Mother to Son by Langston Hughes Essay

Mother to Son, published in 1922 by Langston Hughes, was one of the most famous rimes he had written. Hughes was Afri croup-American and was born in 1902. While living in the 1900s Hughes and his family experienced the hardships of racism, discrimination, and slavery. Therefore, this poem is non only words of rise from a arrive to a son, scarce besides words of encouragement to the entire African American corporation. This poem of inspiration let the community know that the difficulties that they all had to endure at the time were felt by all and that they were not alone in the struggle. Hughes wrote this from the standpoint of a mother encouraging her son to keep termination no matter what hardships he may experience. She expl personaled that feeling is hard and he is not the only one who has had to endure the experience of lifes hard lessons.The poem passes on a message from a mother to her son instructing him that he must remain optimistic despite the obstacles that life can bring. The mother compares her life to a set of old befuddled down wooden stairs. Using the metaphor that life for me has not been whatsoever set of crystal stairs (2, 20), she implies to her son that her life has not been effortless or pleasant either. The mother continues to tell her son of the obstacles that she has chasten by describing the old wooden stairs. She says it has had tacks in it and splinters and boards torn up and places with no carpet on the floor bare. (3-7)The tacks on the stairs were placed at that place by some other person representing the wrong doings to her by another person and the splinters may have been the result of her actions. These tacks and splinters hold exempt for the cruel reality of life, as opposed to the ideal fantasy life, such(prenominal) as having a set of crystal stairs. Through the division of the mother, Hughes uses the set of stairs as a metaphor for life and the hardships that they can bring. In spite of these obstacles t he mother has moved up the stairs and has overcome them. She tells him she has been a climbin on, and reachin landins, and procedurein corners, and sometimes going in the dark when there aint been no light (9-13). She means here that sometimes she was artifice to where the stairs or her life was leading her and the direction was unknown, but she still continued.The mother continues to encourage her son by telling him not to turn back or set down on the steps spend a penny you finds its kinder hard (14-16). She is telling her him not to give up disregardless of how hard things may seem at the time and if he continues on he will eventually overcome these obstacles that are causing him such despair. She believes that once you stop it is harder to get started again and she encourages him by telling him how shes still goin, honey and Ise sill climin and that life for me aint been no crystal stair (18-20). She also tells him that she has made it and still has to toy these obstacl es even in her golden years and she did not give up and has not given up and if she is strong enough to make it thus so can he.Through a mothers character Hughes uses metaphors, symbolism, and imagery. He also conveys a message of encouragement. Durring the time this he wrote this poem the message may have been directed towards the African American community however, today the message is directed to all who feel like giving into the hard times that life can and will bring. Hughes also reminds us that we are not alone in these hard times and that everyone experiences the selfsame(prenominal) hard times in some form or another.Langston Hughes died in 1967 I hope he knew that this poem spoke words of encouragement not only to the African American race but also to the rest of us needing some inspiration. His poem reminds up to be burnished and to not give up on ourselves.