The story “Salvation” is told by an adult narrator looking back on a painful episode in his life. How would you characterize the tone of the narrator in “Salvation?” Tone is the attitude conveyed by the voice of the narrator about the events in the story. For example, a story might have a cold or emotionally distant tone. A story might have an ironical tone or a humorous one.
What does the narrator’s tone tell you about how he views the childhood experience now that he is an adult? What specific language in the text leads you to your opinion?
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120 thoughts on “Week 2 Discussion”
Section #0505
In the shorty story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes explains how his expectations of going to church and “seeing Jesus” was not what he expected. The narrator used a ironical tone more like situational irony where the exact opposite happens than what is expected. In the short story the narrator 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!” This shows that the narrator expected to see Jesus and feel him, but he wasn’t seeing him. Every kid was getting up and being “saved” except for the narrator and he was wondering why everyone was being saved but him. He was then peered pressured to get up and lie and say he saw Jesus and that he wants to be saved. The specific language in the texts that leads to my opinion was when Westley said, “God damn! I’m tired o’ sitting here. Let’s get up and be saved.” This showed me that going to church is not really what a lot of people expect and they don’t really see of feel Jesus. So, lying about it is all they can do to feel accepted.
Evelyn, thanks for posting. Thanks for the remarks about irony. Have you answered the question about the tone of the story and how you view the narrator’s perspective on this childhood experience?
Evelyn,
I agree with your response because the narrator had a very difficult time because he waited a very long time to see Jesus as you mentioned and he was unable to which lead him into lying to the others that he had seen Jesus. Since he did not have knowledge about this matter, he thought Jesus would actually appear in front him which is not the case but he did not know this. In the end, he had to lie in order to feel accepted even though he knew it was not the truth.
Section 0503
In the short story ” Salvation” by Langston Hughes talks about the day he was expected to be “saved” in church and he explains it didn’t turn out how he expected it to be. Instead he was disappointed because his aunt Reed and a couple of elders explain how right before you get saved you see a light and something inside of you clicks. The narratory used the literary device of Irony , specially Situational Irony because in the mind of Langston he had the idea of he was going to see a light or even God himself.And when that didn’t happen , how he’s doubting if he even got saved because his reality didn’t match up with his aunt experience. The author states,” And I kept waiting serenely for Jesus,waiting, waiting – but he didn’t come” , the phrase ” but he didn’t come” gives the readers of a sense of sadness and disbelief , he wanted to see Jesus and believe he got his chance to saved just like the others kids , his aunt Reed and the elderly who told him what it would be like. The difference of his experience and his expectations shattered his belief and heart because he never got to live out his expectations , he is questioning himself might be saying he may not be good enough for God. Also he’s questioning why didn’t Jesus help him when he needed to helped and saved ?
I completely agree with your opinion. I like how you specifically broke down the sections to explain his emotions like sadness and disbelief. My favorite part was when you said his reality didn’t match up with his aunts because I was looking for a way to say that but I couldn’t figure it out. I think you hit the point with your opinion.
section number: 0505[11615]
Patricia, please address comments to others by name so we can all follow along. Thanks!
Lizanjela, thanks for your good comments about events in the story. The real question, however, is about the tone and the perspective of the adult narrator.
Section #0505
Lizanjela,
I completely agree with you the narrator aunt and other people gave him an expectation and was later disappointed because his aunt had said he was going to see a light but he didn’t feel anything. His expectation was shattered so much he started to question his belief in Jesus. I like how you broke down the way the narrator was lied to all the way to his beliefs coming into questioning. His belief was full of expectations.
Lizanjela, I completely agree with you, I did not think that maybe thought during that time that he was good enough to be saved.
Section: 0505
Stephanie, please read requirements for Db posts. It’s not enough to just agree with another student; we also need your comments to add to the discussion and meet length requirements.
The story “Salvation” was incredibly ironic. The character was told he would “see” Jesus from a white light which indicates he is saved. From then you start hearing the tone of the character from confusion to sadness and anger. All of his emotions started with his aunt telling him something. He believed her literal words, he waited for the mysterious light for it to never come. Imagine a young boy that trusts his guardian and to come to find out her words weren’t what he expected. His world comes crashing down and his beliefs become none. The specific language that leads me to my opinion is when the protagonist said: “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.” That showed the internal conflict he had. He did not want to hurt his aunt but he realized that he no longer believed.
Section number: 0505[11615]
Section 0503
Patricia , I completely agree with you the tone of the character varies from each couple of paragraphs. At first, Langston was confused about if he was truly saved or not. Later on when he was waiting to see the light , he became angry because it was taking too long and in reality he wouldn’t be able to experience that precise moment everyone told him about .The sadness comes when he just eventually got up and let himself lie to himself ,his aunt and everyone else in the church. Finally , when he got to his home he was able to express his sadness by crying in his bed.
Hi Patricia,
I appreciate your expression of the emotional transition the young boy experiences. Faith is a hard concept to explain, and to a young person, things can be taken literally. The narrator’s telling of his experience uses a serious tone but is humor throughout the story which leads me to think his view or emotions have changed a bit throughout the years.
Section 0503
Section 0503
The time I perceived while reading “Salvation” was rather somber. It could be sad because I relate to the experience- where everyone around me in my life was Catholic and believed in Jesus, but I could never follow. It was scary because I wanted to be like everyone else, so I had to fake it. The tone can also be interpreted as ironic, because in the recollection he recalls everyone speaking so well of “seeing Jesus,” and “following Jesus,” but it never happened to him. He recalls only good things his auntie speaks of devoting her life to Jesus, but his experience shapes a traumatic situation, where he just wants to escape. Hughs writes, “So I decided that maybe to save further trouble, I’d better lie, too, and say that Jesus had come, and get up and be saved,” meaning he knows the implications of not following what everyone else is doing, but he knows that his actions have an untrue meaning while wondering if anyone else had that feeling too.
Weronika, I agree that there are sad elements in the story. At least, the events were sad to the boy when they happened. But I really want to explore is how the adult view the event as he looks back. Do you see any gentle humor in this story? (Hint; it is embedded in the verbal irony). Is the narrator sad as he recounts the story? Do you think the adult no longer believes in God?
Weronika,
Oh my god I could totally relate to you, I grew up in a catholic environment where everyone family,friends believes in jesus and depends on jesus for the great things happening to them, and that he is the reason for all good things, and then theres me trying to believe that and do what everyone does which is pray, and maybe good things will happen, but it doesnt work. So thats how hughes felt. He had to fake it so he can fit in so he wouldnt disappoint his aunt and everyone in the church and thats what made him sad,hopless and disappointed all at once.
