Langston Hughes’ narrative poem, “Mother to Son,” features a dramatic monologue, in which a mother is speaking to her son. She uses a ghetto dialect, a device Hughes often employs when portraying his characters. This mother hopes to help her son face his challenges by offering her own difficulties as tasks to overcome.
Life is a Stairway
In Hughes’ poem, the mother is telling her son that her life has not been easy, but she has not let herself stop trying. The speaker uses a “stair-way” as an extended metaphor to represent her life.
She first tells her son, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” A crystal stair represents an imaginary path of ease—the crystal makes the climb beautiful, smooth, and comfortable. The stair this mother has ascended has had difficulties—“tacks” and “splinters”—it did not even have carpet that would also make the walk easier on the feet.
And as in life, there are twists and turns, the stairway the mother has climbed has had turns. But she makes the point that she never gives up, regardless of the difficulty: “I'se been a-climbin' on.” And she is rewarded for her effort by “reachin’ landin’s” and “turnin’ corners”; these places on the stairway, parts of the extended metaphor as they are parts of literal stairways, represent real achievements she has made in her vigilant struggles.
Don’t Give Up
The mother advises her son, “So boy, don't you turn back / Don't you set down on the steps.” She has been through darkness on her climb up the steps, but she warns him that even though things may be hard, he must not let the challenges dishearten him to the point of ceasing the struggle. He must keep climbing the metaphoric stairway of his life. The act of metaphorically sitting down on a step represents giving up, not facing the difficulties he is required to overcome.
She repeats three times that she has never given up the struggle to meet life’s challenges: “I'se been a-climbin' on,” in line 9, “For I'se still goin', honey,” line 18, and “I'se still climbin',” line 19. She also repeats the line that first establishes the metaphor: “Life for me ain't been no crystal stair,” in the second and last lines.
The mother uses her own experience to show her son that despite the difficult challenges of life, the continued valiant struggle made with courage and determination is the only choice that will lead to success.
Commentary
Hughes’ poem is touching and poignant, despite its simplicity. His use of dialect makes the poem seem more vital and accurate. That the son never speaks implies neither agreement nor disagreement. The reader never learns the particular difficulties and challenges that the son might be facing.
The poem is not meant to offer particular advice about facing specific issues such as drugs, poverty, or gang-life. It functions only to impart the very simple idea that one should never give up on life’s battles but must soldier on despite them. The winner will find little achievements along the way, only if he continues the upward climb.
If life does not give you a “crystal stair” but one filled with “splinters” and “tacks,” climb it anyway, for the continued climb is more important than the nature of the stairway.
Source:
- Langston Hughes, “Mother to Son,” Poetry Foundation.
Linda Sue Grimes - As a writer, researcher, and SRF devotee, Linda Sue Grimes has studied poetry and practiced Kriya Yoga for over thirty years..
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