Mother to Son |
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life 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 time I’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. |
Langston Hughes’ poem “Mother to Son” is about an African American mother who is telling her son about all of the struggles she went through during her life while trying to accomplish her dreams. She explains that even though it was tough, she kept on pushing and she still is and she is encouraging him to do the same. She teaches him to work hard for his dreams. This poem embodies ideas that are shown in the play “A Raisin in the Sun”. Near the end of Act 1, Scene 1, Mama tells Ruth that one of Big Walter’s favorite saying was “seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams - but He did give us children to make them dreams seem while” (Hansberry 45-46). This scene extends Hughes’ idea that even through the struggles of life, you have to keep moving forward and keep faith and hope. In Hughes’ poem, the mother says to her son “So boy, don’t you turn back . . . Don’t you fall down now - For I’se still goin’ . . . and life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” (Hughes). This connects to Big Walter’s favorite saying because they both show that a parent can dream and they have to keep moving even if those dreams fail, but along the way they must push their children to keep moving and pursue their dreams “mak[ing] them seem worthwhile” (Hansberry 45-46).
At the end of Act 2, Scene 2, this theme of parents encouraging their children to pursue their dreams is reiterated with Walter’s speech to Travis (108-109). This scene again extends Hughes’ claim. Walter Lee tells Travis, “Whatever you want to be . . . You just name it son . . . and I hand you the world” (Hansberry 109). This line adds a new piece to Hughes’ idea saying the parent will not only encourage the child to pursue their dreams, but will personally make sure their dreams come true. This poem shows that even though chasing the dream is a struggle and even though it has become a tragic pursuit usually resulting in failure, parents continue to teach their children to work hard for their dreams and parents live their dreams through their kids.
At the end of Act 2, Scene 2, this theme of parents encouraging their children to pursue their dreams is reiterated with Walter’s speech to Travis (108-109). This scene again extends Hughes’ claim. Walter Lee tells Travis, “Whatever you want to be . . . You just name it son . . . and I hand you the world” (Hansberry 109). This line adds a new piece to Hughes’ idea saying the parent will not only encourage the child to pursue their dreams, but will personally make sure their dreams come true. This poem shows that even though chasing the dream is a struggle and even though it has become a tragic pursuit usually resulting in failure, parents continue to teach their children to work hard for their dreams and parents live their dreams through their kids.
Someone who explains how the American Dream has changed over the years is Robert D. Putnam: