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

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BIOGRAPHY I James Mercer Langston-Hughes is a product of Joplin, Missouri where he was born to his parents, Carrie Langston and James Hughes, on February 1, 1902. Hughes’ parents divorced after his father was not accepted into Law school and moved to Mexico. After his father’s departure, Hughes’ mother began to travel to various cities in hopes of finding better work. This caused Hughes to live with his grandmother, and then another family after his grandmother’s death in 1912. Hughes eventually met with his newlywed mom in Cleveland, Ohio, where he also began high school. In high school is where Hughes began to become one with literature, and began writing for his high school’s newspaper. Many writers at the time greatly influenced …show more content…

The poem consists of a mother explaining to her son how her life was not easy and it consisted of an indescribable amount of obstacles. The narrator uses a crystal staircase in order to contrast her experiences with life thus far. The purpose of the mother describing her hardships was due to the son’s lack of motivation and his feeling of wanting to give up on the test that life has thrown at him. 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

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