In most cases, the elderly and the family members of different people have a way in which they expect their children to behave and the directions they should follow. They plan the lives of the children so perfectly in their heads that they are almost certain that they will follow those instructions and become the people they expect to be. In contrast, the children are also personalities who could have different dreams and ways to follow and would want to make their own decisions in such a way that they would live a more fulfilling life. Unfortunately, there is that controversy about either following their dreams or behaving as per the expectations of the people around them and their parents. In most cases, the children succumb to external pressures and live a life full of regrets and questions. They question several decisions they had taken at different stages in their lives and how these decisions have affected them. All that is done to make the family accept them and be ready to incorporate them into their dealings. Hughes indicate the dissatisfaction of the children when they choose to follow the family traditions and expectation as opposed to the inherent beliefs that they have on how the lives they live need to turn out.
Every family expects the ways that they need to teach their children and the way that the children would follow without considering the children’s feelings about their affairs and how they would want to turn out. Hughes was taken to church by his aunt since the aunt knew that he needed to be a Christian just as she was. All the members of the family were brought up in the ways of Christ (Best 182). The aunt never thought for a moment that Hughes could have some view about Christianity of the things the aunt had mentioned about the religion being introduced to him. Moreover, the aunt never asked Hughes his view of the same things being introduced to him. Hughes had no problem with joining Christianity and becoming a good Christian. However, he also wanted to be true and honest with the decision that he was making. He was focused on seeing Jesus before he could dedicate his life to the service of God. He seemingly had been told that whenever he went to the church, he would be able to see Jesus. As the aunt and other church members implored him to accept their religion, they did not pause for a moment and asked themselves why he was hesitant to move forward and get saved. It is a reflection of the external pressure that children get to behave in certain ways without considering their personal convictions and how they would want things to turn out.
Young people would want to be like their elderly and follow the teachings directed towards them but have the problem of being pressured to make decisions instead of being convinced that they need the decision. When every other young man had gone to get saved, Hughes and Westley were the only two remaining on the bench and had not gone to be saved (Best 183). Westley was tired of being the odd one out and wanted to do away with the pressure directed toward him for not getting saved. He then asked Hughes to go and get saved to do away with all that pressure. Although he was not convinced that it was the right decision he was making, he wanted to do it since everybody else was doing it. It is the same way that peer pressure and external pressure that young people go through work (Burges 36). The view that the young men get from the fact that they choose to be different or the teachings they are having go against their convictions makes them want to be like everybody else. They move away from their reasoning and the teachings they hold dearly in their hearts and start doing things to belong. It shows how young people end up giving up external pressure.
Lastly, the decisions forced on the children affect their lives negatively and make them live unfulfilling lives without the knowledge of the people forcing them down on them. Hughes went home that night and cried at night because of the wrong decision he had made to give in to the pressure of his aunt. From her side, the aunt felt that Hughes was crying due to the right decision she had influenced him to make (Best 184). Hughes knew it was wrong to pretend to be saved due to the pressure put on him by the church members and his aunt. The church was happy that he was seen going to the altar. It is how the young turn to live without conviction and without knowing their purpose.
In conclusion, young people have a lot of decisions to make about the lives they want to live and how they want to live them. However, constant external pressure from society and the people around them influences their decisions and how they see things. It is such influences and decisions that affect the way that individuals behave and make their decisions. Sometimes they live unfulfilling lives over the same decisions.
Works Cited
Best, Wallace D. “Langston’s Salvation.” Langston’s Salvation. New York University Press, 2017.
Burgess, Christian. “Internal and external stress factors associated with the identity development of transgendered youth.” Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services 10.3-4 (1999): 35-47.
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