Mother to Son

The mother says that "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair." Used in this context, crystal means...

• transparent and colorless.

• sharp and painful.

• beautiful and flawed.

• clear and smooth.

The mother's dialect or manner of speaking helps make the poem more

• understandable

• realistic

• serious

• descriptive

The mother tells her son to do all of the following EXCEPT

• not to turn corners

• not to turn back

• not to fall

• not to set down

The adjective that best describes the mother's character is

• pessimistic

• threatening

• cautious

• persevering

The author's use of a stairway to represent life is an example of

• an allusion

• a hyperbole

• a metaphor

• personification

Why do you think the author began and finished with "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair"?

• To emphasize a key point

• To make sure you understood the idea

• To signify the passage of time

• To highlight her anger towards her son

In this poem, boards with "tacks and splinters" and "boards torn up" are symbols for--

• run-down housing

• a life that has had many difficulties and challenges

• the ungrateful way the mother's son treats her

• The lack of compassion each man has for his fellow man

What might "reachin' landin's" symbolize in the mother's climb?

• Destructive forces in her life

• Portions of her life that held magic for her

• Compassionate forces in her life

• Places in her life where she had to stop and make decisions

Why do you think the word "bare" is on a line all alone?

• To emphasize the son's brutality

• Because Hughes couldn't think of anything else to add to that line

• To emphasize how difficult and "bare" of luxuries the mother's life had been

• Because it rhymes with the word "stair"

What is most likely the meaning for "turnin' corners" in the context of the poem?

• Places in her life where she set new goals or had to try to solve her problems in a new way

• Places in her life where she felt like she failed

• The point in her life when she knew her son would be successful

• Her need to find a father figure for her son