For me, “Salvation” by Langston Hughes was very relatable. I’ve had a similar experience as a child and unwillingly lied about seeing Allah(God) because it was more convenient and the alternative path would result in me having to do more religious readings. It made me more skeptical about religion which is what I believe is Hughes’ tone for the story.
Additionally, Hughes was sarcastic at certain points through the story which is a form of verbal irony. His tone throughout the story tells me that the whole experience damaged Hughes’ faith. He goes on to say “And the church sang a song about the lower lights are burning, some poor sinners to be saved. And the whole building rocked with prayer and song. Still I kept waiting to see Jesus” (par.4). His language here describes a mass of church-goers pleading with God to save the youth. However, writing this experience as an adult, you can tell Hughes now knows he’d be waiting for Jesus for quite some time.
Section – 0505
Syed, it’s funny that you had a similar experience. Funny, right, when you look back from the distance of adulthood, but not funny at the time? Sarcasm is verbal irony in its crudest form, so I’m glad you mention it here. Certainly those old, church-going, God-fearing folk are not really “hardened sinners.” I’m trying to get to a discussion of tone this week. Some readers (not you) miss the humor in this story because they feel for the young boy. But this narrator is clearly an adult looking back on childhood. How do we know this?
Hey professor, thanks for the feedback. I didn’t catch it before but I went back to the text and the author did seem the most sarcastic when he said “very hardened sinners.”
To answer your question, does it have something to do with the way he used past tense in his language? Also this sentence here: “So I sat there calmly in the hot, crowded church, waiting for Jesus to come to me.” Just the way he emphasized the unpleasantness of the whole situation by saying “…hot, crowded… ” The whole thing seemed more like an ordeal to adult Langston Hughes, rather than a positive experience.
Juliana
Same as multiple people I was raised in a very relaxing home and grew up having doubts about whether there is a higher power or not, my opinion on this is that there is definitely a need on society to believe in something greater than yourself, whether that is a God, an entity, or a person; entire cultures have depended on this through multiple generations and centuries; I personally do not identify myself, I am a spiritual person and i believe in that everyone needs balance and that good thing will come if you spread good actions and thoughts.
Section 0503
Thanks for the feedback Juliana. Honestly I can really get into this topic with you because there are so many theories about life after death however, I just want to say that there probably is a higher power or unknown force that we’ll have to answer to after death. So it’s interesting that you mention spirituality and balance because if we do have to answer to a higher power, I don’t think we’ll be judged because of what religion we chose to follow. I think we’ll be judged on our character.
Syed, I found it very interesting that you included a personal touch to your comment. I also sensed a degree of sarcasm in the text, as if, as an adult, Hughes understood the faults of the religious practice and the fact that many people will merely agree with the crowd as a means of convenience. Interesting, too, that this correlates with your personal experience, as it just goes to show that there is some fundamental truth about human nature captured in the piece.
Thanks Justine. Yes, it’s like a universal experience that most of us go through. We question the validity of religion and I think that’s what this experience made the author do.
Syed, please just be sure your comments meet the length requirements. See COURSE INFORMATION.
Syed, I can honestly say I agree with you. It is very relatable and I have the similar experiences about lies of seeing Allah (God) as well. As for me to do readings in a language I did not understand was very confusing to me growing up, all I knew that it was the right thing to do because that is what I was told.
Hi Syed Shadab,
I do agree with you that there can be detrimental results from experience that Langston Hughes has had but, I don’t, believe it had affected him as much as you may think. I take it from ”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,”(Par 14) It seems to me that he was more upset that he had lied to everyone rather than seeing Jesus.
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Section #0503 11606
In his particular short story, Langston Hughes tells an anecdote about his childhood and how he grew up in a very religious community and family; even though his family and the people around him seem very devoted to the faith and the church they are attending he seems to tell the story in a mocking and skeptic tone. He seems to doubt about the existence of “Jesus”, and can not seem to comprehend what everyone feels or sees. In the climax of the story, he seems a little disappointed with what he cannot see and embarrassed thinking that there is something wrong with him for not being able to accept “Jesus” into his life. At the end of the story, he is devastated and defeated for knowing that he could not hold the faith that he saw in many people at the church and had to lie to his entire community and own family.
This particular experience might have left Langton to lose his faith in something greater than him when he was an adult, he might have left the spiritual side to the side and focused more on what the eyes, and body can see and feel. “And I kept waiting serenely for Jesus, waiting, waiting – but he didn’t come. I wanted to see him, but nothing happened to me”. He is more of a logical person and will completely untrust other people’s beliefs unless they have facts behind them.
Juliana, please be sure to address comments to others by name so we can all follow along. Is there evidence from the text that the narrator has lost his faith? Remember, we can have any interpretation of a story as long as we can back up the interpretation with quotes from the text. This comment is not just for you. It’s for everyone. It is especially important when we start writing essays about these stories and other works.
Juliana, your comments are very thoughtful, but do they address the question about tone and the narrative voice?
Hey Juliana, i agree with you when you said that the boy was very disappointed and embarrassed because he was putted in a situation that he didn’t asked for.
Virgen, please review COURSE INFORMATION about length requirements for posts. Thanks!
In this story On Salvation, by Langston Hughes, it had many different emotions expressed throughout. The tones of this story was doubt, sadness, hopelessness, guilt, disappointment, and embarrassment. These tones of the story show how the narrator felt when he did see the light which meant that he would have been saved as said by his Auntie Reed. When this did not occur, many emotions and thoughts were developing by the narrator and he had lost his faith in God. This story also had irony because the narrator’s aunt believed that he was upset because of the holy ghost but the real reason was that he felt guilty of lying that he had seen Jesus and felt that he had betrayed them. The narrator’s tone shows how his childhood experience was mostly painful with many mixed emotions. He views his childhood experience as an adult was something he had to overcome and grow mentally stronger as a person and writer. He refers to the term “young lambs” which is figurative language in which he is describing the children and himself, as they shouldn’t be forced into believing in something in which they do not have prior knowledge on.
Section 0503
Gagandeep, thank you for addressing the question about narrative voice. Yes, clearly this was a painful experience for the narrator when he was a child. But don’t many of our bad experiences from childhood seem funny from the perspective of adulthood? I hope you’ll take a closer look at the story for some of the subtle humor.
Hi Gangdeep,
I almost want to disagree with your opinion of the tone. I believe that the tone definitely contained some of those negative elements, but in actuality, the author really made an effort to make light of it as he became an adult – as if the experience, looking back, had become more comical than detrimental. I believe the author used vocabulary such as “young lambs” to truly emphasize the condescending manner as a way to describe the children in a way that, not only him as an author believed to be ridiculous, but the parties involved in the congregation felt to be ridiculous. The pain and misery he experienced stemmed from a notion in which his congregation probably meant well… but as a child, he may not necessarily had recognized the positive meaning behind the actions of his peers. As an adult, he was able to make light of such a traumatic situation and create something so awkwardly comical from it.
