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 place yourself in the time ozone due to the words that Langston uses. The words of the mother allow the reader to picture the hardships of her generation. The mother's main purpose is to tell her son to achieve all the goals he sets for himself. It appears she wants her son's generation to have all the things she lacked in hers. Langston allows his comparison to work by using words that are broken slang/ In a modern society people do not use word like, "I'se, reachin". Right from the beginning of the poem the reader can see the older generation compared to theirs. The main thing the other wants her son to have is an education. It is clear from her words that she did not receive and good education and see wants her son to experience the rewards of learning that she did not.
             The title of the poem is Mother to Son. The word "to" plays a key role in Langston's comparison because it allows the reader, from the beginning to see the comparison. This shows the main idea and theme the poem is central around. I think that this comparison 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.
             ...