I believe that Hughes wrote “Salvation” two decades after the experience actually happened because at the time he didn’t realize what was going on. He did things to try to please others and not himself. I believe he looked back on things that happened in his life time that were significant to him. I don’t think he was trying to criticize his aunt or the other adults in the congregation. If he wanted to criticize them he wouldn’t have gotten up and went before the people to give his life. He figured since Westley was still alive that he could get by lying also. All through out “Salvation” he didn’t want to get up and give his life to Jesus because he did’t see him yet.  He went in with a mind set that if he doesn’t get to see Jesus then he wont give his life to him.  All of this started when his aunt told him “that when were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside!” When she told him this, the only thought that was going through his head was I will commit my life to Him if I see the light. Hughes was to concerned about seeing the light rather than letting his heart lead him. I think he did want to explain something about his childhood to his readers because of the way he acted and went about things. The very last paragraph it talks about how he was crying because he was mad at himself for giving in and doing the right thing for the wrong reason. He cared about the people more than he cared about himself. He is trying to tell us that sometimes we have to think about the outcome before we get our self into a situation in life.