Mother To Son By Langston Hughes: Poem Analysis

Throughout one’s life, a person may consider giving up when “the going got tough”. These things can vary from little everyday tasks, to even one’s life. Although it might seem like the best and easiest option at the time, it’s important to ask yourself, “Is it worth giving up?” A lot of the time, it isn’t. Life can become very hard to live through, but the trait of perseverance is one of the strongest traits to have, and it’s important to keep pushing on no matter what happens. There are stories and writings of people who never gave up, despite having a very difficult or miserable time. These accounts have been recorded in an article, “The Lost Boys”, a poem, “Mother to Son”, and an illustration.

The theme of perseverance is never giving

up. “The Lost Boys” shows this theme very clearly, with the story of 3 African American teens being rescued and brought into the United States. Peter Dut, who is the oldest one of the bunch, is the one in control of his two younger brothers, Maduk, 17, and Riak, 15. All three of the boys were forced to live as orphans for 9 years after walking for hundreds of miles in the exhausting heat in Sudan. There have been times where the boys have been forced to leaves and berries, just so they don’t starve, and drink their own urine to starve off dehydration. The boys were finally rescued from their shabby conditions and brought to the United States. In the United States though, it didn’t get easier. The boys never got the proper education they needed, so they were left clueless as to how many of the things people use regularly today, work. Towards the end of the article, one of four Sudanese boys who ends up visiting the three boys, says this: “It’s a hard life here, but it’s a free life too.” This quote ties in with perseverance, because all of the boy’s lives have been very hard, and although it’s still hard in the United States, it’s still better than what they had to live through in Sudan. Due to that reason alone, the boys still continue to learn new things, and persist through everyday life, still embracing the African side they refused to leave in Sudan.

Although “The Lost Boys” is an excellent piece showing evidence, there are still many more examples.

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

on.

The last bit of perseverance examples, comes from a picture.

The picture is a photo of two trapeze artist swinging and finally grabbing each other’s hands. The girl is say, “We’ve got it!” and the text at the bottom of the paper says, “It’s the previous 382 attempts you become ‘a natural’.” Piecing it together, this means that the girl and guy in the picture have failed 381 times before they were able to finally complete their task. This picture fits perfectly with the theme of perseverance, and it just says one sentence. To break down the picture, the first thing to note, is the two friends inside it. These two people symbol how friendship can help you make it through difficult problem. The next part of the picture to note, is what they’re doing. The two of them are trapeze-artist. This is a very daring and dangerous job. You could end up falling and getting hurt, and it’s obvious that most people would feel really scared while doing this. This symbolizes how problems might be dangerous or even scary to go through, but persistence will help you conquer your fears and master the problem. The final part to analyze, is the text itself. Like said above, the continuance of pushing through difficult task, despite failure, will help you become great at it. The text however, says ‘a natural’. This means that sometimes, even when you do get it right, but something was a little off, going back and fixing it will be more beneficial for self-mastery, and boosting your overall

perseverance.

In the end, perseverance is a trait anyone can have. Depending on how much, and how willing we are to use that trait, will decide how effect it is when people do end up using it. Perseverance is pushing forward no matter the odds, and the article “The Lost Boys”, the poem “Mother to Son” and the illustration therefore prove that it is better for a person to continue pushing through tasks that are difficult for a better outcome.