Salvation, in the Christian sense, essentially means to surrender one's life over to God by repenting from sin and accepting God's son, Jesus Christ, as Savior from those sins. Hughes's short text by the same name depicts his experience as a child when he supposedly receives salvation.

In the beginning of the story, it is made clear that Hughes wants to be saved merely to mollify the authority figures in his life. Hughes's aunt plays a large role in influencing the young Hughes, and she talks to him about the importance of salvation in a way that makes him believe in it and desire it for himself. He says, when he goes to the revival meeting at church with his aunt, "I believed her. I had heard a great many old people say the same thing and it seemed to me they ought to know. So I sat there calmly in the hot, crowded church, waiting for Jesus to come to me."

Once in the meeting, Hughes realizes that he doesn't feel any difference, nor does he sense that Jesus is "coming to him." So, rather than embarrass his family and the church as a whole, he gets up and claims to have found "salvation." The church responds by erupting into joyful chaos. Hughes relays, "Suddenly the whole room broke into a sea of shouting, as they saw me rise. Waves of rejoicing swept the place. Women leaped in the air. My aunt threw her arms around me." Thus, we have a story of a boy who is pressured by authorities, albeit unintentionally, to claim salvation.