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.
Read "Mother to Son" and answer ONE the following questions.
1. Identify the metaphor Langston Hughes writes about. Explain what you believe its figurative meaning to be. Use text support.
2. Who (inference) is the speaker of the poem? What is the speaker's message. Explain. Include 1 text support.
Listen to the poem. You may have to open the link above.
Dear Readers,
ReplyDeleteWhat I believe the metaphor Langston Hughes uses in this story is the stair representing life. The mother, who is the speaker, is telling her son that her life was not perfect, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair." And she's saying that his life won't be perfect either, and no matter what, he's gotta keep on trucking through life, "So boy, don't you turn back."
- Gordon
Dear classmates,
ReplyDeleteI read the poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. I sensed a metaphor in this poem. The phrase "life for me ain't no crystal stair". I think this means that you should not expect special rewards like a nice house. I also think that the writer was talking about slavery. I think this because the author wrote this poem with poor house conditions. Like stairs with tacks, splinter wood, and no carpeting. I think that's what the metaphor "Life for me ain't no crystal stair." Thanks for reading- jonathan
Dear my fellow bloggers,
ReplyDeleteResponse-2
I think that the speaker of the poem is a women, who has had experiences and hardships within her life, talking to her son about how there will be hardships within in it. She talks about how life hasn't been a crystal stair for her, meaning that it hasn't been smooth or easy. She describes this by saying that "tacks, torn up boards, and places with no carpet" were on the "stairs." But her message to her son is to keep truckin' on. Don't let these things slow you down or discourage you, just keep going.
I hope this interpretation was better than my last one!
Sincerely,
Justin
Dear Mrs.Leighton and Classmates,
ReplyDeleteI have just read "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes, and am responding to its meaning.
It compares through a metaphor life to a crystal stair, and how in there case, they're nothing alike. To further explain this metaphor; I think the Mother is saying to her Son that life isn't a luxury, it has its bumps, twists, turns, and rough patches. But I also believe that the mother is translating to her son that you just have to keep climbing despite the obstacles in life.
The lines that lead me to this conclusion is For "I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair."
Thanks for reading,
-Jessica Lindsay
Dear Mrs.Leighton,
ReplyDeleteI didn't get to proof read my previous comment. I accidentally clicked "Publish" instead of "Preview" So if it contained errors, I apologize.
Sincerely,
Jessica Lindsay
Hello there Bloggers :
ReplyDeleteI just red the poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. I believe that the metaphor that is going on throughout the poem is saying that life is a staircase, and the staircase isn't perfect. I believe this because The mother says 'Life for me ain't been no crystal stair." Meaning, her life hasn't been clean and polished and perfect. It's been hard in some places. I know this because the mother says "It's had tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor - bare." She saying her life is a staircase, and she just keeps on climbing on, even though her life has had it's hardships, as everyones does. "But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on"
In Langston Hughes poem "Mother to Son" I believe the speaker is a mother or parent, but most likely a mother. I believe she is speaking to a child most likely a son since the title and a "he" is used to describe the child. think the message is to never give up and that even when all these bad things happen and when you fell things are hopeless to never give up . This is said well in the line "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,"
ReplyDeleteThe speaker in the poem is the mother. She is telling the boy that life isn't always easy or glamorous, but you can never stop moving because that would accomplish nothing, and you would get no where. That you should keep on moving, even when you can't see where you are going, you gotta keep on going. For example when she said "And sometimes goin' in the dark Where there ain't been no light." she is talking about not giving up and keep on moving with her life. Not quitting
ReplyDeleteI read the poem “Mother to Son’. The metaphor in this poem is “Life for me ain’t no crystal stair.”. I think this means that life for her life wasn’t always great. Her life had its up but had it’s down as well. I think it means that life isn’t always fair or perfect. People will leave tracks behind. You’ll learn from things that you have experienced. Everything that happens to you will always leave a trace of it behind.
ReplyDelete~Ceara:)
Hello Fellow Bloggers
ReplyDeleteI just read Mother to Son by Langston Hughes, and will be determining the metaphor he used. "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair." I think that's used to symbolize that the mother hasn't had her life always be easy. Also saying, to her son, she shouldn't expect any different, and prepare for things, nasty things, life has to offer. The stanzas, "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."
Are only proving the mother's statement, about the obstacles he may face in the future.
I believe the speaker of this poem is to be interpreted differently from person to person. Someone who is “higher” than the reader, is spiritually connected to the reader, is looked up to by the reader, or has been though a lot that the reader knows could be common choices. I think this because the poem is very straight forward in its message of staying strong through issues you deal with in this imperfect world, but everyone’s problems lead to advice from someone that could relate to them. For example, if you could choose someone to get reassurance from for your basketball game, would you look to your grandmother, who sings, or Lebron James?
ReplyDeleteSincerely
Izzy Simbari c:
Dear Class,
ReplyDeleteThe speaker,I believe that the speaker is the mother and she is speaking to her son.I think the message in this poem is to never give up on life even when its hard,becase her life is and has been hard and she keeps climbing,and so he should as well. The part of the poem that made me think this was the line "So boydon't you turn back,
Dont you set down on the steps,
"cause you find it kinder hard"
-Jewelia
Dear class,
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this poem,I instantly understood that the speaker was a mother talking to a young boy.I think the message is to keep going in life even when it is hard.I got this idea from the lines
"So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard."
-Jewelia
Dear Bloggers,
ReplyDeleteI just got done reading the poem, "Mother to Son" by, Langston Hughes. After reading I believe that the Metaphor that Langston Hughes uses is the comparison of life to a staircase as the speaker says, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair."I believe that the meaning of this metaphor is that life is an uphill climb like a staircase. With its few landings and corners and splinters. I believe that life for the speaker has been a very rough one, that is why she mentions the dark, splinters, tacks, and boards torn up. I believe that the poet wants to get out there that you can't let life get you down and even if it's rough you have to just keep moving on and try to overcome it.
Sincerely,
Jared B.
Hola Bloggers,
ReplyDeleteI just got done reading the poem called Mother to Son by Langston Hughes. The speaker of the poem is the mother who is talking to the son. I think the message is that the mother is telling the son that yes she has gone through so tough times. The thing is that she never gave up, she kept moving forward, didn't turn back, even after all the things she has been through. So she wants her son to know that know matter how hard times get don't give up and stand your ground.
Hola Bloggers,
ReplyDeleteI just got done reading the poem called Mother to Son by Langston Hughes. I believe the speaker of the poem is the mother who is talking to the son. I think the message is that the mother is telling the son that yes she has gone through so tough times. The thing is that she never gave up, she kept moving forward, didn't turn back, even after all the things she has been through. So she wants her son to know that know matter how hard times get don't give up and stand your ground.
I just got done reading the poem "Mother to son" by Langston Hughes. The think this poem's message is about, all the hard times she has been through, she didn't ever give up and she couldn't give up on her son, and can't think about all the bad things.
ReplyDeleteThe metaphor for the poem, “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes was the crystal stair. I believe when she says, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” it means that life isn’t predictable and you can’t see what is on the other side. Meaning life will be difficult. And her life wasn’t easy growing up during slavery.
ReplyDeleteSincerely, Brian Holler
I got nothing
ReplyDelete