Summary Of Mother To Son By Langston Hughes

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 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

Although these are “homely” things someone may face on a staircase, they actually mean things that she has encountered in her life (Emanuel 148). She says that she reaches landings, which means that she has come up on place where she could rest. When she says she turns corners, it is when her life changes and she has to turn away from her original path. Her final comparison is when she goes in the dark, which are times in her life when she does not know what she can do to help herself. The metaphors in this poem show a conflict in the mother’s life and makes the poem seem complete.

It’s sometimes easy for people to advise others not to give up, and it’s the main theme of this poem but in reality it’s really hard not give up. I’ve been through many hardships in my life, but you just have to realize that there is a hope for every hardship. I believe that it’s a great theme to have on this poem. The way the mother was going on with the stair being torn up or the splinters, it really represents how the path for some people are. The path is never paved straight, and as we go through the struggles and hardships we learn a lesson in our lives. The

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

The metaphor in this poem conjoins life, and a staircase, "Well, son, I'll tell you:/ life for me ain't been no crystal stair." The mother says to her son, that

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 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

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

Langston Hughes’ “Mother to Son” further examines the racial impediments facing African Americans by displaying a conversation between a mother and her son. She begins, “Well, son, I’ll tell you: / Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” (1-2). Hughes compares the mother’s life to a wooden staircase, one that is physically rough, “It’s had splinters, / And boards torn up, / And places with no carpet on the floor－” (3-5). The narrator continues her story by noting that no matter the case, “I’se been a-climbin’ on” (9). Thus being a message to her son that no matter what happens in his life, he cannot turn back and he must look ahead for what's ahead. In “I, Too” Hughes refers to this as what's coming “tomorrow” and that things for African Americans will change over time. The message described by the mother was once again Hughes’ attempt to inspire African Americans to not give up hope because this was their time to inspire and their time to create change, even if their path is not perfect, “And sometimes goin’ in the dark / Where there ain’t been no

In This poem Langston Hughes displays many metaphors For instance he compares life to broken staircase. He does this to show life is not always so perfect. Something, Hughes uses as metaphor is "and sometimes it's where there ain't going to be dark where there is not light." The, mother uses this to say that life is going to be sad and gloomy but you just have to be strong and keep going. Lastly you should not stop or go backward if you are doing something even if it difficult for instance the mother says "Do not set down on them steps because it's kinder hard" By this, we can infer her life was tough and this dint has much stuff, but she is right it can be hard you just cannot give up.

The poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, is about Mother who uses stairs as a metaphor for the long climb through the daily struggles of life to her son. The primary theme of the poem is struggles of life and never giving up. With these themes Langston Hughes can tell a story about the mother will using a metaphor that anyone can understand and relate to. The symbolism in the story are while obvious are still effective at getting the themes and imagery across.

“It’s had tacks in it, / And splinters, / And boards torn up, / And places with no carpet on the floor – / Bare” (Hughes 3-7). Clearly, this woman’s life has been difficult. More than that, by using imagery of tacks, splinters, and torn up boards, the mother is telling her son that at times her life has been outright dangerous. It is no mistake that Hughes chooses to use images of objects that can easily do physical harm. Lines three through seven confirm that the mother’s life journey has been more than hard; indeed, it has been perilous. However, as the poem continues, mother tells son that she has always managed to advance in spite of the obstacles on her particular staircase. “But all the time / I’se been a-climbin’ on, / And reachin’ landin’s, / And turnin’ corners, / And sometimes goin’ in the dark / Where there ain’t been no light” (Hughes 8-13). During these lines, the tone of the poem slowly turns from hopeless to hopeful. True, the mother’s life has been dangerous a fraught with obstacles, and yet she has thus far overcome each one of her challenges. The phrases, “reachin’ landin’s” and “turnin’ corners” instill a sense of success in the mind of the reader, as both are common colloquial sayings that reflect a reprieve from hardship or a change for the better. Even through the darkness, still the mother climbs on. In other words, though she is at times unsure of her current position, she never loses sight of her

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 beginning of the story starts off with the speaker’s somber words of life’s difficulties, thus, setting the mood to a glum start. Addressing her son, the speaker says, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it. And splinters…” Her blunt tone makes the story seem much more personal; there is not any sugar coating in her tone which is exactly what would be expected of a mother. By trying not to set false expectations on the easiness of life, Hughes uses a blunt tone from the speaker to let her son know how life really is. By setting off the mood of the story as drab, the later transition of tone will be more effective.