Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

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Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
Welcome to our presentation on the poem and the
Harlem Renaissance by Rebekah Frye, Erin Curran,
and Tricia Barnes
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Biography of Langston Hughes
James Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902,
in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when
he was only a child, and his father moved to
Mexico. His grandmother raised him until he was
twelve years old, and then he moved to Lincoln,
Illinois to live with his mother and her husband.
Next, he moved with his mother and stepfather to
Cleveland, Ohio. Hughes began writing poetry
when he was in high school, and his class
designated him as class poet. Langston Hughes
achieved his fame as a poet during the artistic
period known as the Harlem Renaissance. Labeling
Hughes as only a Harlem Renaissance Poet has
restricted him to only one genre and decade.
However, Hughes wrote for longer than a decade.
His long, successful career produced many volumes
of diverse genres, and he has inspired the work
of many other African American writers. After
Hughes graduated from high school in 1920, he
moved to Mexico City to live with his father for
a year. Hughes move to Mexico City inspired him
to gather new insights about race, class, and
ethnicity. Hughes returned to the United States
when he ran out of money. Biography continued
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Biography Continued
It is important for people to realize that
Hughes was not only a poet, but he was a
novelist, columnist, playwright, and essayist.
Hughes life and work contributed to the shaping
of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. Hughes
differentiated himself from other black poets of
his time because he refused to separate his
personal experiences and the common experiences
of black America. He wrote stories of black
people without personalizing them. He wanted his
readers to be able to develop their own ideas and
conclusions to his writings. On May 22, 1967,
Hughes died in New York City of congestive heart
failure. In his memory, the street that he lived
on has been renamed Langston Hughes Place.
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Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell youLife 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
timeI'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.
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Interpretation
Line(s) -Meaning Mother to Son - A message from a
mother to her son. Life for me aint been no
crystal stair- Life has not been beautiful,
transparent, or easy forthe mother. It hasnt
been an easy climb. Its had tacks in it, / And
splinters,- Tacks and splinters are hazards that
can cause pain, just like hazards in life. And
boards torn up, - The torn up boards represent
damage, obstacles, and hardships in life. And
places with no carpet on the floor / Bare.-
This creates the image of being cold, naked and
isolated. It creates a mood of loneliness. .
Continue Interpretations
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More Interpretations
But all the time / Ise been a-climbin on- These
two lines push the idea of consistency and
endurance in life. And reachin landins- This
represents achieving goals in life. The landing
is a point of triumph. And turnin corners,
-Turning corners means trying new things. And
sometimes goin in the dark -Going in the dark
can represent courage and faith. Where there
aint been no light.-No light represents
unexplored and foreign territory. So, boy, dont
you turn back.-Dont run away from life. Dont
you set down on the steps.-Dont give up.
Still more Interpretations
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Still More Interpretations
Cause you finds its kinder hard.- Because it is
hard. Dont you fall now - Dont get weak. For
Ise still goin, honey, / Ise still climbin-
She is showing her son it can be done and she is
the example. And life for me aint been no
crystal stair.- It wasnt easy for the mother
either.
This is not the only interpretation, just the
way that is is most widely interpreted.
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Metaphor
Like most writers, Langston Hughes uses
figurative language to express ideas in his work.
In his poem Mother to Son Hughes uses metaphor
to convey his message. A metaphor is a comparison
that does not use the words like or as. In
line two of Mother to Son, Hughes writes Life
for me aint been no crystal stair. Hughes
makes the initial comparison between life and
crystal stair in this line. He continues the
poem within that metaphor by symbolizing the
afflictions of life through a damaged staircase.
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Other Poems by Langston Hughes
? The Weary Blues (1926) ? Fine Clothes to the
Jew (1927) ? Dear Lovely Death (1931) ? The
Dream Keeper and Other Poems (1932) ?
Scottsboro Limited (1932) ? Shakespeare in
Harlem (1942) With Robert Glenn - Langston
Hughes has written a variety of works including
poetry, prose, and drama. We provided a list of
popular poems, but our list is only a selection
of his poetry biographies.
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Information on the Harlem Renaissance

• Art and artists
• Music
• Literature
• Dance
• Black Americans during the Harlem Renaissance
• Why Study the Harlem Renaissance?

