Prompt: How would you analyze the character of the boy in the story? What are several words you would use to describe him? How is he different by the end of the story? In what ways has he changed? To submit your Week 3 post, follow the steps below. 1. Scroll up to the black strip at the top of the screen and click the black “plus” sign inside the white circle. It is located to the right of the course title. 2. In the box that reads “Add title,” type in a title that includes your first name, last name, and the words “Discussion 3” (example: John Hart Discussion 3). 3. Type your response in the text box. Remember that your first post must be at least 150 words in order to receive full credit. 4. Navigate to the right side of the screen and choose the Post Category “Week 3 Discussion” (or whichever week is current). Never choose anything in the box that reads “Category Sticky.” Click for screenshot. 5. To add media (optional), click the “add media“ button in between the title box and the text box. Do not add the image directly to the media library. To get the image to show in the tile preview, go to “featured image > add featured image, in the lower right-hand side.” Click for screenshot. 6. Publish the post by clicking the blue button on the right. 7. Please leave a thoughtful reply to the post of one other classmate. Remember that your comments to others should be at least 75 words in order to receive full credit.
Week 3 Discussion
For my research paper, I’ve decided to do“The magdalen path awakens the power of your feminine soul” – by Clair sierra and the quote I chose was ‘Are there places in your own life where you feel particularly called — situations or issues that grab your attention? Are you able to speak up with care, concern, and compassion? Often we keep these awarenesses hidden for fear of upsetting the status quo, wanting to keep the peace, etc. Those days need to be over, as we are reaching crises of epic proportions in almost all areas of society” Clair Sierra: Stepping into Feminine Leadership The main idea of “stepping into feminine leadership” is about learning and stepping into the life of being a feminist and the steps it takes to become one. This chapter mentions the issues that also occur when being a feminist. For example “As women, we thrive in working together, yet we often feel isolated. We don’t have to do it alone anymore. What can you do to get support? Can you get your community involved with you?” It talks about how it sometimes feels like we are on our own in some situations and realize that we are not alone and that many people experience the same thing. Clair Sierra wrote ‘The Magdalene path” Because she wanted to express her passion for feminism and how even when it can be overpowering and scary there is always a way to feel passionate and creative when being a feminist. It also mentions that the stress they feel is being overpowered by the masculine mindset in this world and what can help to make it better. She also helps women in a way with art to help with dealing with these types of things. She also has an office […]
The little boy in this story is the narrator himself. He is currently 12 years old and I find him quite pessimistic for someone his age. He’s more of an honest type and quick to always tell the truth but he doesn’t make it to the end of the story because he doesn’t want to disappoint his aunt and the whole congregation who prays and cries for him. He identifies as someone who is quite down to earth and down to earth. He does not want to lie, as Westley does, and get up simply because he is tired of the mourners’ bench. When he does finally get up, it is because he feels guilty for disappointing his aunt and the congregation, who have been waiting for some time. According to the text and the way he exposes things I can say that he only believes what he sees. in the moment that he stands and is celebrated for having come to God, he is actually experiencing a terrible loss of faith. He no longer believes in Jesus, because Jesus did not come to him in his moment of need.
The little boy in this story is the narrator himself. He is currently 12 years old and I find him quite pessimistic for someone his age. He’s more of an honest type and quick to always tell the truth but he doesn’t make it to the end of the story because he doesn’t want to disappoint his aunt and the whole congregation who prays and cries for him. He identifies as someone who is quite down to earth and down to earth. According to the text and the way he exposes things I can say that he only believes what he sees
The character of the boy in Langston Hughes’ “Salvation” is a complex one. At first, the boy is shown to be naive, easily influenced, and idealistic. Even though he is only a child, he has a strong religious belief and is very dedicated to what his grandmother taught him. He also wants to know more about the idea of salvation and is eager to do so. But he is also a little bit rebellious because he doesn’t want to do what the church says or what his peers expect of him. By the end of the story, the boy’s life has changed in a big way. His idealism has been broken, and a more mature view of the world has taken its place. He has lost hope because he has learned that salvation doesn’t come from a single event or religious ritual. Instead, it comes from a long-term effort. He is also more open to the idea that the beliefs of his peers might be different from his own, and he is willing to embrace the fact that people have different ideas.
