How Does Langston Hughes Use Literary Devices In Mother To Son

In the poem “Mother to Son” written by Langston Hughes, a mother who has faced many hardships urges her son to continue to strive and overcome obstacles. The mother uses a stairway as a metaphor for the life she, as well as many others, must climb. The poem utilizes various literary devices to convey that although life can be painful and inconvenient, it is possible to get through life as long as one continues to put forth effort in the face of adversity.
First, the mother shares her experiences with her son to reveal that she has had a difficult life. She begins by saying, “Well, son, I’ll tell you” (1). She uses an intimate register when referring to her son, establishing how her intentions are kind and motherly, and that her words should

be taken as encouragement. It also immediately connects the reader to the poem by using “you” when she talks to her son; it is almost as if the reader is her child at the moment and that when she says “son” she is referring to the reader. The intimate register helps the reader sympathize with the mother as she explains her hardships. She continues by saying that “life for [her] ain’t been no crystal stair” (2), using the metaphor of a staircase to represent the life she has been given at birth. The word “crystal” connotes to thoughts of clarity, luxury, and perfection. The way that her life has not been a “crystal stair” shows how she has not been born into luxury and that her life has never been simple. Instead, her life has had “tacks in it,/and splinters” (3-4), it is not a staircase that anyone would want to walk on, and it is far from a perfect path. The diction of “tacks” reveal the sharp pain felt throughout her life that is caused by others considering how those items would never be found on a staircase unless someone puts them there either intentionally or accidentally. However, tacks are things she can easily remove from under her skin and heal from. On the other hand, the word choice of “splinters” symbolizes the type of pain that is hard to get rid of and causes constant irritation. The “splinters” differ from the “tacks” because they are natural; they can be found on wooden surfaces such as a staircase. The splinters represent her unfavorable situation and certain disadvantages she has received since her birth. Moreover, she talks about how the “boards are torn up” (5) and how there are places “with no carpet on the floor” (6). The imagery of gaping holes on a stairway is scary, for she must cross it to continue on, revealing how she does not have a risk-free life. The missing boards represent her loss of opportunities due to the path she is given, which forces her to try to change her path and constantly think of ways to continue moving on. Additionally, she is given no room for failure which is represented by the lack of carpeting. The image of a floor without a carpet is hard, rough, and the edges are sharp. The carpet offers protection from the pain of falling yet the speaker cannot slip up or fall or else she will receive a large amount of injuries and pain. Throughout poem, the mother uses the word “and” constantly. The way the speaker says that her path has “tacks in it,/[and] splinters,/[and] boards torn up,/[and] places with no carpet on the floor” (3-6) makes the reader feel tired when reading the repetition of the word “and,” followed by yet another problem; this reflects how the speaker must feel tired when she talks about her long list of hardships. She also ends line six with the punctuation of an em-dash, which allows for a dramatic pause to show that the most important pain is how her life has been “[b]are” (7). The word is alone in the line to reflect the loneliness she faces in her life. It emphasizes how despite all the pain she has felt, her worst problem is how her life has been devoid of any role models or care.
But even as she continuously encounters problems, she does not ever stop climbing the staircase of her life. To contrast from her earlier words, she says that “all the time/[she has] been a-climbin’ on,/[and] reachin’ landin’s,/[and] turnin’ corners” (8-11). The connotation of the word “climbing” gives off the sense of perseverance, while the thought of reaching a landing is like reaching a safe spot. A landing is a place where a person can rest when going up a long flight of stairs; however, despite the safety of a landing, the mother still continues along her path. She continues to climb the stairs, even though she does not know what awaits her at the top, and she does this regardless of the pain she has already been through. Moreover, when a person “turns a corner,” it is hard to see what is behind the corner. Yet she still turns those corners and continues on with her life, revealing that all her negative experiences do not scare her into living in fear of what lies beyond her path. Furthermore, her repetition of the word “and” in this context is much more positive. In contrast to her list of problems, the constant use of “and” here shows how she counters each of those hardships with her own strength and persistence, which gives the reader a sense of hope and pride. The mother also establishes her uncertainty at times by saying that “sometimes [she is] goin’ in the dark/ [where] there ain’t been no light” (12-13). The image of walking up stairs in the dark shows the danger of taking the next step, such as tripping and falling. The “dark” symbolizes how unclear her future could be, while having “no light” symbolizes how she did not have anyone or anything to guide her along or give her hope. An unclear future and painful experiences are discouraging; however, the mother still continues to climb those steps.
The mother then asserts to her son that he should push forward and take advantage of the privilege that she did not have— a role model.

After telling her son how hard her life has been and how she is still okay despite her hardships, she encourages him to continue with his life just as she has. She uses an imperative syntax when using the repetition of “[d]on’t you” (14,15,17) to convey how she is not only encouraging him to strive, but she is also commanding him to. Her tone of voice is not of someone who has become jaded in her years, but of someone who is an extremely strong leader because of her obstacles. By saying “you,” she conveys a feeling of empowerment as if her command is directed to the reader. Furthermore, the use of her diction when she says don’t “turn back” (14), “set down on the steps” (15), or “fall” (17) reveals different types of failures. When a people decide to “turn back” it shows hesitation and reveals how they were wrong, while to “set down” means to remain stagnant and to not improve, finally, to “fall” is to simply give up completely. The mother contrasts all these negatives with a more positive note by setting herself up as a role model when she says “Don’t you fall now—/For I’se still goin’” (17-18) showing her son, as well as the readers, that it is possible to make it through a hard life just like

her.
In Hughes’ poem, “Mother to Son,” a mother displays her perseverance throughout her life in order to inspire and motivate her son. She explains how life for her has not been a privileged one, using an extended metaphor of a bad staircase; however, she still manages to overcome all sorts of obstacles and urges her son to do the same. The poem expresses that while obstacles in life may seem hard, it is possible to overcome them and emerge even stronger than before.