The first sentence of "Salvation"--"I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen"--proves to be an example of irony (Links to an external site.). After reading the essay, how might we reinterpret this opening sentence?

We can reinterpret the opening sentence, because we know that this was the moment when the narrator recognized that he could be spared some things if he acted the way they expected him to act, even if he was lying. This can be ironically reinterpreted, showing that his moment of salvation was actually the moment of perdition and imprisonment.

Explanation:

After reading the text, we can see that the author did not really want to be saved, but was doing what his aunt wanted, to avoid problems for himself. He was not accepting God in a true way in his life, but by keeping and doing what was expected. At that time, the author knew the power of dishonesty and childish corruption, making it an unsaved, but impure, figure.