# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Literary_Analysis Research Essay Spring 2019

# data[].attributes.body
In an attempt to develop successful children, mothers tend to use their own personal experiences to either persuade their kids to learn from their mistakes, or follow in their footsteps. Langston Hughes' poem, "Mother to Son", appears to reflect the Marxist literary criticism because it expresses ideas, beliefs, and values of her culture, reveals economic and social situations, and seems to manipulate readers to sympathize with the oppressive social order his mother described in the poem.

# data[].attributes.body
Miller, W. Jason. Langston Hughes and American Lynching Culture. Gainesville: UP of Florida, 2011. Patton, John. “ ‘I Have a Dream’: The Performance of Theology Fused with the Power of Orality.” Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Sermonic Power of Public Discourse. Ed. Carolyn Calloway-Thomas and  John Louis Lucaites. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 1993. 104-26.

# data[].attributes.body
Wasley, Aidan. "An overview of “Mother to Son”." Poetry for Students, Gale. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420005843/LitRC?u=nhmccd_main&sid=LitRC&xid=cc48143e. Accessed 26 Apr. 2019.

# data[].attributes.body
From the beginning of time, there has been a need for people to be encouraged to maintain strength, perseverance and dedication throughout the trials in their lives. Hughes' poem, "Mother to Son" has been more than words on a paper. From the researched information about the poem, it was concluded that words in this poem has been used to uplift and encourage African American people during Martin Luther Kings speeches, as well as Barack Obama's inauguration speech to strengthen the nation's morale. This poem is so heartfelt that everyone should use it as a guide to overcome all objections throughout their lives. This compelling poem expresses ideas, beliefs, and values of the culture, reveals economic and social situations, and is effective in manipulating readers to sympathize with the oppressive social order

# data[].attributes.body
Another review of the poem points out how people sympathized with the social oppression of others. Jason W. Miller expressed this point when he wrote, "The poem's use of the dramatic monologue places the reader in the position of the son, listening to his mother draw a lesson from her life that can be applied to his own. The reader is thus drawn into the poem, as the son's frustrations become our own, and the mother's advice becomes directed at us. The identification with the speaker and the listener which the poem forces upon the reader encourages us to look for ways in which this poem can be seen to address issues beyond the apparently simple scene it depicts and raises questions about the poet's strategies for communicating those concerns. We're not at the top of the stairs yet, she tells us, and we may feel like giving up, but it is only by continuing to climb that, in the words of the traditional African-American spiritual, “We shall overcome someday.” Jason's account of the poem suggests that the poem causes the reader to sympathize with the poem's meaning, by realizing that they too can absorb the information and apply it to their personal issues and situations. If someone is unable to pay a bill, lost their job, or been evicted from their home they will most likely have a deeper understanding of what this mother has been through and follow her direction themselves.

# data[].attributes.body
In researching additional viewpoints, it is valid to say that this poem reveals social and economic situations of many people. In Aidan Wasley's review of the poem, he talked about how Martin Luther King and President Barack Obama used parts of this poem to motivate the people in a political aspect. He wrote, "King’s speech from about a week later reveals a similar strategy with this same poem. On July 3,1956, King both overtly references and riffs on Hughes’s original poem, offering his audience changes and personal variations. He begins his final section by saying, “We must continue to move on in the face of every obstacle.”  By the use of the mother's plea to her son to never give up, we can see that it applies to all people in all situations. Martin Luther King was attempting to persuade African American citizens to keep fighting for their rights. He continuously urged citizens to never give up, just as the mother in the poem urged her son. During that time, slavery and equality presented a huge issue for African American people. So, it was necessary to use these words to motivate blacks to endure the suffering to become victorious in the end.

# data[].attributes.body
This poem was written from a Mother’s advise to her son. However, the message is relevant to all ideas, beliefs, and values of people from different cultures, because everyone has experienced some difficult times in life. When she says “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up”, …….But all the time I’se been a-climbin’ on, And reachin’ landin’s, And turnin’ corners,” she is giving hope that even though life has been so bad for her she is still moving forward, enduring the trials, and giving her situation her best efforts and so can every and so can everyone else.

.

# data[].attributes.body
Poems
"Mother to Son"

# data[].attributes.body
Langston Hughes Poem "Mother to Son"
Marxist Theory

# data[].attributes.body
"Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes is an inspirational poem about a mother encouraging her son to endure through every obstacle that he encounters.
With every morbid description of her constant trials, she expresses how hard her life has been. Yet, she has always exemplified strength and perseverance during each of those times. The chosen theme setting in this poem's message is extremely influential, even in every day life currently.
In an attempt to develop successful children, mothers tend to use their own personal experiences to either persuade their kids to learn from their mistakes, or follow in their footsteps. Langston Hughes' poem, "Mother to Son", appears to reflect the Marxist literary criticism because it expresses ideas, beliefs, and values of her culture, reveals economic and social situations, and seems to manipulate readers to sympathize with the oppressive social order his mother described in the poem.