This piece – although very short – spoke volumes. If I had to describe Langston, the 12 year old prepubescent boy, I might describe him as inquisitive, honest, trustworthy and hopeful. I assume he’s prepubescent because of his innocence and naivety, with waiting for the metaphorical light to come into him. Waiting for Jesus to just…..fill him with the Holy Spirit as it is described and as we often hear (in certain cultures and communities). In a few short sentences though, Langston was no longer naive and innocent, but doubtful, saddened, disappointed and maybe slightly angry. The complexity of the many ironies that occurred in this piece, this can be a heavy topic of discussion. Westley exclaiming “God damn!…….” before going to be “saved” to avoid being encouraged to be saved any longer. Langston’s aunt assuming he was crying tears of joy and love for Jesus entering his life, when in reality it was the opposite. I think the biggest irony I noticed was Langston losing hope, sight and belief in Jesus in the very place that worshippers go to find him and be closer to him. Langston grew up on a Sunday afternoon, after not finding Jesus.
The boy in this story is very religious. In the book “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. He is very trustworthy and brave for everything he has accomplished and listens too.he is also very patient in waiting for things he wants. Some words I would describe him by would be brave, religious, patience, and hopeful. Reason being is because the boy put all his hopes into it because he would have met Jesus. He is very pure in everything he wants.at the end of the story the boy became hopeful and very disappointed in the fact that he waited all day for it and it never happened. He has changed to realize that everything in life doesn’t happen the way you want it to, and sometimes things aren’t the exact way others may have thinked about it. He has changed to notice the difference between things that may seem easy doesn’t happen in the same time span as you want it too.
In the short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. I would describe him as a loyal and trustworthy person. He’s also patient in the things he wants or believes in having. The boy seemed like an only child, someone who is easy to convince or easy to talk to. “Still I kept waiting to see Jesus.” This shows how patient he is about things he really wants, the author in this book shows how precious a human being is until things don’t go their way, they tend to change and adapt differently.in the end of the story he being sad and upset that he didn’t get the result he wanted too he never seen Jesus. He has changed in ways that sometime not everything that seems to be perfect are true and sometimes things doesn’t always happen the same moment you would like it too or the way you may like it.
The boy in the story “Salvation” By Langston Hughes experienced a wide range of emotions while in the church. The boy expresses the values of trust and respect for his elders shown in paragraph two. He believes he will see Jesus because he heard his aunt and many old people explain that Jesus would come to him. He also expresses the value of honesty. In paragraph fifteen Hughes reveals the pain he feels for lying about seeing Jesus. He stated, “I was crying because I couldn’t bear to tell her that I had lied, that I had deceived everybody in the church” (15). Along with values and emotion, Hughes expresses self-definition. In the first paragraph, he states that he is a sinner. He also defines himself as a calm and thoughtful child. In Paragraph two he explains that he sat “calmly in the hot, crowded church, waiting for Jesus.” The boy is heavily anticipating the arrival of Jesus stated in paragraph 5 “Still I kept waiting to see Jesus. In the final paragraph, the boy regretted lying to his aunt, and to everyone in the church, he stated he was ashamed of himself and that he cried while he was in bed. He stated, “I cried, in bed alone, and couldn’t stop…[my aunt] woke up and told my uncle I was crying because the Holy Ghost had come into my life and because I had seen Jesus. But I was crying because I couldn’t bear to tell her that I had lied, that I had deceived everybody in the church, that I hadn’t seen Jesus, and that now I didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn’t come to help me. The boy started to question his belief after not being saved by Jesus, and that’s when […]
After reading “Salvation” by Langston Huges the boy in the story who is the main character suddenly becomes very appealing to me. His character is someone that seems like all he wanted to do was be saved so that his aunt would believe him. Some of the words that I would use to describe him is optimistic, confused, and worried. I say this because the longer he sat there he could tell that it was going nowhere. Although he wanted to try and be saved watching all of the kids get picked up and passed by him, he felt as if he had no other choice but to fake it and act like he was saved as well. By the end of the story, he is a bit different as now his faith is at stake. After lying his way through church, he questioned everything he’s ever know because “he” was supposed to come down and help but didn’t.
