“Mother to Son”
The speaker of the poem “Mother to Son,” by Langston Hughes is a mother who is giving advice to her son. Her life has been difficult and hard at times. As readers, we know this because the speaker talks about how life is a staircase and her staircase has had “tacks and splinters in it” (line 3-4). This means that her life has not been perfect and she had many challenges to deal with. Perhaps she was born into poverty, because the images in her poem reveal a ragged, old staircase, like you might find in a decrepit, old building. Further, the speaker’s accent reveals that the speaker was not well-educated when she was younger, such as when she says “I'se been a-climbin' on” (line 9) which is not proper English. Since
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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
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.
In the poem “Mother To Son”, Langston wants the best for her son and buts him before herself. Throughout the poem its imagery portrays that the mother and son are climbing stairs to get to a better place. She is encouraging her son and loving him even when she's run down. “ I’ve been a-climbin’ on….So boy, don’t you turn back.
The Poem “Mother to Son” uses Figurative Language and Characterization this develops the theme of there is no easy way in life. To begin, the author uses Figurative Language to develop the theme by showing us that the stairs represent the mother's life. It says “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” This means her her life has not been easy that is what the stair stands for. The author uses figurative
On the road of life, many trials arise that one must overcome to make his or her life feel complete. In Langston Hughes’s poem, “Mother to Son,” these trials are a subject of concern for one mother. Hughes’ “ability to project himself” is seen in his use of dialect, metaphors, and tone (Barksdale 3).
Baby suggs and Sethe are both the Mother figues in beloved and despite their suffering from slavery they both cared for their children greatly. Baby Suggs and Sethe connected through Motherhood to develop a close bond. They shared the love for their children a bond that all mothers can relate with. Sethe has four children that she loves very much but she could not deal with her past of sweet home. Sethe could not bare for that to happen to her children so she had to save them from the schoolteacher and slavery by trying to kill them. She kills one child whom is referred to as beloved for what is written on her tomb stone, but fails to kill howard buglar, and Denver. Sethe motherly natural instincts caused her
Many Americans did not know how and African American’s daily life went. Through Hughes’ writing he portrayed their lives to help show their desire and need for civil rights. In his poem, “Mother to Son”, a mother is talking to her son about how life is much harder for them, but that he must never give up, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair...Don’t you fall now- For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”(Lines 1, 17-20). Hughes has assumed the role of speaking for the black community and the way that they live. Rita Dove and Marilyn Nelson write in their work, “Langston Hughes and Harlem”, how Hughes gives other Americans a glimpse of their lives, “His work offers white readers a glimpse into the social and the personal lives of Black America;”(1152). Hughes uses the simple conversation between a mother and son to show the American people how much different and harder their lives
And the poem “Mother to Son” is about how a mother is telling her son that she had to go through rough times like her son.She says she also keeps going no matter how difficult life gets.Both poems share the theme of overcoming obstacles in life. Both authors use figurative language for example,Tupac uses a Rose and Langston Hughes uses stairs to compare them to how hard life can be to develop the theme.
The poet begins the poem by motivating and inspiring her son to be fearless using an extended metaphor. He begins comparing the mother’s life and a crystal stair. The mother begins saying, “ Well, son, I’ll tell you: / Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair,” compares an easy and pleasant journey through life to her journey of life that has not been easy and pleasant. The use of extended metaphor comparing the mother’s life to a staircase continues throughout the poem, repeating the line, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Furthermore, life has never been easy or free of problems and it has never been smooth sailing. The tacks, splinters, and
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:
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 theme of the poem and short story is that parents only want the best for their children and they try their hardest to meet their children’s needs. In both readings, the parents always tried their hardest to care for their children no matter what situation they're in. In the poem, “Mother to Son”, the mother states that life for her hasn't been easy for her but she didn't give up and neither should her son. I see this in both the poem and short story. Both mothers don't think that their child should give up on their dreams so they would be successful in life and not have to go through what they went through. Langston Hughes describes how the mother's life has been using figurative language. He described that the mother’s life isn't
In “Mother to Son”, Langston Hughes informed us of a mother whose life was horrible, according to her, and she doesn’t want her son to make the same mistakes. The poem states, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”(Langston Hughes). The mother is thinking about her past life. For this reason, she is limiting herself to her past and not thinking that she can have a future for herself. Langston Hughes wrote, “It's
In the novel Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, by Mildred Taylor, and the poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, the characters face many challenges. A challenge from the novel that they faced is that black people never got to see the money they owned for working for their white owners, and they were always overcharged when they went to go shopping. On page 99 it says, “I feels the same way you do, ‘bout them low-down Wallaces, but it ain’t easy to jus’ stop shoppin’ there. They overcharges me and I has to pay them high interest, but you know I have credits there ‘cause Mr. Montier signs for me.” A challenge they faced from “ Mother to Son” is they faced many challenges. In the poem, it says “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet, Bare.” When the mother says that life for her ain’t been no crystal stair she means that she been through many challenges. When she says that it's had
Throughout the poem, many different forms of imagery were used such as tactile imagery, kinesthetic imagery, and visual imagery. Langston used tactile imagery to support his mother’s message about the hardships in life when he said, “It’s had tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor—Bare.” By using tactile imagery, Langston could use written expression of how his mother was feeling and to depict his mother’s message as well as capture the attention of the readers. The mother was telling her son that her life has not been a pretty picture. She tells her son that there were “tacks” and “splinters” in her way. Which she is telling her son that her journey through her life as she has moved forward has not been easy and she has had objects that got in her way. She has been places that were not all smooth or nice when she told her son “And places with on carpet on the floor Bare”. (Hughes Langston) 1994. The mother is explaining to her son through all of the trials and tribulations that she has faced in her life that you must keep climbing the stairs or keep moving forward in your life. The mother wanted her son to understand that he may experience some of the same things that she encountered in her life in his life also. “I’se been a-climbin’ on, and reachin’ landin’s, and turnin’ corners,” in which Langston wrote to describe the movement or progression that his mother spoke of. The road was not easy for Langston’s mother, but she was determined to get ahead in life regardless of what go in her way. The final form of imagery that Langston used in his poem Mother to Son was visual imagery. “And sometimes goin’ in the dark where there ain’t been no light. So boy, don’t you turn
The poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes is the story of a mother speaking of life’s hardships to her son. The poem starts off with the protagonist’s haunting words about the difficulty of life; however, as the story goes on, her words of despair become words of wisdom to her son on never giving up. Hughes organizes this poem by transitioning the tone from hopelessness to encouragement to convey the raw message that although life can be hard, anyone can reach their goals with effort.