Salvation

About the Author

Langston Hughes was born on February 1,1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He started writing poetry after his election of class poet in grammar school. In addition, to twelve volumes of poems, he wrote novels, popular histories, short stories, plays, librettos and lyrics for operas and musicals, and children's books. Hughes died of a heart attack in New York City. "Salvation" is taken from Hughes's autobiography, The Big Sea (1940).

"Salvation"

By Langston Hughes

The story of "Salvation" is based on belief of Jesus, and about being saved. Langston is the main character of the story. He is distraught on waiting to get baptized, but is waiting on a light and Jesus to come into his life. When he does not see Jesus or the light he then decides not to get baptized. However, Langston's aunt and other church members knelt down beside him telling him to come to Jesus. Young Langston revises himself and gets baptized. The story "Salvation" is based upon the setting, conflict, and theme and is used directly by Langston Hughes.

In "Salvation" the setting is in a hot, compressed church. Langston is among the few lambs that are preparing for baptism. Then he said: "Won't you come? Won't you come to Jesus? Young lambs, won't you come (32)? Langston is contemplating on his decision for baptism as he waits on the bench. He is waiting on Jesus to arrive. The church is becoming more compressed now, and the time is late now. "Finally Westley said to me in a whisper: "God damn! I'm tired o' sitting here. Let's get up and saved." So he got up and was saved (33).

Langston did not want to upset his aunt and was saved. The conflict of the story was about Langston's decision on becoming saved. Langston did not want to embarrass his aunt and himself excluding his true feelings about the situation-he becomes saved. "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. So I got up (33)." After, his baptism Langston was upset the whole night. The thought of him lying would not leave his head. "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