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Hughes and Hurston Short Answers

Question 1

In ‘Salvation,’ Langston Hughes talks about getting saved. When the time came for the children to be brought to Jesus, the whole church listened to the sermon then began to sing and pray for the young people. The songs were mainly about sinners getting saved and accompanied the prayers for the same. The songs were mainly encouragements and warning to the children that they should be saved. One of the songs was about ninety-nine lambs safe in the fold and one in the cold. The song encouraged the children to get saved and be safe with other lambs in the fold, while those who were not saved would be left in the cold, which signified hell.

Aunt Reed spoke to Hughes about how one felt the presence of Jesus in their soul once they got saved. The saved person was supposed to feel safe with Jesus like the lambs felt safe in the fold. The unsaved individual would be left out in the cold as they did not have Jesus to keep them safe. Langston expected to feel a change within him so that he would know he had been saved, but he did not see Jesus as promised. He was the only lamb left in the cold as all the other children had been saved.

Question 2

Langston lied about getting saved as he was ashamed of wasting everyone else’s time in church. All of the children were placed on one bench, and when they got saved, they were taken up to the platform. After the sermon, much singing, and prayer, all the children got saved except for Langston and Wesley. Wesley stood up to join the other children, leaving Langston alone. All the church members gathered round to pray for him, and he soon felt ashamed to be the only one holding up the church. He lied so that he would stop wasting time.

He also lied about getting saved as all the other children had been saved, including Wesley, who was lying. Langston figured that if Wesley had not been struck dead for lying, nothing would happen to him either. If Wesley’s lies had no consequences, then Langston thought he might as well lie. He had been waiting to see Jesus as Aunt Reed had described, but nothing happened. He got tired of waiting and decided to lie and join the other children. The experience made him conclude that Jesus didn’t exist.

Question 3

The song about the lower lights burning for poor sinners to be saved means that the children, who are sinners, are close to the light. The lights being low means that the sinners can easily be saved. Although the lights are close, Langston is the only one left on the bench, meaning he is far from the light. There is a contrast between the easy access to salvation and Langston’s inability to get saved like the other children. He remained sitting on the mourner’s bench far longer than the others.

A mourner’s bench is a bench right at the front of the church. The bench is usually reserved for penitent churchgoers or sinners who need to be saved. People sitting at this bench are often quite anxious about their faith and their fate. The bench in Langston’s case represented his mourning for failing to see Jesus. Later that night in bed, he cried because he doubted Jesus’ existence. Jesus had not shown up in church, and Langston felt guilty for lying about seeing him. He mourned the fact that he lied though it was against Christian rules, and he was afraid he could not be saved.

Question 4

Hurston uses the metaphor of the wild animal to show how unrestricted and free the jazz orchestra is. Hurston explains that jazz orchestras are quite abrupt and get straight to the point. This is similar to a wild animal intent on breaking free. The music from the jazz orchestra pays no heed to musical rules; rather, it creates its own path to freedom. From Hurston’s description, the jazz music follows no particular rhythm, but it is in a world of its own, just like a wild animal in the jungle running free.

The jazz music has a wild effect on Hurston as well. When she listens to the orchestra, she feels like she is running wild and free. In her mind, she is transported to a jungle where her face and body are pointed, and she is free to be herself. The jazz orchestra also represents Hurston’s idea of freedom. Before the music plays, she is expected to be quiet and civilized, but the music allows her to be herself. In her mind, she can dance wild as she pleases in the jungle, set free by the freedom of jazz.

Question 5

Hurston writes that walking down Seventh Avenue, Harlem City, she felt like she belonged to no race or time. Harlem city was the center of the Harlem Renaissance, a period of revival of African-American art and culture. The jazz orchestra playing in Hurston’s short story reflects the changes in this period. During the period when the Renaissance happened, there was a lot of racial discrimination. Many black people moved to Harlem City where they could feel at home. Hurston herself writes that the city made her feel free, she did not have to think of what race she belonged to while she was in Harlem.

Jazz had a lot of cultural significance during the Harlem Renaissance. African-American music and art were a big part of the renaissance, and jazz gained a lot of popularity during this time. Jazz came to be accepted as part of mainstream music across the country, although it was originally popular in the south. Hurston went to the Cabaret with a white companion to show the inclusivity of jazz but also the different meaning and symbolism that the genre of music for the different races and cultures.

Question 6

Hurston enters The New World Cabaret with a white friend, chatting quietly. When the jazz orchestra begins to play, there is a marked difference in how Zora and her white companion react. Zora describes the freeing feeling that jazz brings her. She explains that listening to jazz music reveals who she is as a colored person. The music sets her free to be as wild as she pleases. She can picture herself living in the jungle, dancing wildly with her whole body painted. She feels free to be herself and her throbbing pulse makes her want to slaughter something. The music evokes wild feelings in her.

In contrast, her white companion has a very mild reaction to the music. Zora says that he only heard what she felt in the music. He only says, “Good music they have here.” Hurston uses the contrast between their reactions to show the difference between their racial identities. She explains that when she listens to such music, she feels colored while her companion’s reaction shows his whiteness. She feels the distance between them akin to an ocean and continent between them. Hurston uses this experience to highlight the moments when she realizes that she is different from her white counterparts, even though she feels no different from the most of the time.