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WorksheetsMother to Son
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 36mins
Who is the speaker in the poem "Mother to Son"?
The mother
The daughter
The son
The father
What is the topic of the poem?
Crystal Stairs
Life
Light
Dark
In the poem, whom is the speaker addressing and about what?
A mother is telling a story to her child about her own childhood.
A mother is describing for her son the climb up a crystal staircase.
A son us recounting a conversation with his mother about his struggle to earn a comfortable living.
A mother is warning her son about the difficulties of life and the struggle to presevere.
Part A: Which of the following statements best describes a major theme of the poem?
Never forget your family
Presevere when life isn't easy
Hope is the answer to all challenges
Respect your elders
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 adjective listed 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.
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
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.
The tone of the poem "Mother To Son" is
Light and fun
Serious sharing of important information
Angry and disappointed
What sort of message is the mother trying to share with her son?
Your life is going to be very easy, son, so you don't have any reason to worry
Life is hard. Give up and take the easy way out
My life has been hard, your life is going to be hard, too. Don't give up. Keep struggling through it
The author of this poem is
Langston Hughes
Steve Jobs
Brian Hughes
How many lines are in the poem?
It is impossible to know
There are 20 lines
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.
Which lines from the poem best suggest that the speaker is persistent?
It’s had tacks in it,/And splinters,
And boards torn up,/And places with no carpet on the floor-
For I’se still goin’ honey,/I’se still climbin’,
‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard./Don’t you fall now-
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
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.
When the mother describes the times when she was in the dark,
and the times when there was no light, she was referring to the times when she....
Had to have some courage to face what was going on at the time.
had to go without a meal due to no money from her paycheck
had to bum a ride from a friend to get home after a long day
had her electriticy cut off and she was stumbling around in the dark.
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"
