Salvation By Langston Hughes

Building Vocabulary 1. ISR 2. Revival, church, preaching, praying (1); Jesus, God (2); preacher, sermon (3); alter, deacons, sisters (6); congregation (7); minister (8); Holy Ghost (15)

Building Vocabulary 3. Lambs are compared to “unsaved children.” The lamb is the traditional religious symbol for Jesus or for a member of his “flock,” or followers

Understanding the Writer’s Ideas 1. It is a rhythmic, moving, and boisterous event in which the entire congregation gets swept up. The “sinners” and “young lambs” also get swept up and are “brought to Christ.”

Understanding the Writer’s Ideas 2. Because he is tired of sitting around in the hot church in all the commotion. He thus decides to pretend to “see Jesus” much to the delight of the congregation (6). Hughes comes to Jesus because he was feeling ashamed at being the only “lamb” left and he noticed that Westley had not seen struck dead for lying about his salvation. (11, 12)

Understanding the Writer’s Ideas 3. He feels even more ashamed because of his lie. The next to the last sentence states that he no longer believes in Christ since he received no divine help during the revival meeting.

Understanding the Writer’s Techniques 1. AMV. Either the very first or the very last sentences are the thesis. 2. By setting the scene through providing a vivid description of the action, a minimum of background material, and a time placement with Hughes’s life.

Understanding the Writer’s Ideas 3. To emphasize the intense emotional and social charge of the atmosphere. Examples: “The preacher…cold.” (3) “A great many…work-gnarled hands.” “The whole…moans and voices.” (7) Par. 13

Understanding the Writer’s Ideas 4. The main narration begins with the last sentence of par. 2 when Langston begins to wait for Jesus. The entire narration takes place in on evening. 5. that night (1); Then (3); Still (5); Finally (6); Now (11); So (12); Suddenly (13); When (14); That night (15)

Understanding the Writer’s Ideas 6. Examples of transitions within a single paragraph occur in par. 15, which starts with the time indicator “That night,” proceeds through the action to the opposition conjunction :But,” and then again to the time indicator “Now.” The words listed for question 5 connect paragraphs by moving the action from one incident to another within the time frame.

Understanding the Writer’s Ideas 7. First person emphasizes the personal impact and allows for greater authority by the narrator. 8. It suggests that the 12-year-old Hughes was starting to become an adult, basing his beliefs on his person experiences rather than on what others would like him to believe. It clearly shows a misunderstanding by his aunt and uncle of his actions and beliefs.

Understanding the Writer’s Ideas 9. In religious terms, it means “an experience associated with a definite and decisive adoption of religions.” This contrasts with the nonreligious connotation of a simple transformation from one form to another. The real conversion that takes place is Hughes’s change from a boy to a man.

Revival meeting http://www.lowcostprints.com/Merchant2/prod/revivalmeeting_t.jpg