A Mother’s Wisdom: Empowering Her Child To Persevere

636 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The problematic of the american dream

One of Langston Hughes earliest poems, “Mother to Son” is a piece of empowerment in the form of a conversation between a mother and her child. Her own upbringing and traumatic experiences, allows her to instill words of wisdom into her son as he begins his journey. “Mother to Son” successfully acknowledges unequal opportunity in America as well as the struggles one may face in attempting to live the American Dream. Langston Hughes uses diction, metaphor, and imagery in order to convey the story of a woman for whom opportunity was tight, yet still persevered.
In “Mother to Son”, Hughes reveals through his diction that perseverance is key in ones life despite the cards you may be dealt with. When the mother says, “I’se”, “goin”, and “reachin’ landin’s,” her dialect is revealed. These words, not written in standard english, helps us characterize the speaker and reveals things regarding her education level. It is obvious that she is one who was not given the opportunity to be educated as well as others. She goes to on say, ‘For I’se stil goin’, honey,”(18) emphasizing that it was indeed her obligation to keep moving forward despite her circumstances. Aside from her education level, when the mother describes her living condition to be one consumed with darkness and torn up boards, her socioeconomic status is presented. Perhaps, she lives in poverty, a tenement of some sort in which African Americans were known to reside in. Undoubtedly, the mother presented makes it clear that her living conditions were certainly not ideal nor comfortable. However, it is evident that she refused to become nihilistic and instead saw that because the things around her were not changing, she first had to change the way she thought about it.
Hughes begin...

... middle of paper ...

...others conflicts.

The mother in the poem represents the many generations of African Americans for whom opportunity was scarce for, have endured pain, who's had a troubled past and was given every reason to give up. Life for Africans “ain’t been no crystal stair” since the beginning of time. Since Slavery to present time they have just been pushing through in hope of upward mobility. Langston Hughes successfully acknowledges the mindset of those who have been through hardships and have found it easier to give up, yet still remained strong. “Mother to Son” teaches a valuable lesson for anyone who encounters struggles, reminding them to never give up. On the road of life, you will encounter trials and tribulations, however he teaches us that we can and will overcome such things for pain is temporary and there is a way out.

Show More
Related

  • How Does Langston Hughes Use Strength In Mother To Son

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women are equated with water and the greatness that it possesses. In both poems Hughes displays African-American’s view of women and how they the key to maintaining a family. R. Baxter Miller states “her symbolic yet invisible presence pervades the fertility of the earth, the waters and the rebirth of the morning.” (35) Women are like rivers, they continue to flow, even when they cannot be seen. In Mother to Son the speaker reminisces on what his mother told him, which shows how powerful a woman really is. Water is also a very powerful source and contributes to everything. Just like water women contribute to life and the upbringing of children. The Negro Speaks of Rivers states “My soul has grown deep like the rivers” ( Norton Line 4, 2027.) In that one line Hughes demonstrates the likeness between women and water. Females contribute to the strengthening of one’s soul. Water is used as simile to compare the depth of the water, to the human soul.

    Read More

  • Suffering and Surviving in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mama, as a member of an older generation, represents the suffering that has always been a part of this world. She spent her life coexisting with the struggle in some approximation to harmony. Mama knew the futility of trying to escape the pain inherent in living, she knew about "the darkness outside," but she challenged herself to survive proudly despite it all (419). Mama took on the pain in her family in order to strengthen herself as a support for those who could not cope with their own grief. Allowing her husband to cry for his dead brother gave her a strength and purpose that would have been hard to attain outside her family sphere. She was a poor black woman in Harlem, yet she was able to give her husband permission for weakness, a gift that he feared to ask for in others. She gave him the right to a secret, personal bitterness toward the white man that he could not show to anyone else. She allowed him to survive. She marveled at his strength, and acknowledged her part in it, "But if he hadn't had...

