In the second part of these poems, the parents, based on their experiences in life, is trying to teach their children another lesson on how to prepare and cope with hardships that their sons or daughters will encounter in his or her own future. First of all, in the poem, "Advice to My Son", the father teaches his son to be smart in his decision making. He wants his offspring to live life to its fullest "as if each one maybe [his] last" (2) but also plan for the future for there is always consequence to every choice. Therefore, in the next few lines, the father advises his son to distinguish the line between practical and idealistic needs, physical and spiritual desires as well as temporary and long-term plans. These are opposite aspects of life, but they are also complementing one another since the art of living is not just about surviving itself but rather adding a little bit more of fun and enjoyment. …show more content…
For this reason, the mother in Langston Hughes's poem teaches her son to keep moving forward since "[she is] still climbing" her crumbled stair (19-20). Knowing that life is not easy and being afraid that her child will slowly give up to his own difficulties, his mother insists on him keeping trying because though there will be many obstacles standing in his way, life never hands out things that is too much to handle. Moreover, the mother, after facing numerous struggles, has learned that through darkness comes light, through failure comes experience, and through experience comes wisdom and triumph. Therefore, she wants to imply that knowledge on her son to help him rise and shine in his own
To continue, the poem “ Mother to Son” uses figurative language and conflict to develop the theme of rising above challenges. To begin, the author uses figurative language to develop the theme by using Metaphor. In the text it said, ““I’m still climbin’, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Figurative language develops the theme of rising above challenges in this text because the author is comparing her life and the stairs to show that there are going to be hard things that are going to come into your life. Second of all, to develop the theme of rising above challenges the author also used conflict. In the text it says, “ “Don’t you set down on the steps ’Cause you find it’s very hard. Don’t you fall now— For I’m still going, honey, I’m still climbin,”. The conflict of this poem is the person on the stairs is starting to give up. The conflict develops the theme of rising above challenges in this text because in the poem it shows that the mother is trying to convince the son to keep going and to overcome his challenges. In conclusion, to develop the theme of rising above challenges the author of the poem, “Mother to Son” used figurative language and conflict. The author used these to show how the metaphor is showing us how life is at times and how the conflict help show the theme of the poem.
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries were impressive times for the growing of several different cultures. One of the main cultures that grew through those time periods was that of the black community. Those with darker skin color were pushed to their limits and they were still able to persevere. One writer in particular truly made a influence not only on his culture but on the rest of America, too. Langston Hughes was an astonishing influence in the growth of the African American lifestyle. Hughes wrote several impacting poems in his lifetime. Langston Hughes wrote four different poems that each held an impactful message.
Langston Hughes was one of the first black men to express the spirit of blues and jazz
Every mother would like to see her child succeed in life. The following passage from the poem, "Mother to Son", by Langston Hughes demonstrates the love and concern a mother has for her son. She teaches him using her own life as an example; her life as a climb up a staircase. The imagery from the advice given in the stanza is explicit and poignant:
The poet, Langston Hughes, was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. Hughes’s grandmother was an activist for women’s education and rights. Both of Hughes’s parents were mulattos, meaning he had interracial maternal and paternal grandparents. Hughes writes about this situation in his poem titled, “Mulatto.” Hughes states things like “...a black mother and an uncaring white father” (Slovey and Howes 211). By using many writing styles and tools, Hughes gets his point across easier by making the reader feel like they’re in the moment of the poem. In Hughes’s poem, “Mother to Son,” a mother offers wisdom to her son and the younger generations using her way of language and old slang that connect them to each other’s life and hardships.
In paragraph eleven of the essay, Hughes refers to his own artistic endeavours. The string of questions in this paragraph contribute to the development of his argument by anticipating some counterarguments, or objections to his argument. It also shows that he has faced a lot of criticism for doing what he loves, as have many other Black artists, yet he continues to do it. This contributes to his argument that despite criticism, Black artists will continue to paint, sing, write, and dance.