Section #0505
Gagandeep,
I agree with your opinion because when the narrator explains what he experienced during his childhood and how he expects to see Jesus, it shows different emotions. There was an embarrassment such as he sits alone and only one that cannot see Jesus. He wanted to see Jesus, so he waited a long time, but he didn’t see it. And he lied to everybody that is in the church and acted like Jesus come to him. After he went home, he was cried and feel guilty that he has lied to everyone.
In the story, “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, the narrator reflects back on his experience at church when he was a child. Now that he is an adult, he seems to view the experience in an almost jaded manner, as though he now sees past the illusions that he failed to understand at the beginning of the story. Hughes makes an effort to draw attention to the commotion from the others in the church, stating, “The whole congregation prayed for me alone, in a mighty wail of moans and voices.” This almost caricature of their expressions of grief at his initial refusal to be “saved” displays a degree of distance and disbelief on the part of the narrator, as though now, as a grown man, he is able to view their actions in a different light, and perhaps disdains them, or at the very least feels detached from their intent.
Section 0503
Justine, thanks for the comments. I hope you’ll take another look at the story with a view towards some of the gentle humor of the language. Much of this derives from verbal irony. For example, are those old, earnest churchgoers with their braids and work-worn hands really “hardened sinners?” I feel that the narrator is smiling slightly as he tells the story. Where do you see disdain or detachment in the text?
In this story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, he talks us through an experience that some of us may have gone through as children. Being in church is something that you are born into, growing up I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to go to service with my parents or not. I feel like his tone was very confused an insecure. He was being forced in an environment that he wasn’t completely in and when it was his turn to head to the alter and accept God it showed. He was looking for closure within other people to comfort himself and was finding every other excuse to get him out of why he was there. He began to worry about how much time was being taken up and what the temperature was like in the church so these were nothing but distractions. Mentally he was losing sight of why he was there and through his descriptive dialect we can see that. When talking to Westley who did not take his prayer serious he says, “God damn! I’m tired o’ sitting here. Let’s get up and be saved” (Hughes). With these two young men being the last ones out of the group he witnesses the boy lie his way through getting out of this situation. He then goes on to follow him,taking the same steps. He lies about it just so he can escape his reality and when he gets home he begins to cry again knowing what he did was not right.
Hello Jaden, I’m not one hundred percent with your argument about how he was not very into being in the church, as he seemed rather passionate about the whole waiting for Jesus to save him situation. Of course, your other arguments about how he was born into something he didn’t have a choice in, as well as how he was insecure made perfect sense, and perhaps you can understand him more than I do, as I don’t frequent the church as often as he did.
* Section 0505
Jaden, your comments are interesting. Thanks for sharing some of your own family experience. The question for this week, however, is about the narrative tone of the story. How does the language used by Hughes tells us how he views this childhood incident now that he is an adult? Do you see any humor in the story?
In Langston Hughes’ “Salvation” the tone given while reading the short story was honesty which then leads to his use of irony for the theme. As seen in the story many around him were influenced by the religious culture including his family and encouraged him to join in on activities such as attending church. This childhood experience of his made the church is viewed as the only path, the only possible way to live. The way the church and Jesus were spoken about gave him a false reality outside the church. With preachers saying things such as “Won’t you come to Jesus?” and his aunt adding on by saying “Langston, why don’t you come? Why don’t you come and be saved? Oh, Lamb of God Why don’t you come?” it added fuel to that fire of thinking of how Jesus could impact his current childhood. Towards the end of the story, the tone takes a turn to a sense of defeat in not only never being ‘saved’ but how the rest of his family will perceive him. The quote that set this tone off for me was “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”. I take it as now Langston Hughes acknowledges how much he let others shape the way he acts and lives along with delivering a message to not get your hopes up or rely on anyone for your life to change. You must go about it yourself and see what’s wrong to make things better.
Section: 0505
Hi Brandon, I see from your points about honesty that there was indeed a lot of irony in the text. Langston, who was one of the more honest children, were the one that felt the most guilty when they were forced to lie in the church of god, which is ironic in the sense that it is preached that lying in the church was a sin, and the fact that the author would rather stay embarrassed and ashamed rather than lie for so long speaks volumes about his character.
Section 0505
Brandon, thanks for the good comments. I must note however that honesty is not a tone. This is not just for you but for everyone. Tone is the attitude of the narrator towards the story. This story has an ironical tone that is full of gentle humor. I see no bitterness in the way the event is re-created. The cues are verbal, and in this class, we’re all about the verbal.
I think the tone of the narrator in “Salvation” was guilt and sadness with a bit of irony. It seems that the narrator is confessing his thoughts on the events that occurred when he was 12 years old. The narrator’s vivid memories of this moment in his life shows the importance and effect it had on him. I think the narrator views his childhood experience as an awakening he didn’t want. In the first paragraph, the narrator states, “But not really saved”, leads me to think his once desire to be saved has passed but he does not regret it. The narrator’s use of humor recalling the boy saying, “God damn!” shows that this memory does impact him the same way as an adult compared to his reaction as a child, crying because he was not saved. I don’t think the narrator believes in God as an adult because he lost his faith as a result of this painful experience.
Section 0503
The story follows a certain rhythm that the author sets up. From the younger version of the author’s expectations that he would see Jesus, his savior that had been preached to him since he was a newborn, to his gradual horror/shame that he was forced to lie to everyone that he was worthy of the visit by god. The author seemed to have used a rather serious tone, yet was somewhat theatrical in the way he presented it. From his mentions of the church, with it’s “frequent praying, preaching, and shouting” as well as his mentions of his friends and compatriots, as well as his aunt, to his less than serious way of presenting the whole situation where the dramatic moment happened, where his aunt came and knelt at at his knees and cried, “while prayers and song swirled all around me in the little church. The whole congregation prayed for me alone, in a mighty wail of moans and voices.” This makes me think that he looks back at this with a rather wistful gaze, as he didn’t like the situation he experienced, but can see the humor and drama within it all.
Section #0505
Kexin, thanks for the good response. And thank you for addressing the specific question asked. Many posts this week contain excellent observations but do not address the question about the narrative tone.
