Subject "Salvation," an essay by Langston Hughes, is about Hughes' experience of seeking and losing his faith. This reflective essay serves as Hughes commentary on his expectations and disappointments in the realm of religion. In the essay, Hughes narrates an experience where he was given the opportunity to be "saved" in front of the entire congregation of his church, but instead was lead to strongly question the existence of God. The irony of the title with the final line of the essay highlights the central issue of the text: expectation and disappointment. Purpose Hughes wrote these narratives to convey his loss of faith in Jesus and the religious structure of his youth; however, this is also an argument against the systems that situate "a big boy twelve years old  to cry incessantly of a situation he does not have idea about. Consider Hughes's description of the elders in church, "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." From paragraph four, Hughes's description of the old people illustrates the stark contrast of the young "lambs" and the persistent elders. Hughes and the "lambs" from paragraph three, of this essay is representative of the innocence of children. They have little capability for deceit, but Hughes, who was "going on thirteen," is a little old to be described as a "lamb." This word choice is probably intended to be somewhat ironic itself, as a thirteen year old is certainly capable of deceit, and in fact, he perpetrates a major deceit at the end of the essay when he states: "So I got up, pretending to be saved." Audience Hughes's explicit audience comprises adults who have experienced a loss of faith or disillusionment in their lives. Hughes's intent manifests in his treatment of his younger self. Hughes's implicit audience includes people who have experienced religious or societal pressure. The "sw