Langston Hughes Research Paper

Few religions outline the exact steps towards salvation. They follow this practice with the belief that no mortal can truly know whether they will see heaven’s pearly gates, even if he or she spends years knocking on doors with tracts and Bibles in hand. In Langston Hughes’ “Salvation,” however, a church in the midst of a revival pleads and shouts that a young Hughes simply needs to see Jesus to be saved. But when Hughes can’t see Jesus, he loses faith in both salvation and himself. To help his readers understand his younger self’s reasoning for his loss of faith, Hughes manipulates his syntax to immerse the audience in his naive 13-year-old mind.

In his narration story Salvation, he elaborates on his first encounter of Jesus in church when he was twelve. “My aunt came and knelt at my knees and cried, while prayers and songs swirled all around me in the little church... And I kept waiting serenely for Jesus, waiting, waiting, waiting-but he didn’t come.” This quote can represent how Hughes was pressured into “feeling” Jesus and kept waiting on him to come. Then, the pastor asked him why “didn’t he come to Jesus?

Nothing! I wanted something to happen to me, but nothing happened” (Hughes) In what is described as “mob psychology” (https://www.iwebfolio.com/Salvation) Langston finally gives in to the insurmountable pressure placed on him and pretends to “go to Jesus” even though he is not convinced anymore that there is a real Jesus. He deceives his aunt, the preacher and church people as a way to save face.

As a far more knowledgeable person compared to the past, I find it suffice to say one should never succumb to the expectations of others. Of course, I knew this back then but still fell victim to peer pressure. Perhaps being more mature now, I know better than to submit to other’s expectations that I either cannot or do not want to meet. Hopefully Langston realized this as well, finding happiness and content without needing the approval of

A warning from Langston Hughes echoes through time: "Negroes,/ Sweet and docile,/ Meek, humble and kind:/ Beware the day/ They change their mind!" (Warning 1-5). In a time when African Americans were looked down upon throughout the country, Langston Hughes rose above. He experienced the discrimination and soon led the revolution.

The preacher is telling the children to come rather than asking him to. The preachers words also don't appear to not be completely sincere. When he notices that Langston is the only child that has not been saved he targets him in front of the congregation by asking him, “ Why don't you come to ” The preacher phases the question to Langston as if he has an actual choice. The preacher understand that Langston is young and uses both his authority and pressure to force Langston to listen to his

Langston Hughes experienced hate from both white and black people because

Langston Hughes used rhetoric words in his story “Salvation,” to provide foreshadows, and emotional appeals to his struggles in becoming religiously saved. Hughes began his story by stating “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen (179).” The irony in this opening is that Hughes initially believed in the presence of Jesus, but unexpected pressures pushed him to betray and deceive his faith. The setting of Hughes struggles took place in a religious ceremony in his Auntie Reed’s church. In this service, many young children like Hughes were gathered to be spiritually cleansed by the light of Jesus.

Langston Hughes 's shifting attitude toward salvation in his essay was disappointing and at the same time upsetting. He 's disappointed and upset because he was forced to believe in the situation that something will happen to him inside before he accept Jesus but instead it did not happen. Most of the time we are pressured to accept an idea of what others belief, not because we agree to it but instead we intentionally do it for them to stop asking. Some felt the guilt after, and do something about it but most of the time we just let it go and move on.

“Salvation” is a short story by Langston Hughes describing a boy when he discovered a significant truth about faith and religion. The last paragraph of “Salvation” functions as an epiphany for the boy. An epiphany is an experience of sudden and striking realization. It can also mean the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi. This event helps shape the boy’s religious understanding far differently from what his Aunt Reed believes.

In the essay “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, Hughes argues that one should make decisions themselves instead of being forced by other people in your life. At the start of the essay, Hughes explains to the reader that his aunt was excited about anl at church where kids would get saved. Seeing Jesus,Hughes aunt told him, means you are saved and have accepted Jesus into your life. Right there is where the pressure starts for

In the poem “I, Too”, the author Langston Hughes illustrates the key aspect of racial discrimination faces against the African Americans to further appeals the people to challenge white supremacy. He conveys the idea that black Americans are as important in the society. Frist, Hughes utilizes the shift of tones to indicate the thrive of African American power. In the first stanza, the speaker shows the sense of nation pride through the use of patriotic tone. The first line of the poem, “I, too, sing America” states the speaker’s state of mind.

Langston Hughes poems “Harlem” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” are two poems that have a deeper meaning than a reader may notice. Hughes 's poem “Harlem” incorporates the use of similes to make a reader focus on the point Hughes is trying to make. In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Hughes shows how close he was to the rivers on a personal level. With those two main focuses highlighted throughout each poem, it creates an intriguing idea for a reader to comprehend. In these particular poems, Hughes’s use of an allusion, imagery, and symbolism in each poem paints a clear picture of what Hughes wants a reader to realize.

We can define the word salvation as deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ. One can be saved by accepting Jesus Christ into your life, but this wasn’t the case for Langston Hughes when he wrote “Salvation”. Having portrayed himself as a young teenage boy when this piece was written and using the first person perspective, the pressure he felt wanting to actually see and feel Jesus is the main reason why he ruined it for himself, and he was not “saved”. The first two lines even say “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved.”

You can’t actually be a lie so this was very exaggerated and emphasized. Also, he appeals to the reader 's senses with his very simplicit style of writing. Langston Hughes writes very simple and to the point for example, “ She was a large woman with a large purse that had everything in it but a hammer and nails.” (Hughes Pg.1) This quote gives you a quick description of who Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is.