The boy in “Salvation” by Langston Hughes is strong-willed, conscious, and was very aware of his actions. In the story, Hughes was strong-willed because he stood his ground when everyone in the Church, including his aunt, wanted him to stand up and go to the front with all the other children. In chapter 3, Hughes states “Westley and I were surrounded by sisters and deacons praying. It was very hot in the church, and getting late now. Finally Westley said to me in a whisper: ‘God damn! I’m tired o’ sitting here. Let’s get up and be saved.’ So he got up and was saved. Then I was left all alone on the mourners’ bench.” This demonstrates Langston Hughes was strong-willed because he stayed sitting while his friend, Westley, went up in front of the church because he said he was “tired of sitting” and went ahead and joined the other kids. Hughes felt like it was not yet his time so he did not decide to get up with the others. Hughes was very conscious. He knew what he was doing and he knew his goal. He was waiting to see Jesus physically. In my opinion, he did not fully understand the “concept” in the belief of Jesus. He thought he was going to physically get saved and did not do so, because he never actually saw Jesus. In the end of the story, Langston Hughes was very aware because after he was home, he regretted lying to his aunt, and to everyone in the church, and he felt so ashamed that he even cried to himself while he was in bed. He stated, “I cried, in bed alone, and couldn’t stop…[my aunt] woke up and told my uncle I was crying because the Holy Ghost had come into […]
I would describe the boy in the story, “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, as trusting, faithful, anxious, and excited. I say he is trusting because when his aunt tells him what he should expect from the revival, he believes her with no doubt and has faith that something will happen to him inside and he will see this “light.” I would maybe also describe him as naive or innocent because when he hears everyone asking Jesus to come, there is this implied sense that he is truly excited and anxious to physically see Jesus. When he was the only one left that had not been saved, he says, “And I kept waiting serenely for Jesus, waiting, waiting – but he didn’t come. I wanted to see him, but nothing happened to me. Nothing! I wanted something to happen to me, but nothing happened,” to further show his innocence. By the end of the story, he is ashamed, no longer excited and lacks faith because he felt he had deceived everyone and no longer believes there is a Jesus anymore because he didn’t come to help him.
Langston is curious and impressionable, eager to learn about the concept of being saved from sin. He has heard many old people talk about the experience and wants to see and feel it himself. However, despite his aunt’s assurances and the intense revival meeting he attends, Langston is left disappointed and unfulfilled, as he doesn’t feel that Jesus has entered his life. Langston decided to lie about his own experience in order to fit in when he got up to be saved saying he saw Jesus but he didn’t. By the end of the story, Langston has changed by becoming more aware of his own beliefs and starting to question the societal norms surrounding religion. Langston is a curious, impressionable boy who undergoes a transformation from a sincere seeker to a conflicted and disillusioned individual. The words that describe Langston at the beginning of the story include: curious, impressionable, sincere, and eager. The words that describe Langston at the end of the story include: disillusioned, conflicted, emotional, and unsure.
“Salvation” is a short story by Langston Hughes that describes the experience of a young boy named Langston who is taken to church by his aunt to be saved from sin. The boy has a skeptical but honest nature. Even though everyone around him is so deeply engrossed in their faith, he believes in rationality i.e. he kept waiting to see Jesus, and eventually went along with the crowd so as not to disappoint them, but eventually gets overcome by his grief for deceiving others. Despite his disappointment, the child keeps going to the revival service in the hopes of finding the redemption he seeks. But as the night wears on, he comes to the bitter and furious realization that he has not been rescued. The fact that his aunt is informing everyone that he has been saved, even if the child is aware that this is not the truth, just serves to fuel his grief. He understands that the spiritual experience he was looking for is not what he had anticipated, and that churchgoers are only acting religiously without actually experiencing salvation.
In “Salvation” by Langston Hughes the younger boy can be described as hopeful, enthusiastic and zealous about Jesus coming into his life and seeing him and getting to know him after his aunt has talked greatly about Jesus and being saved. At the end of the story, he was different and felt immensely different about this religion he was always around and watched others praise along with worshipping someone that he was eager to know about. When the other little boy that he was left with at the alter realized that nothing was happening and he told Langston that he was tired and just going to say he got saved and the longer he stayed there he decided that he should too and was very conflicted by what he did and was upset.
