obstacles in their life that make them want to just give up and stop moving forward. The poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes shows a mother describing how life‚ “ain’t been no crystal stair‚” (line 2). As the poem continues the mother describes how her life has been difficult as she says‚ “It’s had tacks in it… and places with no carpet on the floor- Bare.” (Lines 3‚ 6‚ 7). The mother then begins to tell her son to not turn back‚ or give up‚ when life decides to throw adversity his way‚ because life
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The poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes is written in the voice of a mother giving advice to her son. In it‚ she compares her life to a rough and hard-to-navigate stairway that his not been “no crystal stair‚” but she encourages him to keep going anyway (2‚ 20). Hughes gives her a very down-to-earth vocabulary to reinforce that she has had to work her way through life without the benefits of higher education‚ ease of profession‚ or even much help. Phrases like “Well‚ son‚ I’ll tell you‚” and
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Mothers and Fathers around the world have tried to give advice to their sons since the beginning of time. Langston Hughes’s “Mother to Son” and Peter Meinke’s “Advice to Son” have many things that are common with each other; nevertheless‚ there are drastic differences when they are written. The time periods that these poems are written have grand influence in the poem’s message. “Mother to Son” was written by Langston Hughes in the middle the nineteen twenties. In the United States‚ we have a large
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“Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes `The poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes is a poem about persevering. As the title suggests‚ this poem is a monologue in which a mother is divulging her heartfelt advice to her son. The tone‚ therefore is loving‚ yet serious and determined. The mother in the poem is giving her son advice about how he should never give up. She tells him‚ in essence‚ to “Keep on Keeping on” throughout the hardships of life. She does this through the telling of her own struggles
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important is to persevere‚ and I defiantly agree with this statement. Two literary works that support this statement are “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes‚ and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. In the poem “Mother to Son”‚ the speaker admits that her life has been difficult‚ but despite the hardships‚ she does not give up. She uses an extended metaphor to describe to her son‚ how even though her life has been hard‚ she still moves on. The metaphor describes her difficult life to be a dilapidated
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superficial yet‚ there is more to it. In "Mother to Son"‚ the mother tells her son what life has been to her: Well‚ son‚ I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it‚ And splinters‚..And places with no carpet on the floor—Bare. (Hughes 7) In the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe‚ the protagonist a slave named Tom arrives at a new plantation in Louisiana and the description of the place alludes with the Mother speaking to her son. In chapter 32‚ page 4‚ paragraph
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easy. Noone goes through life unscathed. In the poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes the author highlights this very well; however‚ Hughes also highlights that he’s still climbing. In the poem he uses beautiful imagery to describe the stairway of life. He sets a nice tone. His use of symbolism helps the poem immensely. Langston creates an amazing poem using symbolism‚ tone‚ and imagery. Firstly the poem is chock full of imagery. The mother says the stair “It has tack in it/ and splinters/ and
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Negro Mother” and “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes. Both of these poems are about a mother speaking to her children and speaking of the hard times that she has been through in the past. If we read these poems it’s very much telling us about history and the things that black people had to endure back in the days. Many people can view it as her speaking to her children or to her son directly but I see it as her speaking to the black children of society. The Negro Mother is a poem where a mother is
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An Explication of Langston Hughes ’ "Mother to Son" Langston Hughes once stated in his own words that his whole purpose for writing was‚ "to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America." In the poem "Mother to Son"‚ he denotes his belief on racism in America. In "Mother to Son"‚ a mother is giving advice to her son about life from her perspective and experiences. She wants her son to keep striving on what he believes and to have a more prosperous life than what she had. Langston Hughes
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their life forever. The author of “Mother to Son” puts the mother into a situation that shapes her value because she is giving her son advice. In the story “Little Women‚” the children are all shaped by their values of giving gifts to their mother. Choices and experiences can all change someone’s values‚ in the two short stories their values change throughout because of the choices they make‚ and the experiences they go through. The mother from “Mother to Son” and the girls from “Little Women”
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