Summary of Langston Hughes' "Salvation"
Langston Hughes’ short autobiographical essay, “Salvation” described his experience at a church revival when he was twelve years old. Hughes and his auntie Reed attended a special event at church, "to bring the young lambs to the fold" (Hughes). In “Salvation” he detailed how his aunt told him he would see and hear Jesus when you were saved. Hughes and all the other young children are brought to the altar to be saved with the assistance of the preacher. As the children went up to accept Jesus in their hearts and souls. Hughes and a boy name Westley were the only ones that remained at the altar. The preacher persuaded Westley and Hughes to come up but they were hesitant. After a couple of minutes of waiting Westley whispered to Langston, "God damn! I'm tired o' sitting here. Let's get up and be saved." (Hughes) and he proceeded to preacher, accepting Christ. Langston is waiting for his aunt’s description of what it would be someone is saved. He saw no light and had no magical feelings. The whole church begged and prayed for him to get up. Langston thought hard about his decision and chooses to get up and accept the Lord. That night, he went to bed in tears. Knowing that he hadn’t seen Jesus, he felt like he betrayed his aunt and the church. From there out, he no longer believed there was a Jesus anymore.
Works Cited
Hughes, Langston. "Thread: Salvation - A Short Essay by Langston Hughes." Literature Network Forums RSS. 20 Feb. 2012. Web. 2 May 2015. http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?67465-Salvation-A-short-essay-by-Langston-Hughes
(Hughes, “Salvation”)