Kexin, I really like your response because you address the situation that the author is currently in so that the reader has a background information, then go on to speak on the tone that is used. You said that he has a serious tone, but at the same time things were somewhat theatrical and he was acting in a manner that he wouldn’t usually do. Then you go on to speak about his Aunt and says that the way that she and the others were acting in the church is somewhat dramatic, at times he may not have liked this. Now that he is grown when talking about his past he could see right through them and they were being dramatic.
Hello Kexin,
I really appreciate your observation of how theatrical the story was. Looking back at my original observations, I did not recognize that, but now looking back at the reading, I can completely understand how you recognized such a theatrical tone. His detail and descriptions really made you feel as if you could have been a part of the experience!
Every childhood memory defines a little piece of who you are; It shapes the perspective you carry in the future. When reading this part of the story, as time slowed down with every paragraph that passed, I sensed a dismal tone. Being on that mourners’ bench had made everything for Langston harder due to all the eyes and thoughts of the people praying for him especially his aunt. He states, “I began to be ashamed of myself, holding everything up so long”. Although being ashamed of himself waiting until he saw “Jesus” shows he was honest to himself however when thinking about Westley the boy who rather get it over with it then stay true to his religion, Langston decide to “save further trouble” and get up there to. The room drowned in joyful cries and rejoice with all the “young lambs being saved”. Towards the end of the story Langston starts to cry in his own bed because not only did he corrupt himself with the lie of being saved but also that he concluded that “there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn’t come to help me”. I believe that Langston dismal tone shows that he views this childhood memory has a time where he questions his belief because he felt if there were a god, why he didn’t save him. (ENG 201 0505) [11615].
Mosheur, thank you for addressing the question about narrative tone. However, I hope you’ll revisit the story. Certainly, at the time of the incident, the boy is quite traumatized. He even begins to doubt the existence of God. However, is the story told in a dismal voice? Do you sense some adult perspective in the way the narrator recounts the story? Can you find instances of verbal irony that lend a wonderful humor to the story?
Hi Professor,
I did revisit the story on my downtime at work and I do sense some adult perspective because as I am reading the story as he describes the crowd and each of there reaction as a whole really shown me how he was traumatized. Furthermore I couldn’t really see any humor but maybe that us due to having another perspective on the story as a whole.
Mosheur, humor is subjective, isn’t it? I think much depends on our background and values. Thanks for re-reading!
I don’t even know where to begin…
In the short story “Salvation,” by Langston Hughs, the tone of the narrator evolved into emotional discomfort and distrust. The author kept referring to his experience in relation to the situation as something he couldn’t necessarily connect with. His comments of “waiting for Jesus to come to me,” may not have been the initial thoughts he had as a child, but as an adult, it was clear that he was indirectly questioning the religious faith. He continued to discuss his confusion on why he had not seen what all of the other children had seen, in regards to what they believed was “Christ” or “Jesus”, but rather expressed his frustration he was experiencing as a child and resulted in emotional distress after had lying to the congregation about his supposed experience with Jesus. The language really shows through his comments of “Still I kept waiting for Jesus,” and “So I got up,” as if he was acting out of obligation to prevent any disappointment with those he cared about.
As controversial as this piece is in regards to someone questioning their faith/religion and the exposure they had to peer pressure, the author clearly refrained from making any direct negative comments about the religion and those involved with peer pressuring him to be a part of such a faith. He spoke on HIS experience and how HE reacted in such a situation. If he had any derogatory remarks about the congregation and his aunt, it wasn’t something I clearly noticed.
Section 0505
Soraya, thanks for the thoughtful remarks. Yes, clearly, the experience was quite traumatic for him as a child. Yet you’re right that there is no bitterness in his tone and no bad feelings towards the church community as he views the experience from the distance of adulthood. Do you see any gentle humor in the way he recounts this story as an adult?
Hi Professor,
Yes I do see some of the gentle humor! I thought he really tried to make light of the controversy, all while touching base on the true emotional aspect. His short commentary truly reflects his gentle humor.
Section #0503
In the short story “Salvation” you characterize the tone of the Narrative in salvation is sadness, hopeless, guilt, powerful, sarcasm. In this short story, how he explains his exceptions of going to church and seeing jesus on what he not excepted. The Narrative’s tone tell you about how he views the childhood experience now that he an adult on how he a young boy to trust his guardian that his aunt words weren’t what he excepted. In the short story, it opens up to the revival meeting at a twelve-year old langston’s church. The specific church language that the text leads in my opinion,
” 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.” this show how he doesn’t he want to hurt his aunt but as it says in the short story, he doesn’t no longer believed.
Stephanie, thanks for posting. I agree that the boy is swamped with emotion during his church experience. However, it is not a boy but a grown man who is telling this story. Is there any indication from the text that the incident has left the grown man without faith? Is there something in the gently humorous tone of the story that suggests otherwise?
After reading “Salvation” by Langston Hughes a few times, I got two different tones of how he narrated this short story. During my first read, I got a guilty tone towards the climax of the story when he wrote “So I decided that maybe to save further trouble, I’d better lie, too” Expressing that if he had kept the whole church waiting while he anticipated the incredible experience of Jesus presence, the church would have stayed late to see him be saved. The other section of the story that gave me a guilt-ridden tone was towards the end, which he states “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,”. The remorse he clearly felt lying to his aunt, was bad but not to the point that he would tell her the real reason he had cried that night.
Reading the short story a second time noticed the sarcasm in the beginning, which I completely disregarded “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved.” Cynicism was not the tone I would have expected from a story expressing a child’s experience of salvation. However, many individuals that have grown up in devoted church going family, can relate to the peer pressure Langston went through in his childhood.
The irony I found with the title of this story is he was either using it to reveal from the beginning, how he was falsely saved by Jesus, or saved from the church’s judgment of being the only young lamb that was not saved by Jesus that day.
Section: 0505-11615
I like how you commented on the name of the story Salvation, as a way for the writer to use it as an ironic title. Salvation from god or salvation from the judgement of the church congregation from not being the only lamb not saved that day, very interesting. The idea of peer pressure in the church is another interesting point you made. So often we are expected to continue in the traditions of our families to please them and to also fit in and not be an outsider even if certain things seem antiquated.
ENG201-0505
Guilia, please address comments to others by name so we can all follow along. Thanks!
Stephanie, thanks for posting. You should be in bed at 1:49 a.m.! Sarcasm is verbal irony at its crudest. I feel Hughes’s expression is a bit more subtle than that, but I get your point. You also use the word “cynicism,” and I wonder why you believe the narrator has become cynical based on the text. I wonder if a person who has been disillusioned and turned to a cynic would be able to tell the story in such a gently humorous tone.
Thank you professor for bring it to my attention about the cynicism, I had to put in more thought into it. I guess I used that word in the wrong context, as the gave me a feeling that he no longer believed in god as an adult while he express his childhood trauma.
