“Salvation,” written by Langston Hughes, is an account of his experience as a twelve-year-old boy in attending a revival at his Auntie Reed’s church. Hughes ends up being the last child on the mourner’s bench because he did not physically see Jesus. He is eventually saved when he gives in and stands up without really seeing the light. Hughes shows how spiritual experiences cannot be forced upon an individual by satirizing religion with the use of repetition, perspective, and symbolism of the characters.
Through the use of repetition, Hughes illustrates the feeling of being pressured to social conformity through the repetition of the question “Why don’t you come?” (pgh 8). Hughes wanted to experience the feeling of being saved and seeing the light for himself. However, the pressure of the …show more content…
It is written in first person so the reader can empathize with the thoughts and feelings of the narrator. The way his aunt described what it felt like to see Jesus is what Hughes’s expectation was. The use of exclamation marks illustrates the excitement Hughes and his aunt felt about attending the revival. Being a naïve child, Hughes believed that he had to literally see Jesus to be saved. To his aunt, seeing Jesus was more of a spiritual feeling than a physical presence. Hughes did not know that seeing Jesus was more of knowing and believing, which is why he felt embarrassed for lying. The misinterpretation of him crying shows his aunt’s spiritual perspective compared to his true feelings. The difference of perspective between an adult and child is significant. In this short story, a child takes things more literally, while an adult view is more spiritual and mental. The format contrasts long sentences with short sentences to differentiate the thoughts of the adults and the children, respectively. This gives the reader an insight of the different intellectual levels of adults and
Through the use of repetition, Hughes illustrates the feeling of being pressured to social conformity through the repetition of the question “Why don’t you come?” (pgh 8). Hughes wanted to experience the feeling of being saved and seeing the light for himself. However, the pressure of the …show more content…
It is written in first person so the reader can empathize with the thoughts and feelings of the narrator. The way his aunt described what it felt like to see Jesus is what Hughes’s expectation was. The use of exclamation marks illustrates the excitement Hughes and his aunt felt about attending the revival. Being a naïve child, Hughes believed that he had to literally see Jesus to be saved. To his aunt, seeing Jesus was more of a spiritual feeling than a physical presence. Hughes did not know that seeing Jesus was more of knowing and believing, which is why he felt embarrassed for lying. The misinterpretation of him crying shows his aunt’s spiritual perspective compared to his true feelings. The difference of perspective between an adult and child is significant. In this short story, a child takes things more literally, while an adult view is more spiritual and mental. The format contrasts long sentences with short sentences to differentiate the thoughts of the adults and the children, respectively. This gives the reader an insight of the different intellectual levels of adults and