Salvation Questions

Meaning
1. Since "Salvation" was a chapter in his autobiography, it's main point was to show his audience how he was a normal being because he chose to lie about a very important matter. He decides that he doesn't believe in god anymore because god didn't come to him at such a time of need. He also felt very guilty about the fact that he made many people happy through a lie, and if they were to find out, then it would disappoint them all.

2. He didn't want to waste anymore of anyone's time or patience. Also, since Westley didn't die or get severely punished for simply lying about being saved, he thought that it would be alright for him to lie as well. Since he knows that he made many people happy from a lie, he felt guilty, very ashamed of himself, and unfaithful to god.

3. The title relates to how the whole story has to deal with Hughes experience of being saved. The first two sentences have to deal with how many people thought he was saved because of the fact that he stood up, was saved, and was blessed. In all technicality though, he wasn't saved because of the fact that he didn't see god. Hughes is stating that salvation isn't possibly for everyone or that there is no such thing as salvation because he doesn't believe there is a god.

Purpose and Audience
1. He might have wanted to not tell everyone the truth about his significant lie anytime close to the time of it's origination. He might have wanted to express his idea of why he thought god didn't exist and how foolish many of the clergy members were acting about a possible false figure with there shouting, singing, rejoicing, and moaning. I think he wanted to explain something about childhood because it was his autobiography. It was about distance between generations because the autobiography told of what it was like for hughes as a child. Since an autobiography tells the story of someone's life through there mind alone, it had to include a chapter that told of his childhood and how it was like to be a child such as himself in that time era.

2. He assumes that the audience is aware of how many enthusiastic church members act when it comes to important church events. "Suddenly the whole room broke into a sea of shouting, as they saw me rise." (Hughes, 13) The clergy was so excited that Hughes had finally seen god and was about to be saved. He would then be able to engage in worshiping god with them and would be saved from infinite damnation. "Women leaped in the air." (Hughes, 13) These church members were too happy and affected by someone else receiving god then themselves receiving anything. They weren't selfish but cared about others more than themselves.

3. These things allow the audience to be able to imagine what happened to Hughes as if they were in his place at the time it occurred. They are able to view the story not only through words but imagination. Since they are able to view what Hughes went through, they are able to better interpret, analyze, and discover how he felt throughout the entire experience. "My aunt threw her arms around me." (Hughes, 13) His aunt was an important person to him, and he wanted to make her happy and proud to have a nephew that was saved. When he lied and stated that his aunt threw her arms around him, he showed how his initial little lie could end up hurting and disappointing his aunt greatly.

Method and Structure
1. It provided his chapter to have order. With this order, he would be able to successfully describe to his audience how being a child was like in that generation, how he didn't believe in god, and how he was a human for lying. It's title could be "To Lie or Not to Lie."

2. When his aunt describes what the true definition of being saved is, he is inserting an explanation. Instead of stating exactly how he got up to be saved, he simply said, "so i got up." He didn't describe how every single child went up to go be saved. He skipped to where only a boy and him were left. He deeply explains how he felt bad about lying and how he dealt with it. They all depict his main point of how he lied about being saved.

3. He says things such as: "suddenly", "when things quieted down", and "then."

4. Without this information, the audience would be unaware of the background information needed for the audience to be able to understand what Hughes is talking about. It allows the audience to be up-to-date with Hughes throughout his chapter and will prevent his audience from getting lost or confused.

Language
1. He felt really bad for lying to so many people and especially his aunt. He also sounded really serious because of the fact that he was finally presenting all those he lied to with the truth. Meaning that he wanted to sound sincere in order to portray his guilt for lying in the first place. He feels somewhat angry because of the fact that god didn't show up to him when he needed him most. "I was really crying because... I had lied,... deceived everybody in the church... and... I didn't believe there was a Jesus anymore." (Hughes, 15) In this quote, he feels sorrow for lying, guilt for his deception, and anger at jesus.

2. He is trying to keep the experience true to its time of origin. Since he was a kid at the time, this use of childish diction keeps the story in the same generation that it came from. It gives the chapter a realistic view of how Hughes might have told this story when it happened.

3. They all believed that Hughes should have been able to have Jesus appear to him in his mind when he was saved. Since he and the boy were not able to view Jesus, it gave his audience proof of the fact that not everyone is able to simply see Jesus when they want to. He will come to you when he finds it suitable to.