Mother to Son by Lanston Hughes

​by Langston Hughes

​Mother to Son

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Multiple Choice

Who is the speaker of the poem?

• the son

• the mother

• the grandmother

• the poet Langston Hughes

Multiple Choice

To whom is the speaker specifically speaking?

• her son

• African Americans

• her daughter

• all children

Multiple Choice

The staircase is a metaphor for what?

• the Civil Rights movement

• the entrance to any building

• getting enough exercise

• Life's struggles

Multiple Choice

In the metaphor of the staircase, what do "tacks", "splinters","boards torn up", and "places with no carpet" represent?

• Repairs that must be made

• obstacles and hardships, setbacks, and difficulties in life.

• a staircase that is old and delapidated

• Life is messy.

Multiple Choice

What does a "crystal stair" imply?

• That all rich people have them.

• Some people have an easier time living their lives with fewer struggles, fewer obstacles.

• Sometimes life is like a Cinderella story.

• It easily cracks and must be replaced with wood.

Multiple Choice

To what kind of staircase does the mother compare her life?

• an elegant crystal staircase

• a rickety, shoddy, splintery wooden staircase with many obstacles

• a steep staircase made of glass

• a staircase that is beautiful

Multiple Choice

What does the mother imply by "But all the time

I'se been a-climbin' on,

And reachin' landins'

And sometimes goin' in the dark

Where there ain't been no light."

• One must give up because there's no reason to keep struggling.

• She has never accomplished anything.

• One must keep trying, no matter what the obstacles or difficulties.

• That she is a failure at life.

Multiple Choice

How would you classify the language used by the speaker in this poem?

• She is highly educated.

• The language is a dialect of English.

• She is sad.

• it is a foreign language.

Multiple Choice

In the metaphor of the staircase, what would a landing (landin') represent?

• a goal to be reached

• an obstacle

• that which is impossible to reach

• a failure

Multiple Choice

What is the mother's message to the son?

• The mother has finally given up.

• That he must keep climbing, keep going, never give up.

• No one has it as hard as he will have it.

• Life is easy if you just keep trying.

Multiple Choice

What does the speaker mean by " Don't you set down on the steps

'Cause you find it's kinder hard."

• It's difficult to make it up the stairs.

• Sometimes you must stop and rest.

• Just give up when it becomes too hard.

• Don't ever give up on life because you find it difficult.

Multiple Choice

What is "the dark"?

"And sometimes goin' in the dark

Where there ain't been no light"

• Sometimes you won't be able to pay your light bill.

• The dark is a symbol of ignorance, the unknown.

• In poor neighborhoods, there are no lights at night.

• Life is very dangerous.

Multiple Choice

What does the speaker mean by

"For I'se still goin' honey.

I'se still climbin',"?

• Life is still a struggle for her, but she hasn't given up. It never gets easier.

• One always has to climb stairs in buildings.

• She is physically fit even though she is elderly.

• She still finds work to do.

Multiple Choice

What is the significance of the only two words that rhyme- bare and stair?

• The staircase had no carpet.

• Life has been a struggle and she has had few resources to help her.

• Those are the only two rhyming words needed in the poem.

• Life is cruel to poor people.