Gwendolyn Brooks and Langston Hughes wrote poems imparting to young people. Brooks encourages her audience to continue to trudge forward even if the situation is grim in the poem entitled “Speech to the Young. . .” The author stated, “Even if you are not ready for the day it cannot always be night.” The author is trying to say that one cannot always just wallow in their problems. Instead, on must overcome their hurdles no matter how high they may be. One must overcome their obstacles sooner or later because time does not stop for anyone. Hughes takes a parental stand in “Mother to Son” encouraging readers to persevere even when faced with adversity. The author advised, “So boy, don’t turn your back. Don’t you set down on the steps.” The author
The speaker’s message to readers in “Mother to Son” is that life can be difficult, but you have to keep trying despite these difficulties. I believe this message is directed towards people who are experiencing hardships and poverty, because the speaker is directing her conversation to her “son,” who does not have a life that is like “crystal stairs” (line 2). The crystal stairs in the poem represents a wealthy and easy life, as wealthy people have not probably had the same difficulties in life. Her message of not giving up is evident throughout the poem as she demands her son to not give up. She says, “So boy, don't you turn back, don't you set down on the steps, cause you finds it’s kinder hard” (lines 14-16). As readers, we know the message for us is that you can’t give up, even though you will face challenges—just like you have to keep going on a “staircase” even though the staircase has many obstacles on it. She clearly believes that we need to be fighters in our lives, as life will often be difficult. More importantly, I believe this message was also meant towards African Americans in the early 1900’s (when Langston Hughes was writing poetry), to remind them to never give up on fighting for equal rights, even though it is
In the poem “Mother to Son”, Langston Hughes uses the deep connection between a mother and her son and descriptive rhetoric to bring hope and inspire the African American people to fight for their rights.The author most likely wrote the poem for the African American audience because it is written in an African American slang during the Harlem Renaissance. However, any minority group can relate to this creation because it is about people who are going through a difficult time. Hughes describes the arduous reality of life; one in which people have to overcome challenges and face their worst fears in order to reach the top of the ladder. He is telling the African American people that they cannot give up during the hard times. Moreover, the author utilized the deep connection between a mother and her son to make the poem more dramatic. Since mothers are known to have a soft and caring voice towards their children. They traditionally will do anything for their kids. This drama appeals to the readers and gives them hope for the future. The future consists of fulfilling their American dream. The American cream stands for the idea that every person should have an equal opportunity to achieve prosperity and success through hard work and determination. Next, Langston Hughes hoped to encourage the African American people to fight for their rights. To drive his point home, the author described his journey through time in painstaking detail, which helps the readers connect to the
Adversity is a central component of every individual's life. It is the difficult situations that shape our identity and help us recognize who we are. Difficult situations have the ability to transform our perceptions and values of the world while morphing us into stronger and more confident individuals. However, it is when refuse to cope with our struggles ourselves and push the responsibility of solving our problems over to others that problems arise. When faced with adversity it is common for individuals to turn to their parents not hoping for, but expecting assistance. They do not face their own struggles and expect their parents to assist them in doing so. In the short story "Mother to Son" the author, Langston Hughes demonstrates the importance of individuals overcoming obstacles with little intervention from their parents in order for it to benefit them.
Additionally, she’s telling her son not to give up just because it’s hard, she’s trying to influence her son’s character with hard work and perseverance. All things considered, the literary mother in the poem didn’t let her life define her instead she let it shape her character by pushing through the hardship and
At times, our lives can be difficult, and in the poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes he expresses this by using a mother giving her son advice about life. During this advice the author uses many different literary devices such as metaphors, imagery, and diction. He uses these devices to compare life to broken stairs, and how life can be challenging. As the mother says "Sometimes you just have to keep on going," and this Mother is right even though life is a little rocky time to time you cannot give cannot give up because if you give up on life, life will give up on you.
Reporter: Hi Mr Hughes, so I’ve learnt that recently one of your poems , “Mother To Son is published”. Congratulations, but besides from the blissful joy of happiness, can you share with us your feelings right now? Are we happy? Proud?
According to Biography, James Mercer Langston Hughes is considered to be an African American poet who is college educated and comes from a middle-class family (Langston Hughes Biography). He attended college in New York City and became influential during the Harlem Renaissance (Langston Hughes Biography). Although Hughes was a talented writer, he faced some challenges early on and it was stated that his “early work was roundly criticized by many black intellectuals for portraying what they thought to be an unattractive view of black life” (Langston Hughes. American Poet). They believed that his work helps the spread the stereotypes of African Americans. “Hughes, more than any other black poet or writer, recorded faithfully the nuances of black life and its frustrations” (Langston Hughes. American Poet). Langston Hughes’s poems “The Negro Mother”, “Let America be America Again” and “The Weary Blues” were influenced by his life during the Harlem Renaissance and the racial inequality experienced in the late 1920s through the 1960s.
Mother to Son is a poem that was written by Langston Hughes, and was published in 1922. Throughout this poem, Langston Hughes portrays a mother speaking to her son and the readers to bestow her knowledge, encouragement and wisdom from the life that she lived.