Mother to Son Response

In Mother to Son, there are many examples of figurative language.  The author only uses metaphor, but there are many examples within this poem.  First, there is the stair metaphor.  The speaker compares different sets of stairs to different lifestyles.  A crystal stair is used to show the rich, easy life.  The glassy polished stair that almost everyone wants.  A rough wooden stair shows the woman's life.  She talks about how the stair is rough and falling apart, but has pulled through and held up.  In my opinion, this particular metaphor shows that most people can't always have the easy life, but they end up being stronger and less breakable because of it.  Another metaphor is the splinters and tacks.  These symbolize the troubles and hardships throughout someone's life.  The author showed that even though there were snags and setbacks along the way, people move past it and keep moving forward.  There is also a line of the poem that talks about how there is no carpet, so it's painful to sit down.  This symbolizes that sometimes when it seems easier to give up, it just hurts even more.  Also, life is not protected with a plush carpet.  The hardships and tragedies of life are not sugar coated.  Everyone sees other people in the worst light possible, full of splinters and scars.  I think that the speaker can see that these are not scars, they are the things that build people's life and character.  The mood of the poem is inspiring.  The bad grammar and spelling shows how ordinary people break through barriers and  live their life.  The tone of the poem is firm, but still helpful and comforting.  You can really tell that the speaker is encouraging the son in this poem.