Langston Hughes Salvation

In the narrative “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, the author discusses religion and childhood. The story takes place when Hughes was a twelve year old boy. His aunt pressures him to join christianity; however, rather than being saved and seeing god, he ends up losing faith instead. Langston Hughes uses stylistic techniques, primarily anaphora, imagery, and repetition to convey a message regarding religion. Hughes is writing about how the focus of religion isn’t mainly on faith, but rather conforming to a common community pressure. He mentions that many people find it easier to abide to the pressure instead of rebelling against religion.
Langston Hughes displays his views on religion and the pressure to join one throughout the narrative. In the beginning of the essay, Hughes is hopeful, excited even, to see God and be saved. He eagerly listens to his aunt describe the experience; “My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life! And God was with you from then on!”. Langston Hughes used anaphora to display how grand and wonderful his aunt’s description seemed. Although he doesn’t believe in god, the description encourages young Hughes to go to church and wait for Jesus to come save him.
Later in the story, …show more content…
As a result of his experience, Hughes discovers that religion isn’t mainly about believing in Jesus, but rather obeying a standard society belief. Many young people have similar experiences. Their parents pass down religious values to their children with the expectation that their children will agree with their beliefs. Furthermore, the majority of people choose to follow their parent’s faith, even if they secretly don’t believe in it. Additionally, Langston Hughes story displays the repercussions of forcing a belief on others, especially children. Hughes wrote about this event in hopes that others learn from his