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Poem And The Rose That Grew From Concrete

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, the author uses Figurative language to develop the theme by the mother uses a metaphor to describe her life and how difficult it was. It says, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters. And boards were torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor—Bare.“This shows the author use Figurative language to develop the theme of You have to rise above the obstacles because life is going to throw obstacles at you and you have to try to avoid them. This shows the theme because instead of going back down the staircase where there are no problems you have to push through to get over the problem. Second, the author uses Symbol to develop the theme by using the staircase that represents life and life is hard and there will be a ton of thing that try to push us down and just try to stop us It says, “ I’ve been a-climbing’ on, And reachin’ landings, And turnin’ corners, And sometimes goin’ in the dark Where there ain’t been no light. “This shows the author used Symbol to develop the theme of You have to rise above the obstacles because the mother kept going non-stop. This is important to notice because there will be a ton of thing that try to push us down and just try to stop us. To, sum up, the author of “Mother to Son” revealed the theme through Figurative language and

    Read More

  • 'Mother to Son' by Langston Huges

    511 Words  | 2 Pages

    Growing up and being raised by his grandmother, Langston Hughes drew from her wisdom and life struggles. His mother had moved from place to place as she tried to raise her son and maybe could not support him with the little money she may have received. His father had left after one year of marriage to his mother. His mother allowed her mother to raise him and help provide for his needs. In the poem, “Mother to Son”, this conversation may have occurred on one of her visits. He may have been at a low point in his life where people were telling him not to pursuit becoming a poet. This poem encourages Mr. Hughes, but also continues to build up confidence in others today. In any conversation, feelings influence thinking and sometimes bring progress in another person life.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Langston Hughes

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the poem Langston Hughes points out, for example “Tomorrow, /I’ll be on the table/ when company comes. / Nobody’ll dare Say to me, / Eat in the Kitchen”. This allows the reader to understand how the author will not let racism play a role in his life. In its place, he becomes as equal with the white man and kills the evil. He writes about how he is currently oppressed, but this does not diminish his hope and will to become the equal man. Because he speaks from the point of view of an oppressed African-American the poem’s struggles and future changes seem to be of greater importance against his constant struggles with

    Read More

  • Mother To Son By Langston Hughes: Poem Analysis

    890 Words  | 2 Pages

    A poem titled, “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, shows perseverance, not by direct context, but rather by the way Hughes was able to tell the audience that mother’s life was difficult by comparing it to a stairway. One of the best quotes out of the story is, “Don’t you fall now- Fir I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” The quote centers around the idea, that the mother’s life has not been easy, but that she has also refused to be beat and “thrown down the stairs”. She tells her son, that he shouldn’t give up, because she was able to make it through all the difficult times in her life, and that even now she continues to climb her stairs. This connects with the theme of perseverance because of the mother’s determination to not fall, and continue

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Racism In Langston Hughes

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    The history of African American discrimination is a despicable part of the United States’ past. Inequality among Black Americans prompts these individuals to overcome the hardships. This endurance is valued by African Americans and people all around the world. However, the ability to strive and maintain positivity in a difficult or prejudiced situation proves to be tremendously challenging. When people give up in tough times, they deny their opportunity to succeed and grow stronger. This paper examines the techniques that manifest the struggles of racism and the importance of conquering obstacles in the following poems: Dream Deferred, I, Too and Mother to Son.

    Read More

  • James Mercer Langston-Hughes: An Analysis Of Mother To Son

    1544 Words  | 4 Pages

    When I first read the poem “Mother to Son,” I was in the the fifth or sixth grade and it was Black History Month. At the time, I wasn 't sure if it was the broken language used within the poem, or the true meaning behind what the story truly portrayed that kept me intrigued. This poem is one of the greatest pieces of literature I’ve ever read, and it touches on a very sensitive part of my life. I lost my father due to heart diseases when I was in the fourth grade, and by reading this poem within the next year or two, I was starting to accept the fact that my father passed away. Langston Hughes’ poem ensured me that my life would not be easy, but I’m still living my life with this burden on my heart. I learned through this poem that life still goes on, and I personally believe that this work provided a turning point for my mindset, and the way in which I viewed

