Mother To Son
Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
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.
The poet uses an imagery device to describe a life of a mother to the persona's child and teaches him about a lesson about life.
In the poem, the poet uses craftsmanship skills like a striking example of comparing the life of the mother to a staircase as seen in both the start and the end of the poem, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair". With this sentence, the poet ensures that the readers digest the fact that the life of the mother has its ups and downs, and it was not an easy life to lead. The definition of a person who had a life as "crystal stair" means that he or she led a life that was smooth, was very wealthy and did not have to work as hard as the persona did. This therefore allows the readers to know that the mother had a life full of ups and downs.
Next, the poet starts to focus on the ups and downs the mother had in her life. The poet describes the ups and downs as "tacks", "splinters", "boards torn up", "places with no carpet on the floor --- Bare." as seen in the third to seventh line in the poem. The fact that the poet describes the ups and downs as "tacks" and "splinters" indicate that the mother suffered hurts, not those that will cause death, but just pure pain. By describing the mother's life as a "stair" and having "tacks" and "splinters", it proves that she suffers pain along the way, as her life goes.
In addition, the poet describes her life as "boards torn up", and if the readers put this phrase into context, it will mean that along the way as she goes, there are holes which are considered as obstacles for her to pass through. This also means that her life had lots of dangerous situations and she had to persevere and get over them to get to where she is currently.
Furthermore, the poet makes the mother talk to her son about life, that he should not give up despite of any obstacles or any setbacks. Also the poet indicates that the son should look up to her as a role model from "Don't you fall now—For I'se still goin', honey," because it was never an easy life for her, but she did not fall from all the obstacles that hit her.
All in all, I believe the poem has allowed the readers to think of what their life or "staircase" is really all about and about why should they not give up when they get taken down by setbacks.
Analysis by: Koh Hong Ji (25) 2/3
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
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.
The poet uses an imagery device to describe a life of a mother to the persona's child and teaches him about a lesson about life.
In the poem, the poet uses craftsmanship skills like a striking example of comparing the life of the mother to a staircase as seen in both the start and the end of the poem, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair". With this sentence, the poet ensures that the readers digest the fact that the life of the mother has its ups and downs, and it was not an easy life to lead. The definition of a person who had a life as "crystal stair" means that he or she led a life that was smooth, was very wealthy and did not have to work as hard as the persona did. This therefore allows the readers to know that the mother had a life full of ups and downs.
Next, the poet starts to focus on the ups and downs the mother had in her life. The poet describes the ups and downs as "tacks", "splinters", "boards torn up", "places with no carpet on the floor --- Bare." as seen in the third to seventh line in the poem. The fact that the poet describes the ups and downs as "tacks" and "splinters" indicate that the mother suffered hurts, not those that will cause death, but just pure pain. By describing the mother's life as a "stair" and having "tacks" and "splinters", it proves that she suffers pain along the way, as her life goes.
In addition, the poet describes her life as "boards torn up", and if the readers put this phrase into context, it will mean that along the way as she goes, there are holes which are considered as obstacles for her to pass through. This also means that her life had lots of dangerous situations and she had to persevere and get over them to get to where she is currently.
Furthermore, the poet makes the mother talk to her son about life, that he should not give up despite of any obstacles or any setbacks. Also the poet indicates that the son should look up to her as a role model from "Don't you fall now—For I'se still goin', honey," because it was never an easy life for her, but she did not fall from all the obstacles that hit her.
All in all, I believe the poem has allowed the readers to think of what their life or "staircase" is really all about and about why should they not give up when they get taken down by setbacks.
Analysis by: Koh Hong Ji (25) 2/3
Very good observations and inferences! The imagery of the 'splinters', etc. as the obstacles and challenges the mother faced was correctly picked up and analysed. Good!
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