Salvation, Langston Hughes PDF

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Summary

Summarizes the main point(s) given in the story and reflects on the different typed of literary devices/elements scattered along the piece, also reflects on how issues portrayed in the story still happen in today's society. ...

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English 101

“Salvation” Langston Hughes

Growing up in a religious environment can be bittersweet; you are surrounded by others who believe in faith, forgiveness, and salvation. However, desire to invest yourself in such powerful conditions can easily turn into obligation quite rapidly. Langston Hughes’ “Salvation” depicts a younger version of himself on the path to learning what religion means and what it feels like to be in God’s presence. Unfortunately, Langston is set up for disappointment as he is sat in his Aunt’s church, waiting to be “saved” by God himself. As he watched his family members surround him while praising and begging God to show him the light, he feels pressured to rise and be “saved,” even if it meant not even seeing the light himself, but just to please the others around him in fear of being judged for being the only kid that was not shown this “light.” As a result, Langston pretends to miraculously rise, causing his other family members to cry out in joy. Ultimately, Langston’s facade comes back to haunt him, given that the entire experience results into the loss of his faith in God. Peer pressure, judgement, and high expectations were the leading causes of his sudden disbelief. As a child, my friends at school were rather rebellious. Being a pre-teen, I didn’t know better than what I should have and wanted to fit in. I was very into having a large group of friends-- I preferred quantity over quality. As a result, I felt as though I was pressured into being as rebellious as they were in order to “fit in,” to have any friends. Peer pressure is an extremely powerful influence one may have on another in order to get what they want-- in some cases. It is considered to be a way of manipulation, given that the ones who inflict it on others are usually not fond of anyone who holds any opinion, thought, or perspective that is any different than

theirs in the slightest bit; causing them to treat others vaguely. Many individuals, mostly teenagers, come across a situation where peer pressure is very much present at least once in their life. For example, most teenagers often feel pressured to smoke, take drugs, etc. etc. because it’s considered the “norm” in our society. They feel as though they have to do what others do in order to fit into the society they were born into. Judgement is often feared by others who feel as though they have to perform a certain action or be and act a certain/specific way in order to be respected or liked. Growing up, being introverted meant that judgement was more or so likely your best friend. I loved to isolate myself from everyone and never did things that would make me stand out, in fear of being judged. In most cases, judgement comes into play when something isn’t going as planned or did not go the way one wanted to and the fear of being ridiculed begins to creep up on them. In “Salvation,” Langston sits in the church as his family begs god to save him, and nothing is happening. As if it was a defense mechanism, he pretends to be saved in order to shield himself from the judgement he thought he was going to receive if he hadn’t seen “the light.” Expectations are something everyone has at one point. Most of the time, they are harmless. In other predicaments, expectations can make or break someone and/or their career. Growing up with four sisters, one of them being a straight A student, I was expected to be the perfect student in school, which placed a rather huge weight on my shoulders. Knowing that I was being analyzed and checked up on about school all the time, it caused me to develop tons of stress and anxiety that I still have to this day. Everyone has their own way of doing things, they have their own way of learning and analyzing information that is given to them. In my case, my family did not understand that. I was expected to get no less than a 90 on assignments and final grades which, ultimately, caused me to develop a significant amount of fear when it came to final exams and classwork. Expectations can be either light and harmless, or it can seriously damage the way you think and act. Langston Hughes’ “Salvation” depicts several inflictions that apply to the everyday life of

many people all throughout the world. It is never okay to lie about anything in order to please others, whether they are a part of your family or not. Bandwagoning is an action that many individuals/groups do, and the results are not usually pleasing. We are all responsible and in control of the choices we make, but we are never in control of the consequences that come with them....