Also I am not sure why my post time stamps are completely off to the original time on my PC.
Stephanie,
It’s very interesting that you bring out two tones to this story because as I read your comment I could see how my perspective was close to a more personal look to it but when rereading for a third time I see the remarks that he is making on being “saved from Jesus”. Not only that its interesting that you bring up that he was saved from the church’s judgement because the way I see the world when it comes to religion is most days people are force to obey to the rules however I do understand that can only pertain to me and my views as a Muslim
Mosheur,
I believe many individuals would be able to see a similarities with young Langston and their faith’s. I am an outsider that has seen into many of my friends and family members faith’s, and seen first hand the struggle they have encountered to be validated by their Savior/God.
However, if we looked into Mr.Hughes background as the Kansas Heritage Group did, he could have been sincerely hopeful for salvation until he had the experience he encounter.
Section 0505| Date: 2/9/20 Time:9:18PM
To me, Langston Hughes’ story “Salvation’ conveys tones of confusion and remorse more than anything. Remorse is a deep feeling of shame and regret that someone shows when they are truly sorry for doing something even if they hadn’t meant to do that thing to begin with. The narrator is initially truly confused when he is in front of the congregation and is not having a religious experience, while all the other children seem to be experiencing the opposite. This overwhelming confusion in the mind of a child that truly wanted to believe in the divinity of religion ultimately forced the child to do something they had been taught was wrong and that was to lie. He lied about having a spiritual moment with Jesus just in order to fit in with the rest of the group who also must have lied, or at least felt in their own respective minds that they had seen Jesus in a way. The shame of having lied, especially in a house of god led to extreme remorse because he wanted to see Jesus and knew he had deceived the entire church. Although the story was short and portrayed a single day in the life of this child, it was a climactic and life changing moment that he would always remember because it brought into question the idea of religion for him. Confusion on a big stage in a big moment in front of others led to his remorse that he had done something wicked and pretended to have seen Jesus all for the sake of removing himself from that moment. The very first line of the story where the narrator speaks about having been saved, but not really conveys to the reader from the very beginning that here there was a naive 12 year old going on thirteen that was in a big moment. He spoke about how his aunt told him exactly what happens when “you are saved”. “You saw a light, and something happened to you inside.” This is a frightening and confusing thing for a child to have to live up to in front of an entire church. Then lying about it, just to fit in with the other children, and recounting that day, years later as an adult showed it was a very traumatic episode for him.
GIULIA CESTER ENG 201-0505
In the story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, the narrator talks about the experience of a thirteen years old boy who the family brought to church to be saved of his sins and also because by being saved he was going to be able to see Jesus. The story has different tones, i see sadness when the boy was crying alone in bed because he was very disappointed of not being able to see Jesus and lied to his aunt. In the other side i see a little bit of humor when Westley said ” God damn! i’m tired o’ sitting here. Let’s get up and be saved”. At the same time i noticed that the boy was embarrassed when he was the last one in the bench. This boy was brought to a situation where he had to lie because he didn’t feel comfortable. But also he was upset because he didn’t see Jesus.I think the specific language in the text lead me to my opinion is when he said “i didn’t believe there was a jesus anymore, since he didn’t come to help me”. Me personally i am christian and i always heard about God, but no one told me that i was going to be able to see him. But who knows maybe this boy wasn’t ready due to his age to deal with this spiritual situation, and it will be better if the family waited until he was ready to make his own decision.
Virgen, I definitely agree that the tone shifts throughout the story. However, the overall feel is pretty consistent throughout. You said that when Westley said “God damn! I’m tired of sitting here. Let’s get up and be saved.” the tone shifted to humorous. I have to disagree,. Obviously, humor is being used, but more so to contrast the narrator’s experience from the experience’s of those around him. It seems like every one else is singing, feeling it, or able to make jokes, while Hughes is overwhelmed and nervous internally. Use of such humorous dialogue further emphasizes the sense of isolation and nervousness that are consistent throughout.
section number 11606
Virgen, this is not your section number. Your section number is either 0503 or 0505.
omg!!! yes professor Conway you’re absolutely right my section is 0503
Section #0505
In this short story, “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, the author tells about his childhood experience that happened in the church. I think the author uses the tone of situational irony, sadness, disappointment, and guilt during his childhood experience because he expected to “see Jesus” to save from his sin. Hughes 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.” and “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”. These two pieces of evidence show emotions such as disappointment of nothing happened to him and he expected Jesus to come to him, but Jesus did not come. Also, sadness and guilt feeling towards he tells a lie to everybody. When the author says that “now I didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn’t come to help me.” This sentence makes me feel that he might have some feeling of betrayed by Jesus. That might cause him not to believe Jesus.
Jiaxin, I agree that the boy in the story may have felt some sense of betrayal by Jesus. But does the adult narrator recalling the event seem angry or betrayed? This is what is meant by tone; think of it as the voice of the narrator. The voice I hear is mature and able to smile at what was once a painful incident.
Oh my goodness. I thought I loved the first story but this one hit home! First off let me start by saying I, myself am a Christian and I absolutely loved this piece. It was not the boy’s fault! He was told he would experience something very specific by his elders so he was looking forward to that specific experience. I understand the controversy this story may have caused or causes however, anyone can clearly understand that as a child, we believe everything our parents say. I honesty feel bad for him. Great story.
0503{11606}
Hi Jessica,
I think it would be so interesting to hear how you relate to this story as a Christian. Do you believe that the elders were not being truthful? When he was crying himself to sleep, and his family thought it was a good thing, it leads me to believe that the ceremony that had occurred was not just metaphorical, but it was set to accomplish a goal. Is it a common thing in the Christian community for there to be a lack of explaining things to young children?
The short story, “Salvation” by Langston Hughs, is clear and simple, yet very complex in its ideas. Hughs uses a variety of tones such as irony, hope, shame, frustration, and bitterness in his short story to capture the emotional roller-coaster he experienced. The tone of the story in its entirety, is ironic. The title, “Salvation” itself plays into an irony where not only does Hughs not end up experiencing salvation he ends up crying in bed that night full of shame which is the opposite of the freedom that is supposed to come with salvation. I would even take it a step further and say that when Hughs begins the story with “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved.”, it creates a theme of irony by possibly saying that he was saved from the religion itself, or from being a believer in something that he does not believe in at all. From reading the information on the author’s life, he definitely did not have it easy. He really wanted this experience to work for him. He was hopeful as he wanted to be accepted and saved, “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!”, yet he ends up feeling rejection, shame, and frustration. The author ends the story with “now I didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn’t come to help me.”. It is possible for this to be the conclusion that remained with the author even as he was an adult.