The young boy in the story “Salvation”, by Langston Hughes can be described using various words, based on his characteristics and events that took place throughout the story. In the beginning Langston and his aunt are at the big revival that is taking p[ace in the church. The aunt describes how Langston would feel, see, and hear Jesus and so Langston has taken that personally and seriously. Therefore, Langston eagerly awaits for Jesus to come, portraying characteristics of being naïve and gullible. This shows how Langston is inexperienced and is easily persuaded by the members of church. During the middle of the story, Langston faces a conflict of his own and lies to the member of the church and his aunt that he saw Jesus. When in fact he had no such encounter with Jesus and was almost pressured into claiming this with the heavy devotion and religious influence in the church and on salvation. The young boy finally gave in and went up to fit in with the rest of the children who Jesus had “seen”. This was almost like a defense mechanism for Langston as he did not want to deceive everybody in the church, including himself. This results in Langston feeling a huge loss of faith and connection with Jesus and almost self doubts. By the end of the story, Langston has changed from being a naïve and gullible young boy to finally realizing what was promised was not promised in a sense. The best words to describe the young boy towards the end of the story would be disappointed, confused, despair, and even heartbroken. The lack of truth into how and what his aunt had said to him has caused him to feel this way. After all, he thought and was almost described to that meeting […]
In Langston Hughes’s “Salvation,” the boy is an interesting character to study. At the beginning of the story, the boy is young, interested, and maybe even naive about being saved. Adults in his life, like his aunt and the people in the church, try to get him to accept Jesus Christ into his life. The adults around the boy are able to force him and get him to do what they want. The young boy is shown to be at odds with himself because he wants to be like the other kids but also wants to be honest and tell the truth. Even though he doesn’t have much faith, he feels like he has to live up to what the adults around him expect. So, he lies and says he is saved and has met Jesus, even though he hasn’t. At the end of the story, the boy’s disappointment and loss of hope are clear signs that he has changed. He used to believe in Jesus and salvation as a young boy, but now he feels lost, alone, and let down by his religious beliefs. Adults and the pressure to fit in with social norms have a big impact on what he thinks and how he feels. In the end, the boy in Langston Hughes’s “Salvation” is a complicated character that shows how society and culture can shape a person’s religious beliefs and how hard it is to fit in with the norms of society. At the beginning of the story, the young boy is interested, open, and naive. By the end of the story, he is disappointed in his beliefs, lost, and disillusioned.
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, […]
In “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, the young boy seems to be very curious. I also feel as if he’s very pressured into the religion. He was just turning 13. He didn’t seem to have too much knowledge of what was going on. I think his expectations were based off what he had heard about Jesus coming to save him, and in his head, he pictured something completely different. At the end, he got nervous and felt like he had no choice but to lie, which in a way, makes sense because he was so young, he didn’t know any better. Also, because of everything he had heard about Jesus coming to save him, at the end he was disappointed and did not believe in Jesus anymore. In my personal opinion, I feel like adults should be more mindful of how they explain things like this to young children, because it really sticks with them throughout their childhood.
The boy in the story seemed to be curious but non believing. He watched the other people praise someone they couldn’t see and never saw before and wanted to know why and how, but he didn’t follow in their footsteps. He watched other people become saved and waited himself to see the light they were talking about. It was obvious at first that he didn’t believe them but probably didn’t want to speak against the adults. I would describe him as impatient and curious. I would say he is a very respectful kid since he held in his emotions and actually felt really bad about lying to everyone. He’s different in the end of the story because everyone else believes he was saved. After he watched the other boy give in after being tired of sitting there for so long, there was even more pressure on him since he was the only one still sitting down. He felt bad for letting it get so late and holding everyone up. It’s funny because he was thinking about what God might’ve thought about Westley because he had lied about being converted, but he didn’t see the light that would let him be saved by God. It’s like he doesn’t believe but at that moment he was speaking as if he somewhat believed in him.
