Nikki Jenkins October 13, 2011 English 1102 In his essay called Salvation, Langston Hughes recalls how

he was introduced to religion and the church. He goes to say that at thirteen years old he was brought to his Aunt Reeds church and was told that he needed to be saved by Jesus Christ. At the ceremony, while all the other children went up to accept Jesus, Langston and another child named Westley remained seated. As the congregation prayed and the priest sang psalms, Westley cracked under the pressure and went up to the alter, but Langston still sat. He had literally taken the phrase you will see Jesus and felt bad about lying to the church because, after all, he had still not seen Jesus but was anxious to meet him. Finally, Langston came to the decision that it was getting late and one little lie about seeing Jesus couldnt hurt. He then went to the alter and accepted Jesus. That night, his aunt heard him crying and assumed that it was because he had come to terms with God, but Langston was crying because he felt horrible having to lie to everyone about seeing Jesus and he was even more hurt that Jesus never came to help him. The irony in Salvation comes not from Langston, but rather from the people around him. Throughout the story, elderly women with "jet-black faces" and men with "work-gnarled hands" watch the moves of each of the children. The elderly put the young lambs like Langston and Wesley on the spot, as they were "surrounded by sisters and deacons praying." These supposedly wise older men and women only acted as a catalyst to Langston's lying and loss of faith. Meant to lead him into the light, they in fact led him away from it. With each tear that fell from his face that night, the reader was reminded of the insurmountable pressure adults can put on children. In the analysis, Hughes brilliantly wields biblical terms to smack the reader in the face with irony. From how hot the church was to how nave the elders were, Salvation correctly depicts a world where things never go as planned. As the young disbeliever breaks down and cries in his bedroom, the reader is forced to flirt with the idea of how to handle such a tense situation. While many people would be left in a pool of confusion, Hughes takes on the adversity and even admits he "didn't believe there was a Jesus" rather than filling himself with doubt. At a glance, the piece seems to be about a simple, young boy who believes that Jesus would physically appear in front of him. In a deeper sense, however, it dives into a questioning of faith. The story could be translated to a very common scenario among people having trouble with identifying their religious inclinations. Sometimes, there is a world of pressure put on people by their peers to choose a religion. These people often look for signs or aid from a higher power to help guide them. After receiving no signs or guidance, they renounce faith in God and Jesus and blame the higher being. In Langstons case: his aunt, the priest, and the congregation put tremendous amounts of pressure on him to become a member of the church. He looked for Jesus and when he never came, Langston renounced his faith by saying, and now I didnt believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didnt come and help me.