Sima Goldstein SEC 0505
Sima, thanks for the comments! You make some good points. However, keep in mind that tone is the attitude of the narrator towards his subject. Shame and frustration are emotions, rather than tones. You do write that the tone is ironical, which is true. Your interpretation of the line you mention is interesting—that the narrator is joking that he was “saved” from religion. I’ve never read it like that, but it’s funny. But where do you in the text that as an adult he retains those feelings of shame and frustration? Does his ironic language suggest otherwise?
From reading Salvation, I get a sense of anxiety passed on by the narrator. The tone is very anxious and overwhelmed. Hughes is a young kid, and he is in this crowded, lively, loud church anticipating his up close and personal introduction to Jesus. There has been much discussion between himself and his aunt leading to this moment, much of which had been misleading and led him to set certain expectations. he believed he would see Jesus in the church. I think this scared him because he did not know what to expect, but was told it would be an otherworldly sensation and experience. Being placed on a stage for all to see, along with the noises, chants, and possibly looming sense of Jesus, heightened his anxiety. Hughes’ anxiety is hyper-depicted through detailed descriptions of the visions around him. He is focusing on small details such as a man’s hands, a woman’s hair etc. Have you ever been in front of a crowd and been so nervous – not knowing where to look, or what to focus on, so you find yourself focusing on one person’s face, or a clock on the wall ? That is exactly what is happening here.We really get a sense of how small and powerless he felt in that church on that day. This feeling continues through the end of the story, and eventually manifests into guilt that he did not actually receive Jesus. A secret that he must keep to himself.
Even though this story is told in first person, using “I”, there is a separation between the Langston in the story and the Langston telling it. They are the same person, but two different “I’s'”. I think the fact that he is able to reflect on all of this demonstrates that he has been able to see what happened was not as “serious” as his younger self perceived it to be, however, I still sense some ties to his childhood self that he cant seem to sever. In his story, he does not have a voice. I think he harbors a lot of negative feelings to his passive and inverted nature that have followed him through adulthood. It is like scenes such as the one told slowly chipped away at his sense of self. The last line of the text when he says “I didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn’t come to help me” realy demonstrate that loss of something.
ENG 201-0505
Bryanna,
I love that you brought up the separation between the young Langston and the Langston writing the story. He absolutely doesn’t see it as serious, but I think this was a very traumatic and possibly frustrating instance in his childhood. I also think that it led to him both not being religious, but also in him learning to have a voice for himself. For a young boy to resist the peer pressure from so many people that he was facing for so long takes a strong act of courage that most children and many adults would never be able to do.
Curtis: 0503.
In the reading ‘Salvation’ by Langston Hughs, it begins with a statement that sets the theme. “I was saved from sin when I was going on 13. But not really saved.” This opening statement sets the tone to question religion and its meaning. Langston grew up believing that if he is saved by Jesus, he will see a light. Being born into this beautiful world without knowing that your life had already been planned for you is what makes it interesting. Growing up while having certain beliefs and how different outlooks are perceived, can really trigger a persons attitude towards that topic. For example when Langston attended a religious revival meeting with his aunt Reed, he believes her in a very literal sense which meant to him that whatever the magic was suppose to happened to him when he was ‘saved’ he will feel or see it because of his imagination and how it was described to him. The narrator also explained how later that same night he cried to himself because he did not receive “salvation” in the way that he was told. I understand and also can relate to Langston dispirited emotions on why nothing happened when he pretended to be saved and a sense of moral confusion about his experiences and also the expectations from his family and the religion itself.
Section Number: 0505
Darday, thanks for posting. Please be aware that “tone” is a very specific definition. It is the attitude of the narrator towards the events and themes of the story. Think of it as the narrator’s voice. When you write that the tone is one that questions religion, you are not really addressing the tone of the narrator about his own story. In what voice does he tell this story? Is if funny? Sad? Emotionally distant?
The narrator’s tone in “salvation” is ironic in the beginning as seen when he says “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved.” and “some very hardened sinners had been brought to Christ, and the membership of the church had grown by leaps and bounds.” this shows that from the authors point of view as an adult it was more about raising the churches membership than bringing people to Christ and that they gave him a false hope when they told him that ” when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life! And God was with you from then on!” instead of properly being informed he was given a description that due to his young mind he took literally not figuratively and because of that it lead to his disappointment “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.” which lead to his loss of faith because he could not actually see Jesus hadn’t seen Jesus, and that now “I didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn’t come to help me.” All of this helps to tell me that the author views this childhood experience as an adult as life altering experience because it all lead up to disappointment, a loss of innocence and faith. I got to this from the language in this text “That night, for the first time in my life but one for I was a big boy twelve years old – I cried. I cried, in bed alone, and couldn’t stop. I buried my head under the quilts, but my aunt heard me. She 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 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.” 0503[11606]
Ariadna, I very much appreciate your use of quotes to support your thoughts about the narrator as a child. But can you supply any quotes from the text that support the idea that as an adult the narrator has lost his faith?
The part of the story that leads me to believe the narrator has lost his faith as an adult is “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved.” this shows me that he no longer believes that what his aunt has told him about being saved is true so his loss of faith was his loss in her and her words about what being saved truly is “My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life! And God was with you from then on! She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul. I believed her” the last part the “I believed her” proves that he has moved on from what she had taught him and understands that not everyone has the same experiences so he loss faith in the word of his aunt that he thought to be true. 0503
Ariadna, please address comments to others by name. Thank you.
Section #0505
I’d like to begin by saying that this short story was very moving and it really captured my interested right off the start because the situation feels so familiar. “Salvation”, throughout the first half, had a very suspenseful tone that Hughes depicted so vividly. Throughout the days and moments leading up to Hughes’ salvation you could tell that he truly expected an out of the ordinary experience. His anxiety approaches in a tidal wave as he sits there by himself waiting and waiting for his life to be changed until he realizes that perhaps he wasn’t going to experience what he was supposed to after all. After the service he goes home I think the tone shifts from suspense to forlornness. Not only is Hughes upset because he lied to the people that wanted to “save” him, but i believe that he feels as if he’s been abandoned. In the last few lines he says he may not believe in god anymore because he never came to save him. He may have also felt this feeling of abandonment from knowing his parents did not want to be a part of his life. Now that he is an adult he may look back and realize that his childhood was filled with loneliness and sadness. Perhaps these feelings are what made him as a novelist because he had the drive to succeed by himself and was ready to be on his own if it meant completing schooling or living through hardships to make his literature change the world.