In “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, the character is an observant and curious African American boy who lives in the South. Two words I could use to describe him would be attentive and despondent. In the story, Hughes describes the church service, and through the inclusion of imagery, he displays his attentiveness in the beginning. For example, Hughes starts the story fast paced, jumping from detail to detail as a way of mimicking the high church energy that the character was surrounded by. This proves Langston to be attentive because as a young boy who is not familiar with the concept of spirituality and religion, he was able to understand his environment and what was expected out of him from it from the members of the church. Hughes highlights the pressure applied to “see” Jesus in order to be accepted as the lamb. This is largely shown in the song that the pastor sang to the children about the “ninety and nine safe in the fold, but one little lamb was left out in the cold” (Hughes paragraph 3). This is what leads the boy in the story to change into a despondent person because he did not get the spiritual awakening that he expected and that was when he became the “one little lamb left out in the cold”. From the beginning, readers are able to see the excitement and hope turn into pessimism and self-judgment once the boy lied about reaching salvation by even concluding that he “didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore” (Hughes paragraph 20). This fuels self-judgement because now he sees himself as unworthy of being saved from sin.
I could describe Hughes as a sincere person. I consider him a sincere person because he was very genuine at the end despite his actions. In the story, “Salvation”, Langston Hughes introduces us to Auntie Reed, Westly and himself. In ‘Salvation’ we could analyze Hughes as a boy that is losing faith and some that is peer influences. Hughes began to lose his faith in Jesus because Auntie Reed led him to believing that he will see some physical miracle of Jesu when he is saved. Hughes started to see that every other kid was begin saved but him and Westly weren’t. However, Westly decided to stand up as if he was really saved. This made Hughes feel bad about himself since he was the only one sitting. As the adult continued to pray for Hughes, he stands up as if he was “finally saved” by pretending to see Jesus. He was not saved by the love of Jesus but by falling into peer pressure. According to the text, it states ” but I was really crying because … to tell her that I had lied…” this shows us that the peer pressure led him to feeling guilt and frustrated for lying. However he fixed it by telling the truth at the end.
I would describe Langston as a young man who was probably forced to go to church by his aunts and uncles who had encouraged him to submit to Jesus for his own good. I feel this young man in Langston is naive and doesn’t have good judgement since he expected Jesus to come out the shadows or appear in thin air to save him. I think Langston Hughes and his naviety is just a curious young boy who expected Jesus to swoop in and save him like his aunts and uncles said he would. I know Langston is a different person from everyone else who attended the church that day since he was the last one to be saved by Jesus, he just sat there and watched everyone else run off into salvation. Once all the attention in the church was on him he caved into what other people wanted and allowed himself to be saved by Jesus. I think Langston changed when he had not seen Jesus come save him it made him question if Jesus was even real, Langston felt bad because he lied to get out of that tough situation. I think in the end Langston going to church as a “young sinner” looking to be saved by Jesus that day just strained and made him question his ideas and relationship with Jesus since he had not come to save him like everyone said he would.
I would analyze and describe this character as curious and trying to sustain his religion and respect the beliefs that come along with it. He’s excited and almost skeptical of what is about to take place or what it really means to be saved and to see Jesus as everyone around him is telling him. It started to become a thing where it was intense pressure as all the other kids were in fact being “saved” while the boy was the only one left. Langston begins to feel doubt, lowering his confidence of seeing Jesus and his mind shifts. He doubts the truth of it all. Under the pressure of the women and the people of the church he finally stands. He started off happy and looking forward to something and realized maybe it all isn’t true as he had to lie about being saved. His beliefs were then struck and he no longer believed there was a Jesus to see or to help him.
