In the short story “Salvation”, Langston Hughes reminisces about the moment in his life when he lost his faith.
One night, during a revival at his aunt’s church, a pre-teen Hughes attends a special meeting that is held for children who have not yet been saved. Since Hughes himself had not yet been saved, his aunt explains to him that salvation is like seeing a “light” which indicates Jesus’ presence. Since Hughes is so young and naive, he takes what his aunt says literally and thinks that he will see an actual light when Jesus appears and he is saved.
As the meeting goes underway, one by one, each of the children in the group go to up to the alter and are saved. However, Hughes waits behind hesitantly with another young boy, Westly. The two boys are flooded in prayer by the adults around but they still don’t see Jesus. Westly grows impatient and decides to say that he’s been saved just so that he can leave. Hughes, desperate to see Jesus, gives into the pressure like Westly and tells the adults around him what they want to hear- that he’s finally seen Jesus.
That night, Hughes cries himself to sleep because he feels ashamed that he lied about being saved. It’s at this moment that he abandons his faith in Jesus since Jesus did not appearer in his time of need.
4 thoughts on “Diara Newell Week 1 Discussion Board”
Hello Diara, I agree with you in the story can see a young man who attended his aunt’s church where his aunt and the whole congregation yearn for him to he saved. It can be seen that Langston wants to experience what his aunt experienced when she received Jesus as his personal saviour. When this did not happen he did not want to take his step of faith. By accepting Jesus and not seeing the light of Jesus presence this made him not believe in Jesus, His belief totally changed. The young man lived a moment of sadness since he lied about his salvation.
Hi Diara,
I like your closing sentence of how you make it clear that Langston lost his faith because “Jesus did not appear in his time of need”. I believe that what Hughes went through many people go through when it comes to having faith. An example would be calling out for Jesus when someone needs him the most and you hear all these great stories about how as long as you have faith things will change. The reality is that Jesus is not always available to answer the calls of many. Through this when people are let down by him, they lose all hope in him just like Hughes did in this story.
Hello Diara,
This is a wonderful short summary of the story. I enjoyed your writing style. Though I am curious to know what you think about the character and the story overall. Is it something you can relate to or understand? I can definitely imagine myself in the shoes of Langston, and with the amount of pressure and expectations burdened on his shoulders, I can see myself doing the same this as he did- fake the experience.
Diara, I like that you mentioned that Langston gives in to pressure. It is very evident in the story that pressure is one of the key factors that had led him to lie and even in society where we desire to fit in and not be or feel like an outcast can cause us to commit these same acts. Langston was faced pressure from the congregation with their loud prayers and shouting, his aunt who was crying in front of him, the pastor who called him out by name and Westley’s lie.