The story "On the Road" by Langston Hughes is not only a religious parable, but a deep metaphorical commentary on racism in America. The story is about a homeless black worker, referred to as Sergeant, who comes into town one cold night to find a place to sleep. The neither the shelter or the pastor will take him on account of his race. Frustrated and tired, he tries to break into the church to seek refuge. The townspeople take notice, and a whole mob tries to drag him away from the church, resulting in the church tearing down. The whole story is full of smaller metaphors that comment on the racial tension of the story. For example, in the beginning, Hughes makes the point that Sergeant does not notice the white snow, indicative of how his hunger and tiredness keeps him from caring about the color of others. The priest, however, turns him away, an illustration of how even in the most desperate times, human beings retain the capacity to discriminate on those below them. The pulling down of the church is a symbolic act of Sergeant tearing down not a religious institution, but a symbol of the white man's exclusivity. Finally, in the end, Sergeant has a conversation with the grey stone statue of Christ. Again Hughes makes a point of the detail that the statue is stone grey, and not of any specific color. The final message is that the true nature of Christianity revolves around charity towards the meek, for it is them that Christ strived to save. Ironically, is the meek, (Sergeant) that saves Christ in the end, for it is meek who inherit the Earth. In conclusion, "On the Road" does a good job of blending social commentary and religious context.