrupt world how to understand them without losing
Langston Hughes was an African American poet who emerged during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance strongly influenced most of Langston Hughes’s writing. In such works as “Dream”, “Still Here”, “Dream Deferred”, and “Justice” you see the clear messages that are trying to be voiced through his work.
Langston Hughes, in his essay “Salvation” writes about his experience as a young boy, at the age of 12, where he finds himself being inducted into a local church. An analysis of Hughes’ essay will describe and elaborate on both emotional and social pressures. He reaches out to an audience of adults find themselves in the position to influence a child’s thoughts, or ideals. Hughes’ message to the reader is that adults can easily manipulate a child’s ideals by pressuring them into doing something they do not truly wish to do.
Langston Hughes paint a picture of himself, as he goes on to thirteen in church but finds himself directly reflecting on mans own instinctive behavior for obedience. A congregation who wants him to go up and get saved, gives into obedience and goes to the altar as if he has seen the light of the Holy Spirit itself. "won't you come? Wont you come to jesus? Young lambs, wont you come?" As the preacher stilling there with open arms, girls crying, kids standing that they have felt the power force of the holy spirit through there body. There, Langston, sits not feeling anything but himself sitting in a hot church waiting for this unknown pheumona to come and touch his inner soul only to find out that the Holy Spirit isn't coming for him at all.
When reading the literature of Langston Hughes, I cant help but feeling energetically charged and inspired. Equality, freedom, empowerment, renaissance, justice and perseverance, are just a taste of the subject matter Hughes offers. He amplifies his voice and beliefs through his works which are firmly rooted in race pride and race feeling. Hughes committed himself both to writing and to writing mainly about African Americans. His early love for the “wonderful world of books” was sparked by loneliness and parental neglect. He would soon lose himself in the works of Walt Whitman, Paul Laurence, Carl Sandburg and other literary greats which would lead to enhancing his ever so growing style and grace of oeuvre. Such talent, character, and willpower could only come from one’s life experiences. Hughes had allot to owe to influences such as his grandmother and great uncle John Mercer Langston - a famous African American abolitionist. These influential individuals helped mold Hughes, and their affect shines brightly through his literary works of art.
Hughes, Langston. �Salvation.� Responding to Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays and Essays. Fourth Edition. Ed. Judith A. Stanford. Boston, 2003. 330-331
...e through understanding Bob Ewell and his misdeeds, appreciating Boo Radley and his valorous actions, and acknowledging Atticus’s moral advice. At the end of the novel, it is evident that the children mature into more sympathetic, sensitive young people, indicated by their ultimate understanding of those of whom they have encountered. Furthermore, as Atticus hints throughout the whole novel, the positive characteristics of an individual will almost always prevail, demonstrated to Jem and Scout as they meet different kinds of people and hone their notions about the world around them. Above all, Jem and Scout’s appreciations for human goodness are altered for the better: their ability to sincerely understand the way in which individuals work and feel emerges at the end of the novel, when the children are finally able to accept the contradictory parts of human essence.
In Langston Hughes’ Salvation, he tells the story of how he was disappointed with God because he failed to save him and how this incident caused him to lose faith and become an atheist. The narrative begins when Hughes was twelve years old. He was going to church with his aunt for a big revival. His aunt told him how Jesus was going to save him. She told him that when he was going to be saved he was going to see a light and he would feel and see Jesus inside of him. Hughes being so young and naïve thought his aunt meant that he was literally going to see an actual light and that Jesus was going to be physically in front of him. Little did he know this was not going to be the case. Hughes then goes on about how the preacher brought all the young kids
A time comes in everybody's life where they need to be "saved." When this happens a spiritual bond is formed with in that individual. In Langston Hughes' essay, "Salvation," that bond is broken because Langston wasn't saved. It is because Langston turned to Jesus, and in his eyes Jesus wasn't there. This creating a conflict within himself and the members of the church, with the end result being Langston's faith being destroyed.
Harper Lee has incorporated the representation of her most meaningful statement in the title of her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. The many points of discussion which surface in Lee's book would certainly have partially submerged the parallel she created between Tom Robinson and the mockingbird.
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 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.
Langston Hughes was twelve when he was “saved.” He was at a revival at his Aunts church when he soon felted pressured to accept Jesus into his heart. He wanted to experience what everyone else was feeling but could not experience what others were. Soon he began thinking of what the other guy was feeling and began to become ashamed of himself, holding everything in for so long. Then Westley was sitting high on the thrown with Christ and Langston wanted that. Soon after Langston’s stood up to be saved, everyone started cheering and celebrating his salvation with him. Whenever he got home from the revival he cried alone in his room. His aunt thought he was crying because the Holy Spirit came into his life. Little did she know he was crying because he lied and said that he seen Jesus when he really didn’t (McMahan, Day, Funk, and Coleman 280).
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.