Life ain’t no crystal stair
"Stand in faith even when you're having the hardest time of your life." The author of the poem “ Mother To Son”, Langston Hughes, identifies with this concept. Being a very talented black male in the renaissance era of the early 1900’s, Langston Hughes was and still is considered a great influence on the renaissance era.The metaphor that this poem is built on is "Life ain't no crystal stair". In this poem the metaphor means that life isn't easy but you shouldn’t give up hope, especially when it seems like things will never get better.
The first subject of the metaphor “life ain't no crystal stair” is life. Life is known to be challenging and intense, as the narrator says and usually where you come from is the …show more content…
In this metaphor life is being compared to a crystal, a stair, and a crystal stair. While crystal is very pretty, and usually associated with privilege. Conversely the life that the narrator speaks of can be scary at times and is all about survival. Life is considered challenging and unpredictable, while a crystal stair is easy to walk on and transparent, predictable. Since life “ain't” no crystal stair, life isn't easy and in fact the exact opposite of a crystal stair. Meaning that the life of the narrator has been challenging and painful like a stair with tacks and splinters, and each stair represents a new “chapter” in her life that she didn't see coming, “the dark times when there ain't no light” as the narrator says. The life someone is born in is not up to anyone, even if it feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, this poem tells you to keep going, because even though you can’t see the light at that time doesn’t mean it isn’t there “ Don’t you fall now for i’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, and life me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Life being compared to a general stair shows that in life it takes effort to get where you want to go, and the effort you put in could make you go down or up, because in both life and stairs it is much easier to just give up. “So boy don’t you turn back . Don’t you set down on the steps. ‘Cause you find it’s