Mr. Ashraf VVN, HST, DGHSS, Tanur, Malappuram gladly shares with us
Elegant Module based on the Chapter Mother to Son for the students
preparing for SSLC English Exam. It will boost the student's confidence and
vigour. It is great to support for teachers. EduKsd Blog Team is delighted to
express our overwhelming pleasure and immense gratitude for his remarkable
work.
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Prepare a profile of Langston Hughes using the following details
Full Name :James Mercer Langston Hughes 1 February 1902.
Born :1 February 1902. Missouri, United States
Education :Lincoln University of Pennsylvania
Known as :Poet social activist, novelist, playwright. columnist
Awards : Anisfield - Wolf Book Award, honorary doctorate of Howard
University
Notable works: The Dream Keeper and Other Poems, Not without Laughter
(short story collection), Black Nativity (play)
Death : May 22, 1967 (aged 65)
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes popularly known as Langston Hughes was born on 19
February 1902 at Missouri in USA. He had completed his education from Lincoln
University of Pennsylvania. He was a renowned poet, social activist, novelist,
playwright and columnist. He was awarded with Anisfield Wolf Book Award,
Honorary Doctorate of Howard University. His notable works include The Dream
Keeper and Other Poems, Not without Laughter, Black Nativity, etc. He passed
away on May 22 1967 at the age of 65.
Comprehension Question from The Poem Mother to Son
1. Read the following lines from the poem ‘mother to Son ‘by Langston
Hughes
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.
Questions
1. What do tacks and splinters imply?
2. Pick out an instance of metaphor from the stanza.
3. What does the phrase 'no crystal stair mean?
4. The use of the word 'Bare' as the last line of stanza indicates--------
Answers
1. Tacks and splinters imply hardships sufferings in mother's life.
2. Life for me ain't not been crystal stair.
3. No crystal stair' means that journey of life is not smooth and comfortable,
but full of hurdles and difficulties. Here it means that the journey of
mother's life was not smooth and comfortable.
4. The Bare indicates the hardships and sufferings of life fully devoid of all
sorts of luxuries of life.
2. Read the following lines from the poem ‘mother to Son ‘by Langston
Hughes
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.....
Questions
1. Who is the ‘I’reffered to here?
2. What does the speaker compare her life to?
3. What is the speaker’s advice to her son?
4. What impression do you get about the speaker from these lines?
Answers
1. A mother
2. The speaker compares her life to a crystal stair which has tacks and
splinters and torn up boards.
3. The speaker’s advice to her son is not to turn back.
4. The speaker could face harsh realities of life courageously. Her positive
frame of mind is highly appreciable.
Textual Questions and Answers of the Poem Mother to Son
1. Who is the speaker in the poem? Do you feel the presence of a listener?
How?
.A mother is the speaker in the poem. Yes, she addresses her son
2. What does the expression ‘no crystal stair’ mean?
Ans. The expression’ no crystal stair’ means journey of life is not smooth and
comfortable, but full of hurdles and difficulties.
3. Was life easy for the narrator? Pick out evidence from the stanza to
support your answer?
Ans. No, ‘It’ had tacks in it and splinters and boards torn up’.
4. The first stanza ends with the word ‘brave’. What does the speaker mean
by the word ‘bare’?
Ans. Bare suggests scant furnishings. It could mean stark poverty that they
experienced in life.
5. When life becomes challenging, does the speaker give up? How do you
know?
Ans. No, the speaker didn’t give up. Whenever she had to face hurdles, she
faced it with courage. Even though her way was not crystal clear, she still
climbed on. She didn’t have any idea to turn back.Mother compares her life to
climbing up a broken and dangerous staircase.
6. Was life easy for the narrator? Pick out evidence from the stanza to
support your answer?
Ans. No, ‘It’ had tacks in it and splinters and boards torn up’.
7. What do the ‘turning corners’ and ’set down steps’ mean?
The phrase ‘turning corners’ means that she has been overcoming unexpected
difficulties with determination and’ set down on the steps’ the speaker means
‘rest on the stairs of life.
8. The speaker speaks of the ‘dark times ‘. What does the poet refer
here?
Dark times refer to the desperate and miserable living conditions at the time
of their slavery.
9. What advice does the speaker give? Pick out the relevant lines from the
poem?
She advises her son never to give up.
10. With what message does the poem end
We should not give up even if the situation is not positive
Appreciation of the poem Mother to Son
The poem “Mother to Son’ is a poem written by Langston Hughes is structured in
the form of a conversation between a mother and her son. A mother is advising
her son that he will have to face many adversities in life and yet he must
overcome them and keep going. She says that her life has been quite rough with
nails and piece of wood jutting out. The poet uses the ‘stair way’ metaphor to
represent life. The mother reminds her son that life is not a crystal stair.
She encourages her son by giving examples of her perseverance and
determination.
It is a monologue by the mother where she tells her son the life has never
been easy for her. The poet says she has faced lot of trouble in the journey
of her life. But continue move ahead. Despite all the challenges that chat
came her way she never tuned away and chooses not to give up. The mother tells
her son that life will not always give a smooth ride but in spite of all the
hardship and miseries, one must learn to move forward, she encourages her son
to face life’s challenges head-on and try to inculcate strength and courage in
him. The poet wishes to convey the message through this poem that one has to
display steady persistence to go up the stair way of life. Obstacles may be
harsh but one has to move on with patience and resilience. The poet has also
used metaphor. He uses symbols like tacks, splinters, no carpet on the floor
and darkness describes to difficulties that on face in life. The stair case is
also metaphor for the struggles people face in their upward journey of life.
The poem is suggestive of the effect of racism and oppression on the lives and
experiences of the Black Americans. However, this piece of advice from mother
to son has an universal quality as it can be read as an advice from any mother
to any son, anywhere in the world without keeping the. The upward journey
referred to the journey to heaven or to a better place where one is free of
all the pain and suffering.
Prepared by
- ashraf vvn
- Hst, dghss, tanur -malappuram
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