idea

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I was saved from sin when I was going on

rirteen. But not really saved. It happened

-ie this. There was a big revival at my Auntie

:-,eed's church. Every night for weeks there :ad been much preaching, singinE, PraY1ng,

-nd shouting, and some very hardened sin-

:ers had been brought to Christ, and the

LANGSTON HUGHES Langston Hughes was one of the maior figures of the Harlem Renaissance'

a cultural

moiement th.at spanned ttti tSZOs and 1930s. His writings describe the common

experiences of African Americans and the fficts of racism by exploring music, humor,

and.faith. Liitenfor his unique uoice as you read this memoir'

membership of the church had grown by leaps and bounds. Then just before the re-

vival ended, they held a special meeting for

children, "to bring the young lambs to the foldJ' My aunt spoke of it for days ahead' That

night I was escorted to the front row and placed on the mourners' bench with ali the

CHAPTER 33 Memoirs

other young sinners, who had not yet been brought to Jesus.

My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light, and something hap- pened to you insidel And Iesus came into your life! And God was with you from then onl She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul. I believed her. I had heard a great many old people say the same thing and it seemed to me they ought to know. So I sat there calmly in the hot, crowded church, waiting for Jesus to come to me.

The preacher preached awonderful rhlth- mical sermon, all moans and shouts and lonely cries and dire pictures of hell, and then he sang a song about the ninety and nine safe in the fold, but one little lamb was left out in the cold. Then he said: "Won't you come? Won'tyou come to lesus? Young lambs, won't you come?" And he held out his arms to all us young sinners there on the mourners' bench. And the little girls cried. And some of them jumped up and went to fesus right away. But most of us just sat there.

A great many old people came and knelt around us and prayed, old women with jet- black faces and braided hair, old men with work-gnarled hands. And the church sang a song about the lower lights are burning, some poor sinners to be saved. And the whole building rocked with prayer and song.

Still I kept waiting to see Jesus. Finally all the young people had gone to

the altar and were saved, but one boy and me. He was a rounder's son named Westley. Westley and I were surrounded by sisters and deacons prayng. It was very hot in the church, and getting late now. Finally Westley said to me in a whisper: "God damn! I'm tired o' sit- ting here. Let's get up and be savedl' So he got up and was saved.

Then I was left all alone on the mourners' bench. My aunt came and knelt at my knees and cried, while prayers and songs swirled all around me in the little church. The whole congregation prayed for me alone, in a mighty wail of moans and voices. And I kept

waiting serenely for lesus, waiting, waiting- but he didn't come. I wanted to see him, b-: nothing happened to me. Nothingl I wanre: something to happen to me, but nothirl happened.

I heard the songs and the minister sa1 - ing: "\.\ihy don't you come? My dear chilc why don't you come to Jesus? ]esus is waitir-r for you. He wants you, \A/hy don't you come' Sister Reed, what is this child's name?"

"Langstoni' my aunt sobbed. "Langston, why don't you come? \\11

don't you come and be saved? Oh, Lamb :,r' God! \Mhy don'tyou come?"

Now it was really getting late. I began i: be ashamed of myself, holding everything u: so long. I began to wonder what God thougt: about Westley, who certainly hadn't seen Jes';* either, but who was now sitting proudly on ti:. platform, swinging his knickerbockered lees and grinning dor.rm at me, surrounded by dea- cons and old women on their knees pravin! God had not struck Westley dead for takir: his name in vain or for $ing in the temple. !: I decided that maybe to save further trouble I'd better lie, too, and say that fesus had come and get up and be saved.

So I got up. Suddenly the whole room broke into .

sea of shouting, as they saw me rise. Waves ,:: rejoicing swept the place. Women leaped i: the air. My aunt threw her arms around me The minister took me by the hand and led me to the platform.

\.\4ren things quieted dor,nm, in a hushe,: silence, punctuated by a few ecstatic 'Amens.' all the new young lambs were blessed in the name of God. Then joyous singing filled the room.

That night, for the last time in my life bu: one-for I was a big boy twelve years old-, cried. I cried, in bed alone, and couldn't stop. I buried my head under the quilts, but my aun, heard me. She woke up and told my uncle i was crying because the Holy Ghost had come into my life, and because I had seen Jesus. Bur I was really crying because I couldn't bear to tel

her that I had lied, that I body in the church, that

had deceived every- I hadn't seen Jesus,

Nguyen: The Good tmmigrant Student ffiffi#ffiffi and that now I didn't believe there was a Jesus any more, since he didn't come to help me.

A CL€SER LOOK AT

Sa,lvatior] : ,

This memoir uses sound to add intensity to the scene. Read through this selection again, underlin_ ing the moments in which sound plays an important part in the story itself. How is sound used to add en_ ergy? How is it used to reflect the emotions of the characters? \rVhat kinds of words does Hughes use to describe the sounds around him?

Hughes describes one of the primary differences be_ tween the ways children and adults view the world: children generally think in concrete terms, while

adults are also able to think in abstract terms. Do you think this difference is the root cause of the con- flict in this memoir, or do you think something else is causing it?

3. \\4rat is the theme that holds this memoir togerher? In other words, what is this story really about? Obvi- ously, Hughes's experience as a 12-year-old had a profound impact on him. \A/trat did he learn from this experience? How do you think this changed him for life?

2.