The short story "On the Road" by Langston Hughes is full of hope. We see the main character Sargeant, go from being broken and trying to satisfy only his immediate needs, to the end of the story, being on fire! He has hope not only for himself but for the imaginary Christ he has encountered. “On the Road” is the story of a black man during the Great Depression who finds himself in a worse situation than he started with and still feels he can persevere. This story shows the struggles of the black community and the hypocrisy they had to endure from those who claimed to be followers of Christ. In the story “On the Road,” Langston Hughes uses symbolism, allusion, and dialogue to convey the church's double standards and repression of the black population. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The author uses symbolism to show the oppression of the African American race. Falling snow is a constant detail we see throughout the story. This symbolizes white people. Sargeant walks obliviously through the snow in search of food and shelter. He never acknowledged the snow falling on him or the discomfort it caused him. “The sergeant didn't even notice the snow. But he must have felt it seeping down his neck, cold, wet, soaked through his shoes. But if you had asked him, he wouldn't have known it was snowing... He was too hungry, too sleepy, too tired. (Hughes 1) “For nearly two hundred years the whites have repressed the black population. Hughes' use of snow and night provides a perfect example. Sargeant was tired of fighting, tired of surviving, tired of hoping, and above all tired of the white people who repressed and tormented his life. (123helpme.com) The snow also indicates that skin color is not important to the main character. Sargeant didn't notice the snow until he reached the church door. "For the first time that night he saw snow." (Hughes 1) Throughout the story we also see many references to doors. The doors symbolize the separation between blacks and whites. Sargeant knocks on a reverend's door seeking shelter. Seeing that he is wet, dirty and dark-skinned, she assumes that he is unemployed and sends him away by closing the door. The Reverend, being a white man, has a door to close while Sargeant, an unemployed black man, does not. “But the minister said: “No”. and close the door. Evidently he didn't want to know. And he had a door to close. (Hughes 1) “The reverend's failure to express compassion for a black man reveals the hypocrisy of his religious beliefs as well as the pervasive racism of the 1930s.” (Osborne) A man of God should help anyone in need, regardless of the color of their skin. Hughes uses allusion to demonstrate the racism and contradiction of values ​​in the church. When Sargeant finds himself in front of the church doors he feels relieved. Only to find themselves in a worse situation. The church refuses to open its doors to him and he tries to break them down, only to be bombed by white policemen. “He leaned his shoulder against the door and his long black body tilted like a wand. He pushed. With loud rhythmic grunts, like the grunts in a chaingang song, he pushed against the door. (Hughes 1) This event is a reflection of the biblical story of Samson. Like Samson, Sargeant undoubtedly pitted his great strength against his oppressors. “Therefore, Sargeant finds his only option is to continue pulling on the church door until the entire building collapses… The cruel white bystanders and policemen are buried in the remains of the building, leaving Sargeant free tocontinue on his way." (Osborne) After the church collapses, Sargeant walks down the street with the stone pillar on his shoulder, almost in the same way we see Christ carrying the cross. Sargent is Christ-like in the sense that he too must carry a heavy burden. “For Christians, Jesus was a savior: he bore the burden of our sins and problems to show us God's love for his children, Sargeant is in a sense compared to Christ.” (123helpme.com) Sargeant carries the burden of not being accepted by white men. “The sergeant came out from under the church and continued walking down the street with the stone pillar on his shoulder having buried the parsonage and the Reverend Mr. Dorset who said, “No!” Then he laughed, “(Hughes 2) Sargeant wakes from his dream to find himself locked in prison. In his dream he was free from the whites. This shows his desire to free himself from the oppression he faces on a daily basis. "Then everything collapsed, covering the police and white people with bricks, stones and debris." (Hughes 2) When the church turned against all those who refused to help him, he delivered him from them. The dialogue throughout the story allows one to see the double standards of the church and the repression of the black community. As Sargeant tried to enter the church doors, he said, "I know it's a white church, but I have to sleep somewhere." (Hughes 2) The author challenges Christianity by showing how judgmental and hypocritical the church has been. The doors of churches should be open to all. Churches should not be separated by color. “The traditional values ​​of the Church contradict each other when it comes to the acceptance of every human being. In my opinion, Christ was a man of peace and love, who sought to invite everyone, regardless of race, age or gender, into the Kingdom of heaven." (123helpme.com) The church refused to help a man who was dying of cold and hunger because of the color of his skin. If Christ is all these things, the people who should follow him and represent him are doing it badly. “This here is a church, isn't it? Well, eh!" (Hughes 1) Sargeant pushed against the door as he said this. A church should be a place to find help or relief when needed. Sargeant questions this since he has been denied access to because of his race.As Sargeant and Christ walked together down the street, Christ said that he was happy to be delivered from the cross. Christ tells him that he is liberated and free, and he could not have done it without Sargeant having torn down the church had to tear down the church to remove me from the cross. “Are you happy?” said the sergeant. “Of course I am,” said Christ. When the church fell, with it came its values, its beliefs and its ideals: as Jesus delivered from the cross. Christ turns away from the church in disappointment and says he is “content” to be out of it “Hughes engages whites who keep Christ firmly present in their prayers, but do not live by his teachings, especially when it comes to the. how they treat African Americans." (Osborne) The church falling on all white men represents Christ's disappointment in those who did not help Sargeant. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In the story “On the Road,” Langston Hughes uses many different forms of figurative language to express the church's double standards and repression of the black population; however, it is his use of symbolism, allusion, and dialogue that stands out the most. These forms of figurative language draw the reader into the story and help them understand the pain that the main character,.