Answer to Question #248797 in English for Constance Dineo Ma

Question

MOTHER TO SON -The above poem suggests that the speaker has not had an easy life. Explain how the writer’s choice of words influences the mood and feeling of the poem overall. Give three specific examples from the poem and elaborate on the feelings they generate. 

Answer 1

“Mother to Son” is a poem by Langston Hughes. The poem describes the difficulties that black people face in a racist society, alluding to the many obstacles and dangers that racism throws in their way—obstacles and dangers that white people don’t have to face. But the poem also argues that black people can overcome these difficulties through persistence, resilience, and mutual support.

The writer has used repetition. There is a repetition of the line “life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” which has created a musical quality in the poem. It has also created rhetorical impacts in the poem.

Imagery has been used to make readers perceive things with their five sense. For example, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”, “And places with no carpet on the floor” and “Don’t you set down on the steps.”

Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from literal meanings. The writer uses a staircase to symbolize the hardship of the mother's existence as a Black woman. The mother contrasts this rough staircase with a crystal staircase, saying, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair." The crystal staircase symbolizes an easy, affluent, and sparkling life that is out of reach for most Black people, while the rickety staircase the mother speaks of symbolizes a difficult life.