In the poem “Marks” written by Linda Pastan, the speaker gives the reader an insight as to how her family views her as a mother and wife. Her family grades her on her duties and responsibilities based on what they believe is a good mom and wife. Each family member grades the speaker in different ways. Her daughter believes in a pass or fail grading system, her son believes in below average, average, or above average system, and her husband believes in the letter grade system. The speaker’s final response to her family’s constant judgment is in the last line of the poem in which she says, “I’m dropping out.” This poem focuses on a woman who is fed up with her family’s constant judgment of her as a wife and a mother.
For this assignment I chose to read “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes. The title of this poem indicates to the reader that the narrator will be a mother and it is directed towards her son. The poem is basically about life advice given from the mother to a son. She encourages him to keep climbing and reminds him that she’s still climbing as well. Right from the title the reader can interpret that the mother is the one who is speaking.
Langston Hughes Comparison Langston Hughes was a master with words when it came to his poetry. He used techniques that pulled the reader into the poem. His greatest use of technique skills would be the creation of his personas, and his clever use of dialect. He uses these in poems such as “Mother to Son”, “Theme for English B”, and “Dream Boogie.” The poem “Mother to Son” is simply about a hard working mother talking to her son. She warns him about life’s hardships and tries to encourage him to never give up.
Hughes writes from the standpoint of a loving mother who has gone through her fair share of hardships in her life, but has never stopped and given up. She instructs her son that he must always stay optimistic despite the adversity that might come his way in life, and that he is not the only one that has to go through these tough situations. One can infer that she is most likely talking about racism, segregation, and public scrutiny. The main theme used throughout “Mother to Son” is an extended metaphor. In the beginning of the poem, the mother says, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” The mother is comparing her life to an endless staircase to which she has been climbing her whole life.
Even though The Father is fiction and “A Legendary Hero” is non-fiction, both show the importance of fatherhood in a daughter’s life and how the father’s roles impact their families, and especially their daughters. The role of father as protector is presented in the play The Father. In the beginning of the play, Captain is speaking to Pastor about his daughter. Captain and his wife have been disagreeing on where Bertha should go. As a protector, Captain wants to make sure Bertha gets the right education and be prepared if the worst should happen in her life.
Hughes paints a picture of what it would have been like when the mother was talking to her son through thoughtful metaphorical words to emphasize these struggles and then does the same to really hammer home that even in spite of this she is till keeping her head up and reaching goals and making do with what she has and not letting it get to her. In the first 8 lines of the poem the mother is telling her son how hard her life has been. Lines like “Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” The key word crystal in this line is an adjective that is defined as “consisting of or resembling crystal.” (“Crystal”) Crystal is a clear material that you can see through, and it is often considered to be valuable and beautiful. In the context of the poem, “Mother To Son,” the staircase is described in contrast to crystal, because the staircase is not clear, smooth, or beautiful. The stairs is referring to her life’s path.
Her marriage with Leonce Pontellier is one of convenience and well-being for herself and for the children she bore. We learn in the story that Leonce Pontellier is very firm with Edna. He likes things done a certain way and voices his criticism toward Edna if there is any variance from his standards. Leonce wants his wife to be the everyday housewife and she should live to serve her husband and her children. We begin to see in the novel that Leonce’s ideas and beliefs of what Edna should be begins to push her away and she begins to seek companionship elsewhere.
Keller describes her experience as “unspeakable happiness” when she reads her favorite stories to her family who have supported her throughout her battles. She calls speech a “blessing” because this passion and desire that she longs for is keeping her fight half the battle. By trying to improve on her senses does not come natural to her, but has created a liaison with her family who believe in her. The Keller family has an affectionate and kind relationship that made it easy and enjoyable for each of them to help each other. As Ms. Keller describes her experience, she is not only talking to people who cannot hear or talk but also the families who should be willful to help and support in any way their family members who want to learn to be given their lost abilities.
Unfortunately, my sister and I adore pointing out each other’s flaws and relish this “pointing out of flaws” even more when our parents do it for us. Of course, parents are meant to correct their children, when appropriate, so do not get the idea that my parents are treating us unfairly. When either of my parents is “lecturing” my sister or me, the sibling not being lectured snickers delightfully, while the sibling receiving the lecture is slightly unsettled that they are being disciplined. Naturally, the sibling who is being disciplined develops a slight, yet temporary flush of anger; thankfully, the “anger” doesn’t last very long and is abandoned within half an hour, at most. The anger is present, however short its duration.
A Mothers Message To Her Son Langston Hughes poem, "Mother to Son" Seems to express the mother’s journey in life and how she’s gone threw great struggles. It seems that there is no father figure for this son in the poem; this may be one of the son’s struggles. The mother is giving life advice to her son about the up hill battles she has faced and the ones her son will face. Analyzing the videos they all portray different message weather or not they display the best representation for the poem is the real question. The poem is meant to have a firm portrayal a “ this is how life is” message that explains that life is not easy and you cant just sit down and think what if.