Langston Hughes' poem, "Mother to Son" is reminiscent of the well-known expression "let's have a father to son chat"; however, in this case, the saying is altered to "mother to son." One may ask, "so where is the father"." Possibly, this is one of the many struggles that the "son" in this poem must face when the mother is compelled to offer her sage advice. The advice and consequently theme of the poem is determination and courage, in particular when confronting the uphill battle of life. Poetic devices, such as informal language, symbolisms, metaphors, repetition, and format lend to the theme.

Written from the mother's point of view, in the form of advice, the audience feels the warmth and approachability of southern dialect. Immediately, an impression of a middle-aged women battered by life's struggles, with no formal education, but plenty of life experiences, is conjured up. Informal language...