Comparing The Short Story 'A Good Reason To Look Up'

One may have read the short story “A good reason to look up” by Shaquille O’Neal or the poem “Mother to son” by Langston Hughes. Did they know that in each of these poems/short stories the author is trying to teach the reader a lesson? The short story “A good reason to look up” by Shaquille O’Neal is about the author and why he was a class clown and a bully growing up. The poem “Mother to son” by Langston Hughes is about a mother telling her son what she went through in life and how she kept going, and he should to. In comparison the poem “Mother to son” and the short story “A good reason to look up” both have central ideas that are giving advice to the reader. The author's tone in both of these stories impacts the central idea by …show more content…
The central ideas are both giving advice to the reader. The short story “A Good Reason to Look Up” by Shaquille O’Neal states “ I went along with the crowd who would play practical jokes on other kids at school….I would pull all kinds of pranks that were hurtful, and sometimes even harmful, to others….What I was doing was hurting other kids, and in turn hurting my reputation as someone to be looked up to.” This explains that the author was going along with the crowd of bullies and that he realized that he should not keep being apart of that crowd, he realized that in the end he was hurt and other people were hurt to. This supports the central idea since the author has realized that he should be a leader not a follower. The poem “Mother to son” by Langston Hughes states “Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair…..But all the time I’se been a-climbin’ on,......Don’t you fall now—For I’se still goin’,honey” This explains that the authors mother did not have an easy life, it was hard sometimes and that his life(her son’s life) will be hard sometimes too but that he has to keep going. This supports the central idea since the authors mother is saying that life isn’t always easy but that one mustn’t give up. After all these …show more content…
The short story “A Good Reason to Look Up” by Shaquille O’Neal states “what my friends thought of me was real important to me….being so tall made me feel uncomfortable….in order to keep the focus off of me and my unusual height, I went along with the crowd who would play practical jokes…. During the lectures I got from my father, he told me over and over again to be the leader I was meant to be…..I knew in my heart that he was right.” This explains the thoughts that were going on inside of the authors head, this quote explains why the author was being a bully and why he stopped also, what made him stop. This quote supports the claim that the author's tone impacted the central idea because if the tone was different we would not know why the author was being a bully and we also would not know why he stopped. If we did not know why the author was being a bully and why he stopped we would not know to be a leader and not a follower like the author has learned. The poem “Mother to son” by Langston Hughes states “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters…...But all the time I’se been a-climbin’ on, And reachin’ landin’s, So boy, don’t you turn back.” This quote explains the life of the authors mother from the mother's point of view, it’s explaining what the author's mother said to him. This