Section #0505
In the short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, he said “Waiting for Jesus to come to me” to give a little humor to the story because as a kid he was actually waiting for Jesus to come (literally) because that’s what he auntie used to said. I found the description about he’s experiences on church very funny because I remember when I used to go with my grandma to church on Sundays, and they would say things like “ I want Jesus to touch me with his holly spirit” very serious. I wouldn’t understand one single word they were saying on church because I was barely eight years old. I grew up like Langston, and we both realize that these expressions are just that, expressions and they don’t really mean that Jesus it’s going to come at that moment. Describing he’s experience like something funny because now he understands what it means (like me). When I started to read the story, I didn’t understand what he meant by “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved” but now I realize that he was just making fun of himself for believing everything they said on church they mean it like it was going to happened at that moment.
It is sort of comical! And I agree, he has a great sense of humor about the whole thing. I get the feeling that he thinks people actually truly believe that Jesus will come to them or that they will be saved, and I don’t necessarily think that he agrees or understands the people that are this religious. Besides… he didn’t necessarily have a choice, did he? He had to either stand up or the entire church would have kept on praying and shouting and begging Jesus to save him. I think his first line also means oh well I WAS “saved…” But no (cue eyeroll).
Curtis: 0503
Curtis, please respond to others by name so we can all follow along. Thanks!
Estfany, I love your observations about your story, along with your personal recollection. However, have you addressed the question posed in my Db post?
Section 0503:
Hello Estefany, after reading your response it allows me to look at the story in a bit of a different view because when I first read it I took it in more of a serious way as if the author resented or was mad or upset about the situation and the people that took part in it. After reviewing the story again it does make sense to say that the author is sort of telling the story in more of a comical way / making fun of how literally he took things as you mentioned and reminiscing on his youth.
I think he writes this story with a strong disdain for religion, although possibly a bit of sarcasm and humor (verbal irony?). He makes comments such as the first sentence, “I was saved…” A common line in any religious congregation, but was obviously an exaggerated point that he automatically discredits the next sentence. He also uses some varied levels of strong comments like, “young sinners,” and “dire imagery of hell where the one lamb is left out in the cold.” I also think that Langston, as a child, really struggled to find his place. Religion is often the avenue many people go to have a sense of belonging. He may have wanted to have a sense of belonging that he hoped he’d truly see god. He thankfully found belonging elsewhere in Harlem and Poetry.
Now that I’ve addressed disdain for religion and a desire to find a place of belonging, imagine the humor in his story! I can picture him sitting at a bar with some buddies being like, “Listen… in my childhood a bunch of people were throwing up their arms screaming, ‘You’ll be saved, and you’ll be saved, and all you little sinners will be saved!’ And I wanted to see God sooo bad, but nothing, I sat there with my mouth hanging open while a bunch of people were begging me to see God. And… I lied… I said I saw him, I stood up and everyone cheered and were so happy…” <— okay perhaps my recreated story is a bit of a stretch… maybe… but I STRONGLY feel like the entire story holds some humor in the whole situation that Langston was thrust into at age twelve.
Curtis: I’m sorry, section 0503
Curtis, I like how you imagine the narrator telling this story to his friends in a bar years later. I think this analogy may help some in the group see how humor plays in the story. We’ve all had painful childhood experiences we can laugh about now. I’ll be interested in hearing responses to next week’s story, where this doesn’t seem to be the case.
The tone of the text in “Salvation” was very ambiguous. Langston Hughes did not really give insight about his emotions as he was telling the story, he more described how younger he felt and his experience as a twelve year old who should have been saved but wasn’t. Yet he didn’t really indicate how he felt retelling the story. He did a great job telling the story and describing the guilt/sadness younger him had felt when he lied about Jesus, and when he thought Jesus just did not come for him. “I cried, in bed alone, and couldn’t stop. I buried my head under the quilts, but my aunt heard me. She 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 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.” This quote illustrates a specific moment he described, yet he does not explain how he was feeling as a grown man retelling the story. Therefore throughout the reading the tone felt unclear to me. There did not seem to be any specific language that could explain how he felt as an adult now.
0503
I kind of agree, atleast I found it hard to look for answers to the prompts for this week’s discussion board specifically for the one asking about how he views his experience as an adult. However, I believe you can still find some kind of tone if you try rereading it (I had to read it 4 times to even get a better and more solid idea!). I also think that reading our peer’s works and the professor’s comments wouldn’t hurt as it did help me see the story from different angles as well as get a better picture of what the professor was looking for. You did a great job providing evidence for your statements because they helped me understand your arguments more clearly. I’m not sure if we were supposed to do proper MLA citations, but it wouldn’t hurt to include them. Think of it as a practice for our essays. I enjoyed reading your work and I can definitely related to your trouble!
Langston Hughes began his piece “Salvation” with sarcasm saying that he was saved from sin, but not really (par.1). He goes on to tell of his misfortune that changed how he views religion and definitely influenced him as the man who grew up to be. He uses a serious tone with a mix of hopefulness as he recounts what his aunt told him, “My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life! And God was with you from then on!” (par. 2), and desperation, “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” (par. 7) as he recounts this unfortunate event. Based on his tone, I could tell that the narrator sees this experience as neither positive nor negative, but rather a foolish one because he now knows that Jesus entering one’s life isn’t something that happens instantly and in a magical kind of way like his aunt told him (on par.2). It is a rather slow and painstaking process that one works on achieving in hopes for a better and enlightened life. I think that is the gentle humor in this story.
*ENG 201-0505
Section #0505
This short story ”Salvation” by Langston Hughes is incredible this story is rollercoaster of words. Beginning with happiness, doubtful, then distressed all in a matter of minutes. The story brings forth many tones and displays feelings that the author felt then. He first displays excitement that he is going to be lucky that Jesus joins him and then god will be with him from then on. So then he awaited this describing the singing as wonderous still believing that this is it he will be ”saved”. Once all the children had gone to be ”saved” he is still hopeful that he too will be as well from then he is with another boy. This boy eventually gets agitated then says to him ”God damn! I’m tired o’ sitting here. Let’s get up and be saved.” with that, he is all alone and then the story’s tone changes it seems more doubtful but still has hope that he would be saved. Once more time passes he start to think critically about the boy, why did he go up to the stage when he did not get ”saved”? At this point in the story, the author is thinking down a darker path. He began to wonder why God allowed the other boy to lie to everyone as described in the story, ”grinning down at me, surrounded by deacons and old women on their knees praying. God had not struck Westley dead for taking his name in vain or for lying in the temple.”.At this point the author gave up and got up to join the other ”saved” children and at this point, he decided that he did not believe in Jesus I find it because of this, ”Waves of rejoicing swept the place.” from this I noticed the author quit calling it church once he lied about being ”saved”. This is signifying that he had given up, but I did not see that he was particularly upset about this. Once he got home to go to sleep he wrote this ”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.”. In the end, the author was more distraught and horrified that he had lied about being saved rather than believing in Jesus.
