In “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, the poem incorporates the symbolism of the crystal stairs to represent an African American’s struggle for equal rights and achieving their dreams. Hughes portrays this symbolism through the comparison of a black’s life, which is represented by an old, worn out staircase, in relation to a perfect and beautiful crystal stair.The stanzas of the poem state, “For I’se still goin’, honey / And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” (17-19). “It’s had tacks in it, / And splinters” show that a black’s staircase was not perfect and that they can only go up to help make it better (3-4). Furthermore it talks about how even when times get hard to keep on climbing in order to achieve their dream. This connects
