Short stories, essays, poems, and other literal works often mirror the author’s experience and interaction with the social environment. Authors consciously or unconsciously express their beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions on different aspects through fictional or factual narrations, creating a relatable mood or tone among the audience. Langston Hughes’s Essay, “Salvation,” captures his teenage experience with orthodox Christianity. With a first-person point of view, Hughes describes his “salvation” experience as a twelve-year-old boy who cannot figuratively associate with revival by the power of redemption through faith. He sits awaiting literal light and feels something happening inside him as Auntie Reed had promised. However, he never experiences the anticipated change, prompting him to lie as his friend Westley. Consequently, guilt and agony overwhelm him for having lied about his experience with Jesus Christ. Although the essay is a personal reflection, Hughes emphasizes hypocritic human nature, especially in a religious environment where people disregard the true self and morality to appear perfect and righteous while influencing children to adapt to such a system.

Hughes ironically uses the title “salvation” to denote the imaginative change accompanying religious beliefs, noting that people theoretically acquire new personalities but practically uphold their true selves. He starts by writing that although he was “saved from sin” at a young age, he was “not saved” (Hughes, Par. 1). Such presupposition captures the pretentious aspect of religion, where people struggle to appear morally and ethically upright while portraying imperfection in the backdrop. Although it is a norm among many religious people, including Christians, it is human to hide faults and strive to appear perfect. In the essay, some of the girls ecstatically jump to the altar, going to “Jesus right away” (Hughes, Par. 3). Although the author does not explore their self-reflection, it is expected that young children cannot fathom salvation in its symbolic meaning. As such, they mostly faked the experience or did not know what to expect. Hughes defies this norm through his authenticity to profess that his “salvation” did not change his sinful character as anticipated (Hughes, Par. 1). By ironically using salvation, Hughes emphasizes the lack of integrity among morally appearing religious persons.

Like Westley, Hughes lies about receiving Jesus, displaying the dishonesty that hails religious environments where individuals must fake their identity to fit in a particular faith. Westley joins other children at the altar ignorantly because he is tired of sitting on the mourners’ bench. Similarly, Langston yields to prayers without experiencing the anticipated change (Hughes, Par. 5). Like in other religious settings, it is impossible to question faith, and people must trust others as they believe in the deity. Hughes describes the standards of the Orthodox faith where “hardened sinners” come to Jesus for redemption (Hughes, Par.1). However, no one questions their inner self if they can appear “holy” and “righteous” as per the biblical standards (Hughes, Par. 1). Hughes says that he could not tell his aunt he was crying because of having lied to the Church because he would appear unrighteous. It is inarguable that although many of the converts might not cry like Hughes, they struggle with contradicting themselves and the guilt of confessing to standards that they cannot practically uphold. The dishonesty of claiming unachieved perfectionism and having to appear upright is ideally a faked impractical life. Therefore, Hughes describes his experience of faking salvation to capture the insincerity in religion and generally all religions.

Hughes also notes Auntie Reed’s insincerity, which shows that faking lifestyles and experiences are not limited to children. As Hughes cries due to the guilt of lying at Church, the aunt tells his uncle that he was wailing for having experienced the Holy Ghost after receiving Jesus (Hughes, Par. 11). Such statements are rampant in contemporary religious settings because people seek to justify their religious denomination even when they have to lie. Hughes captures the insincerity surrounding religion that prompts individuals to lie to brand their appearance and defend their faith. Therefore, it remains arguable whether proclaiming a specific religion reflects morality.

Besides, the essay captures religiously defined sociocultural pressure that forces individuals to willingly and unwillingly yield to certain beliefs as a way of conformity even when they disagree with underlying customs. Westley and Hughes encounter intense situations where the clergy pray for their redemption from sin even when they do not under