The elegant module by ashraf vvn

Unit 05 MOTHER TO SON

Glossary

Tack - a small nail with a sharp point and a flat head

Splinter - a small thin sharp piece of wood metal glass, etc that has broken off a larger
piece

Crystal – clear

Bare - not covered

A climbin- and climbing

Ain’t- am not

I’se been- I have been

Turn back- return the way you have come

Prepare a profile of Langston Hughes using the following details

Full Name :James Mercer Langston Hughes 1 February 1902.

Born :1 February 1902. Missouri, United States

Education :Lincoln University of Pennsylvania

Known as :Poet social activist, novelist, playwright. columnist

Awards : Anisfield - Wolf Book Award, honorary doctorate of Howard University

Notable works: The Dream Keeper and Other Poems, Not without Laughter (short story
collection), Black Nativity (play)

Death : May 22, 1967 (aged 65)

Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes popularly known as Langston Hughes was born on 19
February 1902 at Missouri in USA. He had completed his education from Lincoln University
of Pennsylvania. He was a renowned poet, social activist, novelist, playwright and columnist.

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 He was awarded with Anisfield Wolf Book Award, Honorary Doctorate of Howard
University. His notable works include The Dream Keeper and Other Poems, Not without
Laughter, Black Nativity, etc. He passed away on May 22 1967 at the age of 65.

Poem Comprehension

1. Read the following lines from the poem ‘mother to Son ‘by 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.

Questions

1. What do tacks and splinters imply?

2. Pick out an instance of metaphor from the stanza.
3. What does the phrase 'no crystal stair mean?
4. The use of the word 'Bare' as the last line of stanza indicates--------

Answers

1. Tacks and splinters imply hardships sufferings in mother's life.

2. Life for me ain't not been crystal stair.

3. No crystal stair' means that journey of life is not smooth and comfortable, but full of hurdles
and difficulties. Here it means that the journey of mother's life was not smooth and comfortable.

4. The Bare indicates the hardships and sufferings of life fully devoid of all sorts of luxuries of
life.

2. Read the following lines from the poem ‘mother to Son ‘by Langston Hughes

Well,son, I ‘ll tell you:

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 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…..

Questions

1. Who is the ‘I’reffered to here?

2. What does the speaker compare her life to?
3. What is the speaker’s advice to her son?
4. What impression do you get about the speaker from these lines?
Answers
1. A mother
2. The speaker compares her life to a crystal stair which has tacks and splinters and torn up
boards.
3. The speaker’s advice to her son is not to turn back.
4. The speaker could face harsh realities of life courageously. Her positive frame of mind is
highly appreciable.

Questions and Answers

1. Who is the speaker in the poem? Do you feel the presence of a listener? How?

.A mother is the speaker in the poem. Yes, she addresses her son

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 2. What does the expression ‘no crystal stair’ mean?

Ans. The expression’ no crystal stair’ means journey of life is not smooth and comfortable, but
full of hurdles and difficulties.

3. Was life easy for the narrator? Pick out evidence from the stanza to support your answer?

Ans. No, ‘It’ had tacks in it and splinters and boards torn up’.

4. The first stanza ends with the word ‘brave’. What does the speaker mean by the word ‘bare’?

Ans. Bare suggests scant furnishings. It could mean stark poverty that they experienced in life.

5. When life becomes challenging, does the speaker give up? How do you know?

Ans. No, the speaker didn’t give up. Whenever she had to face hurdles, she faced it with
courage. Even though her way was not crystal clear, she still climbed on. She
didn’t have any idea to turn [Link] compares her life to climbing up a
broken and dangerous staircase.

6. Was life easy for the narrator? Pick out evidence from the stanza to support your answer?

Ans. No, ‘It’ had tacks in it and splinters and boards torn up’.

7. What do the ‘turning corners’ and ’set down steps’ mean?

The phrase ‘turning corners’ means that she has been overcoming unexpected difficulties with
determination and’ set down on the steps’ the speaker means ‘rest on the stairs of
life.

8. The speaker speaks of the ‘dark times ‘. What does the poet refer here?

Dark times refer to the desperate and miserable living conditions at the time of their slavery.

9. What advice does the speaker give? Pick out the relevant lines from the poem?

She advises her son never to give up.

10. With what message does the poem end

We should not give up even if the situation is not positive

Appreciation of the poem

The poem “Mother to Son’ is a poem written by Langston Hughes is structured in the form of a
conversation between a mother and her son. A mother is advising her son that he will have to
face many adversities in life and yet he must overcome them and keep going. She says that her
life has been quite rough with nails and piece of wood jutting out. The poet uses the ‘stair way’
4

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metaphor to represent life. The mother reminds her son that life is not a crystal stair. She
encourages her son by giving examples of her perseverance and determination.

It is a monologue by the mother where she tells her son the life has never been easy for her. The
poet says she has faced lot of trouble in the journey of her life. But continue move ahead.
Despite all the challenges that chat came her way she never tuned away and chooses not to give
up. The mother tells her son that life will not always give a smooth ride but in spite of all the
hardship and miseries, one must learn to move forward, she encourages her son to face life’s
challenges head-on and try to inculcate strength and courage in him. The poet wishes to convey
the message through this poem that one has to display steady persistence to go up the stair way
of life. Obstacles may be harsh but one has to move on with patience and resilience.

The poet has also used metaphor. He uses symbols like tacks, splinters, no carpet on the floor
and darkness describes to difficulties that on face in life. The stair case is also metaphor for the
struggles people face in their upward journey of life.

The poem is suggestive of the effect of racism and oppression on the lives and experiences of the
Black Americans. However, this piece of advice from mother to son has an universal quality as it
can be read as an advice from any mother to any son, anywhere in the world without keeping the.
The upward journey referred to the journey to heaven or to a better place where one is free of all
the pain and suffering.

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