“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. The title of the poem is very good at informing the reader because it was actually a conversation between a mother and her son. The poem gives clues to this, Hughes uses references showing the relationship between the two like “Well, son I’ll tell you.” The mood of the poem gives a sense of honesty and seriousness. The poem includes not so delicate details about life that a lot of people don't share, like “And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.” The literary techniques
and sound devices used in this poem are metaphors, Personification, onomatopoeia, and assonance. Langston Hughes uses the “crystal stair” as a metaphor. “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Hughes uses personification in the poem by giving the stair human attributes. Hughes uses onomatopoeia in his poem as “climbin“reachin” and “landin.” Hughes uses assonance in his poem as “I'se been a-climbin'.” and “I'se still climbin'.” There seems to be conversational structure and no rhyme to the poem so the form of the poem is free verse. Hughes starts off the poem with the mother talking directly to the son. The figurative meaning of the poem is that the mother is trying to inform her son of how hard it was for her in life. She had to face many obstacles and how she is still facing those obstacles, while encouraging her son to not give up. Langston Hughes uses literary techniques and sound devices to create a free verse poem. In this poem, the reader was able to see how a mother wasn't given fair opportunities in life. The mother was able to learn from her trials and tribulations so, she continued to work and encouraged her son to do the same so he could have a better life than she had.
She was merely teaching her son a lesson, or maybe she was scolding him, and using that as a life lesson. Either way, she was the inspiration for the poem. I was unable to locate online the reason that the poem was initially written - however, I can only assume that he is remembering a time when his mother was right, and he’s wishing he had listened. Maybe he is now older, wiser, and faced with a decision where he wants two things equally, and needs to make a decision.
Another fitting quote from the text is something the mother says at the end of the poem, ¨So boy, don’t you turn back. [...] Don’t you fall now For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair¨ (Hughes lines 14-20) This shows the Mother's purpose in telling this story. The mother says to the son, using her stair metaphor, to keep persevering through life, as she had.
the poem On My First Sonne, the father loves his son a lot and feels
“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is broken winged bird that cannot fly.” -Langston Hughes The struggle in America that African Americans face throughout America’s history is a saddening story where it can apply to any type of people facing the same problems of inequality. The poem I, too and Mother to Son are both similar with the message that it represents but different in the way the message is said. Mother to Son highlights the struggles that Americans who are poverty stricken may face.
The author of “Mother to Son”, Langston Hughes, displays the attitude of hopefulness in the poem to show that life will not be easy for the son, but he should never give up because the mother did not. The author uses literary devices like figurative language, imagery, and diction. By using these literary devices, Hughes creates a sympathetic mood in the poem in order to emotionally draw in the reader.
Lanston Hughes focuses more on rhythm then on rhyme, for example, the poem "The Weary Blues" reads like a blues song, which is what the poem is about. "Mother to Son" is a conversation a mother has to a child about what era life has been, and that no matter how hard life may seem, one should never give up climbing the "stairs". The poem seems to shift from good English to Black English and then back again, which to me shows...
staying the course. In the poem “Mother to Son” a mother tells of her persistence through life’s obstacles, encouraging her son not to give up.
“The Mother” (Gwendolyn Brooks) has three stanza has and aabbccdd etc. rhyming scheme that is called couplets. The first stanza The first stanza started of “abortions will not let you forget” (Gwendolyn Brooks) this is a strong statement that supported the theme of this poem. Then Brooks go on and telling how the mother did not get to hold the child that she aborted and how sad it was for her.
