Mother to Son Poem

The extended metaphor of life being compared to a staircase helps the reader--

• feel sorry for the struggling mother.

• want a better life for the speaker’s son.

• understand that the speaker’s life has been a constant struggle.

• realize that the speaker feels as if her life will never get any better.

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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.

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The tone of the poem "Mother To Son" is

• Light and fun

• Serious sharing of important information

• Angry and disappointed

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

• an allusion.

• a hyperbole.

• a metaphor.

• personification.

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   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

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Why is a “stairway” a particularly appropriate metaphor to describe the wisdom the mother is trying to impart to her son?

• Stairways are almost always dirty and rough.

• One has to clean and wax a stairway to make it look good.

• A stairway takes steady persistence to climb and it can go up and down.

• Stairways are often found in expensive houses.

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The author of this poem is

• Langston Hughes

• Steve Jobs

• Brian Hughes

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When the mother says that her life hasn't been no crystal stair, it could mean that she has likely NOT had a life of.....

• heating and air-conditioning

• luxury

• electricity

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How could Langston Hughes (a man) write a poem

called "Mother to Son"?

• He could have been the son receiving this conversation from his mother.

• He could have overheard a mother giving her son this talk.

• An author/poet can become anyone at any time.

• All of these are possibilities.

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The poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes uses dialect. Which of the following sentences give an example of dialect?

• "Let me tell you son,...."

• "LIfe has been a staircase with tacks and splinters."

• For I’se still goin’, honey,

  I’se still climbin’,

• "So boy, don't you turn back"

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