Similarities Between Mark Twain And Langston Hughes
Mark Twain and Langston Hughes are both respected authors. A piece from Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, appropriately named “Huck and Jim,” describes the battle Huck is having with himself if he should return his friend, Jim, runaway slave. Hughes story, “Salvation,” is the story of his childhood experience in which Jesus did come to him, resulting in his own disbelief. In both of these individual stories, the characters did not fully understand the truth about their dilemmas. They were simply believing what was common around them. This can certainly happen when reading literature. One can become swept up in the story and unintentionally adopt the values before them as their own, whether true or false. Christians should be especially
wary of this effect when reading. While there are many books that have true or good intentions, the basis for one’s spiritual and moral beliefs should be directly pulled from the Bible, not mixed together along with other pieces of literature. This certainly does not mean only read Christian books, but one must constantly look through the lens of a Biblical worldview so that false information does not seep into one’s beliefs. Of course there are books whose benefit is greater to Christians than others. While those “worldly” books should not be in the constant diet of a Christian reader as regularly as those whose purpose has Biblical backing, it does not mean one cannot glean something worthwhile from a “less Christian” book. Christians are to honor God through everything, even through what they read, but if one is not somewhat in tune to the current position of the world, how are they going to effectively reach the world with the word of God? John 15:19 says Christians “are not of the world,” meaning one is to be separate from the deliberate sinful actions and thoughts of the world. When it all boils down, one has to understand what they believe. Huck and Hughes simply went with the flow and both ended up in places of rebellion and unbelief. Simply knowing your beliefs can greatly help guard one against making foolish choices in many things, as well as literature.
wary of this effect when reading. While there are many books that have true or good intentions, the basis for one’s spiritual and moral beliefs should be directly pulled from the Bible, not mixed together along with other pieces of literature. This certainly does not mean only read Christian books, but one must constantly look through the lens of a Biblical worldview so that false information does not seep into one’s beliefs. Of course there are books whose benefit is greater to Christians than others. While those “worldly” books should not be in the constant diet of a Christian reader as regularly as those whose purpose has Biblical backing, it does not mean one cannot glean something worthwhile from a “less Christian” book. Christians are to honor God through everything, even through what they read, but if one is not somewhat in tune to the current position of the world, how are they going to effectively reach the world with the word of God? John 15:19 says Christians “are not of the world,” meaning one is to be separate from the deliberate sinful actions and thoughts of the world. When it all boils down, one has to understand what they believe. Huck and Hughes simply went with the flow and both ended up in places of rebellion and unbelief. Simply knowing your beliefs can greatly help guard one against making foolish choices in many things, as well as literature.