The poem tells of a young black with a writing assignment in which he must simple write a page on whatever he wants. Hughes uses the narrator in this poem to give some insight on the obstacles that he believed stood in his path while he was trying to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. The speaker tells the audience that he is in college and that “I am the only colored student in my class” (Hughes line 10). During that time period, it was very rare for anyone of color to participate in higher education. The speaker tells us he is from the Harlem area, and he identifies with the people of Harlem just as Harlem identifies with him. Hughes understood the feelings and everyday lives of the people of Harlem, New York, and gave his fictional speaker those same understandings. The writer tells his audience of his feelings towards the white American population when he says, “I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like / the same things other folks like who are other races” (lines 25-26). Hughes’s used his speaker to explain how black and whites both want to be writers, but blacks are put at a disadvantage due to the social differences of the two. Langston Hughes wanted his readers to understand the cultural differences of people of color and people on non-color. Jeannine Johnson asserts that “for Hughes, poetry is to some degree about self-expression and self-exploration, especially when the "self" is understood to mark the identity of an individual who is always affected by and affecting a larger culture.” One of the most noted portions of this poem is when the speaker tells his instructor, “You are white / yet a part of me, as I am a part of you / That’s American” (lines 31-33). These lines tell the reader that although whites and blacks have their differences, that regardless of race they are both American. Hughes uses
It starts off with the mother asking her son (the speaker) to take care of her when his father dies. The son responds with a promise to spoil her and take the best care of her that is possible. He imagines them leaving and entirely changing their lives to make them happier. Later, he speaks about dreams being dead and how life sometimes turns out the opposite of what you want. This causes him to plan to be a bum instead. The poet expresses different emotions through this poem such as love for his mother, but also pessimism and negativity for the future. He wants to help his mother and support her in her old age, but he believes that his dreams will die and life will give them the opposite of what they want. The only character speaking in this poem is the son. The poem is a monologue, most likely to his mother. The situation that prompts him to speak is his internal conflict of how he can provide for his mother as she
TS - Harwood succinctly explores the memory of motherhood as a quintessential part of being human in the poem, “Mother who gave me Life”.
In the beginning of the poem I’m introduced to a mother and son, a bond that can’t be broken. A bond so close that if anything bad happened there would be loneliness and one feeling the blues. “Mother dear, may I go downtown / instead of out to play, / and march the streets of Birmingham / In a freedom
In 1902, Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri to his parents who eventually divorced and caused Hughes to live with his grandmother. His grandmother lived in Lawrence, Kansas, where he mainly grew up. Langston’s grandmother shared many stories with him as a young boy, about his family in the slavery days and how they had to fight for their freedom and how to end slavery. His grandmother introduced him to the "Bible" and "Crisis," the magazine. From stories told by his grandmother, it filled him with pride of who he was and his race. He then grew more into an interest in African American culture and history that he later wrote in many stories, autobiographies, histories, and poems.Hughes grandmother a few years later died, which resulted in him to live with family friends. This horrific event influenced him to take a stronger take on writing. It gave him more reason to write beautiful pieces in remembrance of his grandmother. It gave him the chance to shape his mind into a poetic state.
In many of Hughes’ works, he gives advice for those who are suffering from racism and isolationism, which is to not let anything get in the way of dreams. This idea is expressed in Hughes’ poem titled “Mother to Son”. In the poem, Hughes states, “ . . . don’t you turn back. Don’t you set down on the steps” (Baym, 2013, p. 1039). This quote shows how many people that were affected by the racism and isolationism would turn to giving up on almost everything in their lives, but Hughes gives advice to those who wanted to give up by saying to never give up. Hughes wanted the society to know that they shouldn’t let the racism affect their lives, but to ignore the racism and to keep moving forward. In his novel, Not Without Laughter, Hughes says, “Ever’thing there is but lovin’ leaves a rust on yo’ soul. An’ to love sho’nough, you got to have a spot in yo’ heart fo’ ever’body - great an’ small, white an’ black, an’ them what’s good an’ them what’s evil - ‘cause love ain’t got not crowded-out places where de good ones stay an’ de bad ones can’t come in. When it gets that way, then it ain’t love” (“8 quotes to celebrate Langston Hughes on his 113th birthday”, 2015). This quote shows how Hughes expressed in his works how the society was harshly affected by the racism and isolationism, and how the society should not let the racism get them down. Hughes also explains how no matter how badly society was affected by the racism, every person in the society should always show care and respect for
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.