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Mother To Son By Langston Hughes

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    After reading the selection of poems by Langston Hughes the one that spoke to me was Mother to Son. This poem has a strong theme of how gruesome life could be in America prior to the Civil Rights Movement. The mother, who is the narrator of the poem, uses the image of a staircase to symbolize her life’s journey. Instead of the perfect staircase that would have been seen in Gatsby’s house, she often refers to the staircase by saying “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Through her words she vividly describes her life experiences and challenges through the illustration of the staircase. The obstacle and challenges are heard in her figurative description of the staircase. She states that the staircase had tacks, splinters, and was lacking carpet. By describing the staircase this way she demonstrates that the staircase is a treacherous and dangerous place with many obstacles.

    Read More

  • How Did Walt Whitman Influence Social Change

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because Langston Hughes regards America’s society as segregated, he writes to encourage social change. Through his writing, he explains the unequal

    Read More

  • Comparative Analysis: Poem and Song for Sons

    964 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Carry on Wayward Son” and “Mother to Son” are written like the parent is speaking directly to their son. This is established in the chorus as well as the title of the song in “Carry on Wayward Son,” and through the title and and first line of “Mother to Son.” This is meaningful because both pieces share this information in the same way. This shows that both the poem and the song are about a parental figure talking to their son.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Mother to Son and Harlem, Both by Langston Hughes

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    Form and meaning are what readers need to analyze to understand the poem that they are evaluating. In “Mother to Son”, his form of writing that is used frequently, is free verse. There is no set “form”, but he gets his point across in a very dramatic way. The poem is told by a mother who is trying to let her son know that in her life, she too has gone through many frustrations just like what her son is going through. The tone of this poem is very dramatic and tense because she illustrates the hardships that she had to go through in order to get where she is today. She explains that the hardships that she has gone through in her life have helped her become the person that she has come to be. Instead of Hughes being ironic, like he does in some of his poems, he is giving the reader true background on the mother’s life. By introducing the background, this helps get his point across to the reader in a very effective way. In this poem there are many key words which help portray the struggles that the mother is trying to express to her son. The poem is conveyed in a very “down to earth” manner. An example of this is, “Life for me ain’t been a crystal stair (462).” This quote shows the reader that the mom is trying to teach the son a lesson with out sugar coating it. She wants her son to know that throughout her life has had many obstacles to overcome, and that he too is going to have to get through his own obstacles no matter how frustrating it is. Her tone throughout the poem is stern telling the boy, “So boy, don’t turn your back (462).” The poems tone almost makes the reader believe that the mother is talking to them, almost as if I am being taught a valuable lesson.

    Read More

  • What Is The Mood Of Mother To Son By Langston Hughes

    353 Words  | 1 Pages

    “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes is a free verse poem. The poem tells a story of a mother who struggles to get where she is at in life. The poem also includes her young son who she is encouraging not to settle for less but, to continue to keep going forward in life.

    Read More

  • Mother To Son Analysis

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    A mom is seen as a sense of leadership, whom her son can trust and someone who he can really bond with. A mom is one whom teaches her son all the lessons of life and who puts her child onto the right path. In the story of “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, the mother gives advice to her lovely son, about how she successfully faced the challenges in life and that she wishes that her son does the same by encouraging and by sharing her own experiences.

    Read More

  • Willa Cather's 'Mother To Son'

    207 Words  | 1 Pages

    The mother in the poem titled “Mother to Son”, she has the heart to tell her son some advice. She tells her son that she had no easy life. “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” She tells this to her son because his life maybe easy for him but not for her at times. The mother tells him that she kept going and trying. “But the time I’se been a-climbin’ on.” It relates to the topic because there were obstacles in her way, but she never gave up and try to go over them. The mother mainly tells him to not

    Read More

More about A Mother’s Wisdom: Empowering Her Child To Persevere

Open Document