MOTHER TO SON

LANGSTON HUGHES
 THE POEM
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,
 THE POEM
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.
 SUMMARY OF THE POEM
• In this poem, a mother advises her son about how to survive and
thrive in a racist society, and she bases this advice on her own life.
• She explains that her life has been difficult but she continues to
persist.
• She advises her son never to give up, never to tire but to
persevere and move on with life however difficult.
• Martin Luther King referenced the poem about 13 times in his
public appearances including in his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.
The references took the form of pressing forward and not
turning back.
 THEMES
• The poem is about the importance of experience and determination to face
challenges in life with poise and resilience.
• The mother is a strong and resilient woman who is on a persistent quest
and an unrelenting upward movement.
• The mother takes on the burden of nurturing the next generation.
• The main message of the poem is the need for the son and the black race
never to give up in life in the face of uncertainties and adversities.
• The mother represents the African-American mother demonstrating her
fierce love for her son by teaching him how to deal with the harsh realities
of life.
• The harsh reality is the problem of racial discrimination in America which
negates the American Dream.
 Words of Encouragement
• Men of Honour
Go on there Carl and fight. Don’t take promises. Bust their own
rules if you have to. And when it gets hard and it will don’t quit on
me – ever.
Another lesson I think we may take is that appearances are often
very deceptive, and we must "...meet with Triumph and Disaster.
And treat those two impostors just the same. This is the lesson:
never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing,
great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions
of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the
apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
 POETIC DEVICES - SYMBOL
• The main symbol in the poem is the stair. It is also an extended metaphor running through
the whole poem. The speaker distinguishes between two different kinds of staircases—
and, by extension, between two different kinds of paths through life.
• On the one hand, there’s the staircase that she’s had to climb—which is dangerous and
falling apart, with loose tacks and splinters, sometimes the staircase has even been dark.
• Then there’s a “crystal stair.” Crystals are smooth, shiny, and beautiful; they suggest
glamor, luxury and ease.
• These two staircases represent the unequal opportunities and challenges that Black and
white people face in American society. Where white people have an easier and smoother
course toward realizing their dreams, the poem argues, Black people like the speaker
and her son have to fight through difficult, dangerous challenges just to reach the same
level.
 MONOLOGUE
• The poem is a good example of a dramatic monologue. It is a
poem in which one character delivers a speech which reveals
the speaker’s history and a psychological insight into the
speaker’s character.
• The beginning of the poem sounds like it is mid-conversation,
the mother’s statement perhaps a response to what the son
said. She wants the son to listen attentively to what she has to
say. The terms of endearment – son, boy, honey – and the
pronoun you claim the attention of the listener.
• There are some lines in the poem expressing encouragement.
 LANGUAGE
• The use of slang captures the spirit of the poem – the best way to make a
particular audience feel the message of a poem is to use their own
vocabulary. Thus, the language used is apt to the setting, condition, and
anticipation of the audience.
• The use of punctuations – 13 commas, 3 semi-colons, 1 colon, apostrophes,
contracted forms, full stops, and incomplete words signaled by apostrophes
and clear ungrammaticality have their respective functions which contribute
to meaning.
• The use of anaphora or the repeated beginnings of the lines is important in
this poem. In lines 4-6, the repeated “ands” emphasize the number of
dangers the speaker has faced. In lines 10-12, it emphasizes just how far
she’s climbed. Once again, the speaker transforms the dangers that she
encounters into a source of strength.
 OTHER DEVICES
• There are many repetitions to emphasize important points in the poem:
I’se been a-climbing on, Don’t you turn back.
• The Setting: The poem is set in the American society in the early 20th
century, when racist laws limited where Black people could live, work, and
go to school.
• At first, the poem seems to be set on a staircase. The speaker spends a
good deal of time describing that staircase: it’s dark and poorly repaired, a
dangerous and frightening thing to climb.
• The poem can now have a general setting in any human community.
• Contrasts: Light and dark have been contrasted. The contrast between
mother and son and between blacks and whites.
 METAPHOR
• Crystal stair with a carpet on the floor: Beautifully constructed
staircase, probably representing the privileges and power that
white people enjoy.
• Tacks, splinters and boards torn up represent the difficulties of
life’s journey.
• Darkness represents despair and hopelessness while light
represents clarity, certainty and hope.
• Landing: A place on the staircase where one can rest.
• Sitting on the steps and falling mean that the son has given up.