Section #0505
In the short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, he said “Waiting for Jesus to come to me” to give a little humor to the story because as a kid he was actually waiting for Jesus to come (literally) because that’s what he auntie used to said. I found the description about he’s experiences on church very funny because I remember when I used to go with my grandma to church on Sundays, and they would say things like “ I want Jesus to touch me with his holly spirit” very serious. I wouldn’t understand one single word they were saying on church because I was barely eight years old. I grew up like Langston, and we both realize that these expressions are just that, expressions and they don’t really mean that Jesus it’s going to come at that moment. Describing he’s experience like something funny because now he understands what it means (like me). When I started to read the story, I didn’t understand what he meant by “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved” but now I realize that he was just making fun of himself for believing everything they said on church they mean it like it was going to happened at that moment. The boy may had felt some kind of deception by the idea that they keep waiting for Jesus to come and that never happened. The narrator recalling the event sounds betrayed and he can over this since he recalls the event as if it happened yesterday, since he remembers almost every detail. He’s voice tome sounds like he is smiling because he found himself at this age so vulnerable and innocent since at that time it was a painful incident.
In the story “Salvation,” by Langston Hughes, has incorporated numerous irony tones in his writing. Hughes started the story with a questionable tone that describe his experience as “sin”. Hughes was guilty about the lies that he had made. “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved.” Hughes first felt a special connection with Jesus and have an intense belief that he could be a part of the chaotic community. Later, he found himself feeling abandoned with extreme frustration that stop him from believing in Jesus.
Langston narrated his experience with dramatic peaks through reflection. As an adult narrator, Hughes experienced this chapter of his chaotic life as an embarrassment. “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…” Hughes was being pressured to believe in Jesus in a religious community. Perhaps he was endlessly inspired by his chaotic aunt and he was strived to see Jesus himself, but Jesus didn’t come. There seems to be an underlying simplicity and calmness in Hughes that the incident was finally over, and it is acceptable that he did not see Jesus because he didn’t believe in one anymore.
Section #0503
Zhanasia Young Section/English 201
In the post it asked “How would you charatize the tone of the narator about the events in the story .” Honestly in the story i believe the way his tone was more so excited to see Jesus and antcipating to see Jesus as if he was human or perhaps a ghost that would just appear . However after the revival langston said that he creid because he felt terrible for lying to everyone in church including to his aunt about seeing Jesus because he wanted to see him but God never came to him so that made him feel hurt and disappointed which was in his tone when he said ” That now i didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore , since he didn’t come to help me .”
Zhanasia, tone is the attitude of the narrator towards the subject. Also, please review COURSE INFORMATION for details about required length of posts.
Zhanasia, please include your section number with your comments.
Section 0503:
The tone or overall mood of the story was constantly changing throughout, for example in the beginning his mood was curious and excited but as the story went on and he did not see the light the tone changed to disinterested and lost or disappointed. In my opinion the tone that is used throughout the story conveys that the author now views this experience as a negative one. In the way that the author tells the story we can tell / see that the author wanted to express how the pressure of an adult on a child can affect them. An example of how the pressure of an adult can affect a child is when the author’s aunt was pressuring him to let Jesus save him and for him to see the light and or Jesus , but when he doesn’t see him he bursts into tears and lies that he does.
Stephanie, please read requirements for Db posts. It’s not enough to just agree with another student; we also need your comments to add to the discussion and meet length requirements.
Section: 0505
In “Salvation”, by Langston Hughes, the narrator was expecting to see Jesus and helped by Him. The irony of this story is that the exact opposite happened. He never got to see Jesus and he felt like he needed to lie to “fit in”. Langston Hughes uses sarcasm to emphasize the importance of Jesus in these children lives. Jesus wasn’t physically there but, spiritually with them. The narrator was expected to be saved by the physical presence of Jesus. Hughes uses dramatic irony to lead people to believe that he actually was important and worthy enough to meet Jesus. As a child, the narrator believed that he would physically meet the presence of Jesus, but came to realize it was his beliefs and spirituality. This lead him the the spiritual aspect of Christ.
The short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes shows how they thought their experience in church was going to be turned out to be the total opposite and how instead of feeling better about themselves they feel even worse. The narrator’s tone sounds like situational irony because what they thought was gonna happen, being able to see Jesus did not happen; which is not something they expected. When the aunt said, “Langston, why don’t you come? Why don’t you come and be saved? Oh, Lamb of God! Why don’t you come?” You see the situational irony because the aunt expected Langston to come “after seeing Jesus” but he has yet to go which is something she did not expect, just like when he never saw Jesus but lied like the other kid did to please everyone who was there. The narrator sees things differently now that he’s an adult compared to how he saw things as a child. Since he never saw Jesus he no longer believes there was a Jesus because no one went and “helped him”. He remembers how he had to lie so everyone believes that he did see him and did get saved which was the only way he was going to feel apart of them, but even though they took him in he still felt wrong.
Section: 0505
Section:0503
In the short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, I would characterize Hughes tone as, sad, hopeless disappointed and guilty, his tone changed throughout the story, in the beginning he was more so sad, disappointed, and felt hopeless that he wasn’t getting saved by Jesus while everyone else was being saved and went up front to the alter, he was waiting on that “light” his aunt reed told him about but he never did, which caused him to later on to feel guilty. Towards the end he felt peer pressured into lying that he was saved by Jesus so he wouldn’t keep the whole church waiting on him and stay late. Also guilt came into play when he said “I was really crying because I couldn’t bear to tell her that I had lied, that I had deceived everybody in the church” he felt so guilty to the point where he would cry but didn’t have the guts to tell her so he lied about it.
What Hughes tone tell me about how he views his childhood experience to now that he is an adult, is that he probably doesn’t even believe or have faith in God being real, as a child he was left devastated that there wasn’t a god because he faked himself into thinking there was to not be left out and also probably thought he was the one little lamb that was left out that the preacher spoked about. The specific text that lead me to my opinion was when he said “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. It sounded like thats where he lost all hope, because he wasn’t saved.
The narrator’s tone tell me how he views his childhood experience now that he is an adult that he feels sorry and ashamed. Throughout the short story, he kept emphasizing how he was excited to meet Jesus and be saved by him. The disappointment of not being able to see and and how he had to lie to his aunt made him feel morose. After growing up, he knew there wasn’t a physical “Jesus”, but due to his experiences he learned the hard way.
Section 0503