Essay Database

R Generation Langston Hughes, in the poem, Mother to Son, is comparing two generations. The mother in the poem represents an older time period or genre, and the young son represents a more modern era. The author has created a clear metaphor by comparing the two generations without using like or as. By reading the date at which Langston lived you can guess when he may have written this poem. As a reader you can …

…was effective because it forced the reader to think outside of the box. It cause them to think because the comparison is not clearly laid out in front of the reader by using smiles. The metaphor, or image that the mother uses is, that she compares her life to a set of stairs. The stairs are all torn like the life of the mother in the poem due to all the hardship she has faced.