Everyone goes through a transformation, whether mentally and physically. Life once viewed through rose-colored glasses becomes easier to see. A “coming of age” story, or Bildungsroman, focuses on a young protagonist’s journey from a child to an adult (study). In “Salvation,” by Langston Hughes, and “A&P,” by John Updike, the main characters go through a “coming of age” experience.
“Salvation” is about a young Langston finding the opposite of what the title suggests. Langston says he “was saved from sin…but not really saved” (Hughes 203). At the age of twelve, Langston’s aunt brings him to the mourner’s bench to accept Christ. His Auntie Reed and many of the elderly tells Langston that once he becomes saved he “could see and hear and feel…show more content… Westley, the opposite of an ideal role model, swears in the church saying, "’God damn! I'm tired o' sitting here. Let's get up and be saved’" (Hughes 204). Langston feels bad about lying to his aunt and the congregation, so he cries. His aunt tells his uncle that he feels overjoyed because the Holy Ghost came into his life, and because he had seen Jesus. Langston sheds his tears because he cannot tell his aunt that he lied about seeing Jesus and that now he did not believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he did not come to help him (Hughes 205).
In “A&P,” John Updike tells the story of Sammy, a cashier in an A&P store. “In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits” (Updike 142), and Sammy cannot help but look at them. They are a change from his everyday life, as he examines them separately from the sheep, or customers, frequenting the A&P, always “pushing their carts down the aisle” (Updike 143)
Sammy also has a child-like view of the people around him. He calls the out-of-town girls “my girls” which also shows his immaturity (Updike 145). Sammy’s revelation happened after he quit and searched for the girls in the bathing suits. He says his stomach falls as he realizes how hard the world was going to be to him hereafter. (Updike
