The Poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

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.

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

In the poem, “Mother to Son” harlem renaissance Langston Hughes writes of a mother’s heartbreaking journey through a never ending cycle of life through the use of figurative language and complex structure. The reader is able to fully receive the message the author has provided.

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

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.

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

Unfortunately, the mother experiences tough times, which Hughes clearly conveys through his word choice. Hughes metaphorically compares life to a crystal stair, which the mother’s life has not been. By using the crystal stair comparison Hughes allows the reader to relate to the reality of the mother’s life. A crystal stair is imagined to be perfect, pleasant, and beautiful, thus representing a charmed life. However, in actuality, no life is without imperfection. Throughout the poem the mother insists for her son to persevere and continue climbing the staircase of life; the reader can sense desperation in the mother’s words. In the verse, “So boy, don’t you turn back,” Hughes reveals the anxious nature of the mother while also characterizing the son (Hughes 14). Consequently, the son is also perceived as climbing an obstacle-ridden staircase and struggling to continue on. Fortunately, the son has a hopeful mother to encourage him to

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

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?

The way the author of Mother to Son organizes and structures his writing helps the audience grasp the meaning and message quite easily. Firstly, readers can tell that the “mother” figure in this poem may indeed be from the southern regions just based off of the way she speaks, or otherwise known as diction and that can be seen in the line “I’se been a-climbin’ on” along with multiple other examples. Consequently, it may be difficult to grasp the meaning due to the way she speaks, but that is then otherwise resolved by the word choice the author uses and the metaphorical structure by comparing life to a staircase in the line “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” Lastly, the author proceeds to compare life to an imperfect process in the lines

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.