In the story “On Salvation,” Langston feels pressured; his perception of believing he will see Jesus is not understood as how an adult would. As a child, he was being curious and excited at the same time to see Jesus right away. I assume not everyone his age would understand the meaning of being saved from sin. Just as in the Bible, Jesus was baptized at the age of 12, but the difference is that Jesus knew what his mission was, and of course, he was led by his father, “God.” He might have understood better if he had been taken by his aunt and had a better conversation and explained more to him. As quoted, “they held a special meeting for children to bring the young lambs to the fold” (pg. 5). Many times, children are led by example and follow or feel pressured by their peers and sometimes family, and in his case, he felt pressured by both. I believe that because his aunt spoke several days ahead, he felt obligated and didn’t want to disappoint her. Despite not being saved, Jesus is always in our lives, but we must take that extra step to believe, have faith, and get a clearer understanding. Sometimes we as adults say things or even promise children something just because we want them to do something, which could portray something terrible in the long run for that child. Langston believes that because his friend Westley lied in the temple and he saw that God didn’t punish him, Langston feels that if he lied too, nothing would happen to him, so he went ahead and stated, “Jesus had come, and get up and be saved” (pg.8). Langston understood that what he had done was not right, and it made him feel terrible. Langston’s […]
I feel like the pressure made him did what he did because after the fact he felt very ashamed and restless of himself. From reading he is a very good person and honest person, and it’s shown by him reflecting on his actions. We do the same in our everyday life. One example of us doing something like that is when we say we are doing one thing and go around and do the other but while doing it you sit there and think about it ask yourself is this right
Because the pressure around him made him lie, He was very ashamed and restless all the time. I think he is an upright and honest person. He will reflect on his behavior and ask himself whether it is right to do so? We often encounter such examples. For example, my parents always say “ learning is very important. If you don’t study, you can’t find a good job. You have to review your homework.” I said yes, I will do it but in fact I will not, I will play games but I will also reflect on myself, is it right? I would also think, why do people have to study and work? The lifestyle of many rich people is to lie on the beach, but I can play on the beach now, so what is the meaning of my study and work?
I would characterize the boy in the story as genuine since he didn’t feel good lying to the church or his aunt about meeting Jesus. Although, at that early age, he is unable to relate the reality of physically seeing Jesus to a mental element, therefore he is frustrated that he does not get to see Jesus. I would characterize him as youngminded and eager since he was really ready and willing to accept the holy spirit from Jesus at several points in the short narrative. Because of his aunt’s lack of explanation, his thinking and feelings about Jesus had shifted by the end of the narrative. By the end of the story he changed because he lost trust in Jesus since he couldn’t see him.. Langston had completely lost faith in Christ. He also felt like a liar because he lied to the church and his aunt
Young Langston in “Salvation” is introduced to us as an observant and curious boy who becomes excited when his Aunt tells him he will hear and see Jesus when he is saved at church, which he takes literally. As the other children go up to the altar during the church revival, he is still waiting for Jesus to appear. He finally surrenders and stands up, being led to the altar by the priest under the guise of seeing Jesus. In the beginning of the story, Langston is skeptical, but hopeful. He is looking forward to having a personal experience with Jesus to feel more connected with the religion he has been raised within. After the church revival and returning home, Langston feels ashamed because he lied. At the end of the story he is not only ashamed, but also sad and confused. He went from thinking he will see Jesus to not believing Jesus at all, losing his faith in religion.
In this story we can trace how excessive pressure on child can change his perceptions of belief. At the beginning of the story, he entered the church being innocent, hopeful and faithful boy, It was pressure of his relatives and the rest of the older people around him. Despite that, he was quite consistent and calm being surrounded by dozens of people singing and shouting about salvation, he continued sitting and waiting for Jesus. He was afraid to lie to other people, to the God and what is most important to himself. It characterizes him as a very fair fellow. However, under the pressure of all people’s expectations ,It was a climax, the small boy needed help, needed some explanations. So he doesn’t believe in Jesus anymore, or blames him for his indifference. Also It is clear that he is a conscientious boy. He lied, but he was sorry about that, trying to hide his head under the quilts not to be ashamed by his lying, so the boy was in desperation. As far as the main character is the author of this story his perception of that situation when he was a grownup already can be analyzed . The author uses phrases which describe his attitude, to show that salvation was a kind of compulsion rather than his own will. People treated the boy as a lamb, at the same time they were described by author as homogeneous mass of crying people, so the author criticizes the excessive pressure of grownup people on children. Maybe Jesus doesn’t need any help to come?
