Why these words in “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes
Poem Annotations
Mother to Son by Langston Hughes (1922)
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| Poem pdf Source The source only gave raw pdf; it was annotated later |
In the poem, Mother to Son, Langston Hughes uses word choice to develop the theme that one should not give up even in the most difficult circumstances. Hughes accomplishes this theme by speaking from the point of view of an African American mother in early the 1900s.
The author starts the poem by describing a lack of perfect life for the mother. The words "crystal stair" are chosen carefully by the author because "crystal" depicts perfection and "stair" depicts the journey of life. By denying the idea that life is not perfect for the mother, Hughes introduces the challenging life for the mother. The year, 1922, when the poem was written connects to the "crystal stair" because, at the time, only white Americans were living a good life while the other races had to face the challenges of discrimination against them. The "crystal stair" was only for the elites of the country and considering the time period (in which racism was high) shows the discrimination and struggles for African Americans which is hidden in the wording. The words help develop the theme by alluding to the difficult circumstances that can be created in life.
Continuing the poem further, Hughes describes that the life was sometimes rough for the mother and shows her using the words "climbin'", "reachin' landin's," and turning'." These words are carefully chosen by Hughes to highlight the limited education of African Americans at the time. These words are very informal and not the ones that are generally used by an educated person. Because these words are very colloquial in the sense that it shows lack of education of an African American mother, they show the limited education achieved by African Americans at the time. Hughes uses these specific words to further emphasize the struggles of African Americans due to their limited education. These words are connected to the theme because they are used to describe difficult circumstances that is a part of the theme.
As Hughes advances towards the last few lines of the poem, he shows the mother teaching her son to not give up even in the hard situations. She says "Don't you fall now." The word "now" is used to symbolize the time when all the challenges and struggles have fallen upon the son. When the mother says that do not "fall' or give up "now," the theme that one should not give up even in the most difficult circumstances is introduced to the reader. The words are used to convey the message of not giving up which is the crucial part of the theme developed by Hughes.
First by using words like "crystal stair" and "climbin'" to emphasize the struggles of African Americans and then showing a mother encouraging her son to fight against those struggles, Hughes uses word choice to convey his theme. The theme is created by linking the messages of word choices of different parts of the poem together. The theme, though, is not introduced until the end of the poem because the author continues to develop the background (by defining the challenges) until the end of the poem where everything is tied together. Hughes uses African Americans in his poem to narrate, but his theme - when investigated - is applied to everyone.
I enjoyed reading your analysis and the prominent theme you found in this poem. In addition to this, I liked how you analyzed the era and the perspective this poem was written in. This is extremely important to consider since it allows us to understand why Hughes wrote this poem and the intended theme he wants us to learn.
ReplyDeleteI like how organized your blog was, analyzing each part of the poem and its deeper meaning. I feel like the last sentence is important; it shows that everyone is able to learn and relate to the poem.
ReplyDeleteReally good job on identifying what the word choice meant! I noticed in your annotations you said that the word “dark” shows the American South and their discrimination which was a really good observation. You also did really well on breaking down the meaning of a “crystal stair” and how it shows the higher status of white people. Is the theme more so about the African-American struggle or is it just a life lesson for everyone in general?
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