Various ways can be used to analyze the boy’s character, as stated in Langston Hughes’ “Salvation.” First of all, the boy can be considered susceptible and naive. At barely twelve years old, he is readily persuaded by his aunt and the elderly members of the church who preach about salvation. He patiently waits for this experience to occur since he also believes in seeing Jesus and experiencing him in his soul (Sharpe, 2020). However, he feels dissatisfied and disillusioned because this doesn’t happen.
The inner conflict the youngster experiences between his wish to blend in and be accepted and his sense of honesty and truth is another part of his character to be analyzed. Even though the boy doesn’t have much faith at first, he is surrounded by individuals who have a strong faith in salvation, and he feels compelled to live up to their standards. This ultimately causes him to lie and claim that Jesus has appeared to him, even though he has had no such encounter.
Hughes depicts the boy’s disappointment in the religious experience of being saved from sin. The boy is pressured into pretending to be saved to fit in with the other young sinners and avoid being the only one left on the mourners’ bench. Despite his efforts, he doesn’t feel any connection to Jesus and feels like he has deceived everyone in the church (Sharpe, 2020). Therefore, disillusionment, pressure, pretense, disappointment, and dishonesty can be best used to describe him.
At the story’s beginning, he is a young boy whose aunt has taught that salvation is a real and tangible experience that one can see, hear, and feel. He believes in this and eagerly awaits the moment when Jesus will come to him and save him from sin. At the end of the story, the boy experiences a significant change in his beliefs and emotions; by the end, Langston has lost his faith in salvation and Jesus (Sharpe, 2020). He feels ashamed of himself for not being saved and holds up the proceedings where he is embarrassed and frustrated that he is the only one left on the mourners’ bench. In desperation, he decides to lie and say that Jesus has come to him, so he can get up and be saved, which leads to a moment of rejoicing and ecstatic singing, but Langston is not a part of it. Jesus anymore.
In conclusion, Langston experiences a significant transformation by the end of the story. He starts as a young boy with faith in salvation and Jesus but ends up feeling disillusioned, lost, and alone. This change in his beliefs and emotions highlights the power of societal and cultural influence in shaping a person’s religious beliefs and the pressure of conforming to societal norms.