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Links and Sources
The Harlem Renaissance- http//www.nku.edu/diesma
nj/harlem_intro.html Harlem 1900-1940- http//www
.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/ The Harlem
Renaissance The Best and Worst of
Times- http//www.unc.edu/courses/eng81br1/harlem.
html Poets of the Harlem Renaissance- http//www.p
oets.org/ The Art of the Harlem
Renaissance- http//www.iniva.org/harlem/intro.htm
l Think Web Quest The Harlem Renaissance- http//
library.thinkquest.org/26656/english/frames.html
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The End
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Music of the Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance brought about many
powerful singers and new types of music. Jazz,
which was born during this time frame, is rooted
in the musical tradition of American blacks.
Blues is a type of music that deals with
hardships of life and love. This type of music
was typically self-accompanied by the singer on a
harmonica or a guitar. A mix of blues and jazz
later became what we now know as rhythm and
blues. Major musicians were Louis Armstrong,
Jelly Roll Morton, and Duke Ellington. The song
currently being played is Duke Ellingtons Take
the A Train. African-American women were also a
part of this movement. Talented singers such as
Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Josephine Baker
took their place in the Jazz field and struggled
with the barriers that men had already set up.
Although the Harlem Renaissance ended in the
1930s, Jazz and Blues continued to be a part of
music history. Back to Slide Show
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Other Major Authors of the Harlem Renaissance
W.E.B. Dubois Claude McKay Countee Cullen Zora
Neale Hurston Rudolph Fisher James Weldon
Johnson Jean Toomer Eugene ONeil
Back to Slide Show
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Dance of the Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance also was the birth place
of many new styles of dance that would later
influence many of our modern day dances. Some of
these dances included the Black Bottom,
Charleston, Lindy Hop Swing, and Tap dancing.
Most of these styles were wild and very
strenuous. They were considered to be very risqué
at the time because of the closeness of the
partners and the sexual hip movements.
Back to Slide Show
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Artwork of the Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance brought the birth of many
new artists. Harlem became known as 'The Mecca
of the New Negro, and soon became home to a
cultural and art revolution. There were three
main themes for the artwork the reborn Negro,
blues aesthetics, and images of Africa.
Back to Slide Show
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 Aaron DouglasInto Bondage 1936
Back to Art Page
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Archibald J. Motley JrBlues 1929
Back to Art Page
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Loïs Mailou JonesLes Fetiches 1938
Back to Art Page
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Black American During the Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissances is the period of time
that black artists began creating work that
represented black culture. This African-American
cultural movement became known as "The New Negro
Movement" and later as the Harlem Renaissance.
This time period served as more than a literary
movement. It included racial consciousness, "the
back to Africa" movement led by Marcus Garvey,
racial integration, the explosion of music, in
particular jazz, spirituals and blues, painting,
and drama. W.E.B. Dubois asserted the notion of
two-ness in his book The Souls of Black Folks.
"One ever feels his two-ness - an American, a
Negro two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled
stirrings two warring ideals in one dark body,
whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being
torn asunder." Black Americans were starting to
define themselves outside of White Americans
during this time. The Harlem Renaissance
glorified the culture of African-Americans and
redefined African-American art. African-Americans
were encouraged to celebrate their heritage and
to become "The New Negro." Artists began to
express their black consciousness through their
work. Back to Slide Show
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Why Study the Harlem Renaissance?
In light of Black History Month, we decided to
explore a poem written during a time which marks
black artistic awakening, the development of
black aesthetics, and a critical time of
appreciating and recognizing the black
experience The Harlem Renaissance. The poem we
chose is an inspirational piece from a black
mother to her son. We felt that this encouraging
poem really speaks to all persons, but especially
to the participants of the black struggle. Back
to Slide Show