No Crystal Stair

him that “life is no crystal stair” and that there are splinters and other hardships. In the first line he says “Well, son, I’ll tell you” which gives us an idea of where this is going. The mother is going to give some kind of advice. After that life is being compared to stairs, and life isn’t perfect like crystal stairs. Life has a lot of problems and things that go wrong. That’s where the splinter, tacks, and torn up boards come in. Since life isn’t perfect like these stairs; life has splinters

life span. At the beginning of the poem, she tells her son not to give up no matter how hard it is to keep going on. In the poem, she says that “Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it” (2-3). The use of the word “ain’t” indicates that the mother is not a scholarly person. In addition to that “crystal stair” represents the smoothness and beauty of an individual’s life which was absent in this mother’s life life. It seems, that the mother has been born in poverty, as the images

story, Hughes’ mother references crystal stairs, stating that “life for me ain’t been no crystal stairs.” The stairs that she is referring to would be the stairs that lead to equality and freedom. She also states that the stairs she took were splintered and torn up. To me, that symbolizes slavery and the troubles she endured throughout her life thus far. Knowing that, the term “crystal stairs” then becomes a bit easier to grasp. White people are given the crystal stairs, meaning that their path is smooth

to Son” he writes, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”(2). The author used the extended metaphor of a crystal staircase to represent the struggles in life and that life is full of hardships. A crystal staircase would represent a rich and flawless life whereas the character in the poem had a harsh and difficult life. Stairs can be torn up, contain loose tacks and give people splinters, but you have to find a way around the default’s of the stairs to get to the top. In terms of the poem, life

In "Mother to Son," Langston Hughes stresses the concern and affection parents extend towards their children. Most parents acquire a common desire, in which they want their kid to prosper throughout their lifetime. This yearning causes them to devote a vast amount of time and energy into reassuring their kids are following a path to success by working hard and being determined. In this poem, the author deliberately chooses a mother to serve as the primary speaker to create a dramatic scene as she

An Explication of Langston Hughes ' "Mother to Son" Langston Hughes once stated in his own words that his whole purpose for writing was, "to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America." In the poem "Mother to Son", he denotes his belief on racism in America. In "Mother to Son", a mother is giving advice to her son about life from her perspective and experiences. She wants her son to keep striving on what he believes and to have a more prosperous life than what she had. Langston Hughes

The poem “Mother to Son” is a short poem by Langston Hughes. In the poem the mom is talking to her son about how hard life is and how he can’t give up. She explained that her journey has been hard as well and is still hard, but she is still going on, so therefore he can to. Langston Hughes effectively uses the stylistic voice and the stylistic word choice in “Mother to Son” to illustrate/convey/reveal to the son how hard life is, but how he must never give up. The mother is speaking to her son

is more like a set of stairs where every step is a new obstacle that they have to overcome. In the poem, “Mother to Son,” it talks about the difficulties in life but to never give up. Langston Hughes, the author of the poem, uses the analogy of life to stairs, the fact that life constantly has new battles, and the idea of never giving up to emphasize this theme. In the poem, the mother compares life to a set of rickety stairs. It says,” Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it

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. The splinters torn up boards tacks

ain’t been no crystal stair”(2). By using the word “ain’t” she could be saying “is not” or “has not”. However, “has not” makes the most sense especially since the word “been” is after it.Therefore the verse would read “Life for me has not been a crystal stair” instead of “Life for me is not been a crystal stair”. It must be the first since the later makes no sense. She is referring to her life in the past tense, as if it is over. However in the poem she is currently still climbing the stairs. Which we