Mother To Son Questions
& Answers
Word Galaxy
- Tacks
– nails
- Crystal
stair – here,
not an easy, smooth life
- Landin’s
– an
intermediate platform in a staircase
- Splinters
– a
small thin sharp bit of wood, glass or metal
Question 1: Who is
speaking in the poem and to whom are the words addressed?
Answer: A mother is speaking in the poem and her words
are addressed to her son.
Question 2: What kind of life has the mother
led? What does she compare her life to?
Answer: The mother has led a struggle some life. She
explains the hard and harsh experiences of her life to her son. She shares the
cruel reality that she has never led a luxurious, comfortable or a beautiful
life as it might appear to her son. She compares her life not to be like a
crystal staircase, and states that it has always been full of tacks, splinters
and torn up boards. According to her, she went through difficult times, trying
to live with the bare minimum that she had. There was no one to guide her yet
she kept climbing the stairs of life. Even today, the hopeless and helpless
situations do not demotivate her. There is hope yet in her life and she boldly
determine to face the challenges.
Question 3: What does the speaker encounter on
the stairs?
Answer: The speaker encounters tacks, splinters, holes,
bare boards and patches of darkness on the stairs.
Question 4: Why do you think she is telling her
son about her life in this way?
Answer: She is telling her son about her life in this way
because she wishes to share her experience and encourage him to never give up.
Question 5: Even though there have been
obstacles in the way what has the speaker done to continue her journey?
Answer: Even though there have been obstacles in the way
she has kept climbing up to continue her journey.
Question 6: What three pieces of advice does
the speaker give the boy?
Answer: The three pieces of
advice that the speaker gives the boy are:
i. Don’t turn back.
ii. Don’t sit down.
iii. Don’t fall.
Question 7: Which line is the shortest? Why do
you think the poet made this line so short?
Answer: ‘Bare’ is the line which is the shortest. The
poet made this line so short as ‘bare’ stresses the importance to be patient
and calm during the hardships.
Question 8: Explain the metaphor in the line,
“Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” What do metaphors such as tacks,
splinters and boards torn up suggest?
Answer: According to the above line, the poet highlights
that the mother’s life has never been a “crystal stair” for her. It had lots of
gaps, splinters (obstacles) and places without carpet. Despite these
hinderances, she had managed to move ahead. The ragged staircase that she
climbed had twists and turns, uneven surfaces etc. which she faced boldly,
without any apprehensions and achieved most of her goals of life. Similarly,
she wants her son to conjure up an idea in him that one should not give up hard
work to reach his destination. Tacks, splinters and boards torn apart means
pointed objects and ragged paths that make the journey uncomfortable.
Question 9: What sense do you get about the
son’s character? What impact do the mother’s advice have on him?
Answer: The son here seems to be a skeptical, frail
hearted and fickle minded. He seems to have lost hope and confidence. At this
juncture, his mother advises him to be strong and move ahead to achieve the
result. Through her experiences, she tries to pillar him to strive hard and
constantly keep working without being worried about result. Probably, his
confidence is uplifted and he determines to work hard.
Question 10: What is the tone and mood of the
speaker?
Answer: The speaker through this poem highlights the racial
oppression faced by the blacks in America. The mother seems to be quite
optimistic inspite of a troublesome life that she has already experienced. She
wants her son to keep on striving hard towards his goal and never look back or
give up helplessly. The poem appears to be sad yet an inspiring one and
motivates the readers to believe in hard work rather than to nurture hope.
Question 11: Read and answer the questions:
It’s had tacks in it, And splinters,
(a) What does the word ‘tacks’ refer to in this
line?
Answer: The word ‘tacks’ refer to nails or pins spread on
the poet’s path of life. They basically refer to all the hinderances that he
might face in his life.
(b) Why do you think did the mother advise her
son?
Answer: The mother advised her son because she saw him
losing hope in his life. She did this so that he could gain confidence to
bounce back from his failures.
(c) What was the speaker’s life full of?
Answer: The speaker’s life was full of tacks and
splinters.
Question 12: Read and answer the questions:
So boy, don’t you turn back. Don’t you set down on the steps?
(a) Who is the speaker of the above lines?
Answer: The mother is the speaker of the above line.
(b) Who is referred to as ‘boy’ in the above
line? What does the speaker ask the boy to do?
Answer: ‘Boy’ is referred to the son of the mother. She
advises him not to turn back and step down from his path towards success.
So, these were Mother To Son Questions & Answers.
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