Mother to Son - 790 Words

McClendon, Jeremy Eng 104 Professor miller October 16, 2012 The poem â€Å"Mother to Son†, by Langston Hughes, is an inspiring poem. It is the epitome of what every parent should instill within their child and that is the success of our children. Langston Hughes was born in 1902 and was a well-known poet during the Harlem Renaissance. His poems were not personalized but spoke for all African Americans alike. In this poem there is significant meaning from a loving mother to her son through language, metaphors, imagery repetition and symbolism. The advice given in this poem is that life is like climbing stairs, it is not easy and sometimes you will stumble but you get back up and keep climbing those stairs. The poem is about a mother’s†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Bare† being on a line of its own may also signify being alone. Reaching a goal with perseverance and consistency is discussed in â€Å"But all the time/I’se been a climbin’ on/And reachin’ landins’ (Hughes 8-10). â€Å"Going in the dark† (12), can represent courage, bravery and faith while â€Å"No light† (12) symbolizes an unexplored strange or unfamiliar area. Mother becomes stern when telling her son to never â€Å"set down on the steps† don’t give up, and â€Å"don’t turn your back† (13) or turn away from life or run from your problems. Many African American women were faced with many obstacles throughout their lives such as; Mother is setting a great example with the lines For I’se still goin’, honey, / I’se still climbin’( Hughes 18-19) even though life wasn’t easy for her , she never gave up ad she wants the same for her son. In the 1920’s, some women were subjected to prostitution to make a living because there were no jobs available making it not only painful but a dark journey not knowing where prostitution will lead you. So just being African American for most it is much easier to just give up and not reach for our goals and climb the stairs. We need to take one step at a time through life. The language in which Langston writes the poem in is actually the way in which mother spoke to her son. This informal language creates imagery I support of the theme. This image created by this language is a southern dialect from an African American mother, with no formal educationShow MoreRelatedInvictus And Mother To Son Analysis752 Words   |  4 PagesHardships are very common among people who are struggling, but they can not give into those struggles, instead of giving in they need to get stronger. This idea can be seen in many pieces of the following poems.â€Å"Invictus† by William Ernest Henley and â€Å"Mother to Son† by Langston Hughes both convey the message that people who are struggling throughout a hardship can not give up and need to get stronger. Throughout â€Å"Invictus† William Ernest Henley conveys that people can not give up when theyre strugglingRead MoreMother to Son Analysis Essay611 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"Mother to Son† The speaker of the poem â€Å"Mother to Son,† by Langston Hughes is a mother who is giving advice to her son. Her life has been difficult and hard at times. As readers, we know this because the speaker talks about how life is a staircase and her staircase has had â€Å"tacks and splinters in it† (line 3-4). This means that her life has not been perfect and she had many challenges to deal with. Perhaps she was born into poverty, because the images in her poem reveal a ragged, old staircaseRead MoreHamlet Tragedy Of The Mother And Son1137 Words   |  5 PagesHamlet-Tragedy of the Mother and Son William Shakespeare is a writer of tragedies—the tragedies within common everyday relationships. Of these various relationships, Shakespeare reveals his interest in the relationship between the mother and son within Hamlet. The mother: Queen Gertrude, and the son: Prince Hamlet is unique within the play because Hamlet’s relationship with his mother is rare in the sense that Gertrude is one of two women within Hamlet. And like the other woman, Gertrude is submergedRead MoreMother to Son Essay examples636 Words   |  3 PagesEvery mother would like to see her child succeed in life. The following passage from the poem, Mother to Son, by Langston Hughes demonstrates the love and concern a mother has for her son. She teaches him using her own life as an example; her life as a climb up a staircase. The imagery from the advice given in the stanza is explicit and poignant: Well, son, Ill tell you: Life for me aint been no crystal stair. Its had tacks in it, And splinters, And boardsRead MoreEssay on Mother vs. Son1377 Words   |  6 Pages.Description Paper.docxAdd to DriveEdit onlineDownload originalShareYou are using a version of Internet Explorer which is unsupported. Some features may not work correctly. Please update your browseror try Google Chrome.Dismiss FileViewHelp Mother vs. Son When thinking of conflict, many think of violence or hate. Although, according to Wilmot and Hocker, conflict is simply a â€Å"struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power, and resources in which the aims of the opponentsRead More Mother To Son Essay example676 Words   |  3 Pagescomplete. In Langston Hughes’s poem, â€Å"Mother to Son,† these trials are a subject of concern for one mother. Hughes’ â€Å"ability to project himself† is seen in his use of dialect, metaphors, and tone (Barksdale 3). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Although the dialect by itself does not seem to be an important quality, however, â€Å"when it is presented with all dramatic skill†, it is important (Barksdale 3). In â€Å"Mother to Son†, Hughes uses dialect to show that the mother is not as well educated as many peopleRead MoreAn Explication Of Langston Hughes Mother To Son1210 Words   |  5 PagesAn 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 HughesRead MoreAnalysis Of Mother To Son By Langston Hughes768 Words   |  4 Pagesto poetic language in Mother to Son by Langston Hughes.    Background:ï ¿ ½ Students have been working on a poetry unit and have been studying how the elements of poetry help the poet convey thoughts and meaning.ï ¿ ½ This lesson extends the focus of language as a key to meaning.    This lesson is tiered in product according to readiness    All students read the following poem (from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes): ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½ ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Mother to Son ï ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½Ã¯ ¿ ½WellRead MoreAnalysis Of Mother To Son By Langston Hughes736 Words   |  3 Pagespoet and was known to be a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. The poem â€Å"Mother to Son† was written by Langston Hughes in 1922 and the poem portrays a conversation between the mother and her son. The poem revolves around the mother telling her son that life is full of ups and downs and no matter what happens, not to give up. The poem showcases hardships, hope, and words of wisdom that the mother will tell to her son. The mother begins by how her life wasn’t easy, she states â€Å"Life for me ain’t beenRead MoreThe Poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes690 Words   |  3 PagesThe poem â€Å"Mother to Son† by Langston Hughes expresses a message that society can relate to. The poet does not just write directly about life; he uses extended metaphor; he compares climbing up a staircase to life’s many obstacles. The poet does this so a substantial number of people can understand his definition of life. What is life, an organism that has a pulse? If you agree with this, you are wrong! The poet’s concept of life isn’t a wordy definition that revolves around science, but life comes