Salvation Essay Sample

In the short story “Salvation”, Langston narrates about how he was saved from sin when he was a young boy of almost thirteen. He then reveals that he was not saved but faked it due to pressure from the adults in his life. Hughes’, aunt who is a strong believer in Christianity attends religious revival in town every night for a week. On the final night, he sits with the other young children in the front row on the mourner's bench and as he waits to be saved. If he got saved, his aunt told him that he would see a light and something would happen inside him meaning that Jesus had come into your life, and he takes it very literally. As the preacher and the congregation pray for the young children, Hughes sits calmly waiting for Jesus to come into his life but he does not see the light of feel anything happening inside him. He finally gives up and decides to get up and be saved because he is tired and does not want to disappoint the adults in the church. Later that night at home, he cries for the first time in his life because he lied to his aunt about seeing Jesus and getting saved. However, his aunt interprets this as a sign that Jesus had come into his life. In this story, I believe the writer tries to depict how forcing religion on a child can negatively impact in their mind. Religion is a complex subject in society that is only understood at a personal level, and the author shows how if forced can cause more harm than good. This story relates to society because there is a constant desire to please others and conform to their needs.