In the story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, 12 year old Hughes cycles through a wide range of emotions when he is confronted by the members of his church as a part of a ceremony. The author starts off confused as church goers chant what seems to be nonsense to him at first. When he gets a grasp of the idea that the event is about Jesus saving him and the kids he attended the church with, he becomes curious. Through all the confusion you can almost say Hughes grew with excitement when he realized he’ll finally meet this “Jesus” person that his aunt rambled on about. Jesus never arrives and Hughes becomes impatient and resorts to acting like Jesus has saved him to satisfy his family and church members. By the end of the story the author is ashamed for not only lying to the church, but for doubting their religious beliefs. I would describe Langston as open minded, curious, self aware, and most importantly, Innocent. Before questioning religion as a whole, Langston started off as the common adolescent church goer that played along and questioned nothing.
I would analyze the character of the story as a kid who was lost. He knew he wanted to do something but wasn’t able to gain the lesson from it because it wasn’t his time. Langston felt the pressure from his family and friends, the pressure for proving has a part of something his elders find important. I would say Langston is a child, hurt, pressured and confused embarrassed because he was sitting Infront of the church and surrounded by a crowd of people. He was misguided because of what the aunt said and confused on giving your life to God was. He said he felt like was saved from sin but not really saved. At the end of the story, he gave into the pressure, he followed after what everyone wanted him to do because he didn’t want to disappoint or be left behind. He changed because he lost faith in God, He didn’t follow his instant and made a major decision he regretted.
After reading “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, I think the character of this boy is very honest, to be precise, he is a very honest person to himself. Until the end of the story, he did not lie to himself, he was convinced that he had not seen Jesus. Secondly, the boy is a very innocent person. He could not bear to deceive the one he loved, and he felt ashamed and guilty for lying to himself. I found a very ironic fact in this story, that people always think it is right to follow the masses. They ignore their inner thoughts. The boy saw that other people were saved, and his aunt and pastor wanted him to admit that he saw Jesus. He did so, he followed the masses and lied that he saw Jesus. This was his change. At first, the boy held on to his thoughts, but in the end, he followed the masses and was saved.
I would analyze the character of the boy in the story as wanting to believe, and seeking to to be save, and see Jesus. Several words I would describe him as a kid who is wanting to be accepted, but knows it is not his time yet he is ashamed of the fact that he lied, so he feels guilty, and disappointed. He is different by the end of the story because after church, and having everyone around him pray for him he could not sleep because he did not say the truth about him seeing Jesus, and it was something he was not okay with, and because he lied he did not know wether or not to believe if there was a Jesus anymore. I would say that he changed as in him accepting the fact that maybe it is not his time yet, and the time will come for him.
This work “Salvation” is very interesting to me. It gives you a glimpse of a young Langston being pressured into accepting Jesus Christ into his life. From a 12 year old perspective, he’s describing all the behaviors of the adults in at the revival. The moaning, wailing, and also the coercion. I can imagine the intense pressure he felt to go up to the alter. The last hold out before him, Westley gave in to the pressure. He felt like he had no choice at that point. I do find a bit of comedy in the writing, as I remember being in similar situations growing up. In the end he gave in just to end the whole ordeal. I believe from the adults perspective, they had good intentions. They were extremely concerned with the salvation of these children. Interestingly enough, even though they had good intent, the way they went about it got the opposite reaction. Young Langston ended crying and lying about accepting salvation. I would like to believe that as a society we have moved past this. I see so many examples of ideas being forced on people through media. The only difference is we’re not at a revival.
In my opinion, the boy in the story “Salvation” is very honest about himself, since he knew it wasn’t his time or turn to be saved by Jesus like everyone around him. The boy changed throughout the story, because he started feeling guilty for giving into peer pressure and not telling everyone the truth. According to the text, “But I was really crying because I couldn’t bear to tell her that I had lied, that I had deceived everybody in the church, that I hadn’t seen Jesus, and that now I didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn’t come to help me.” (Langston Hughes). Furthermore, the boy did not want to be seemed as a disappointment to his aunt and everyone at church, since his aunt wanted him to have a bigger connection with Jesus and be “saved.” Everyone has their time and the right moment, but the boy knew it wasn’t his time so he lied to be on the same page as everyone else on Salvation. At the same time everyone else was being “saved”, there was irony involving with the boy’s saving.
