ENG 1101

October 13, 2015

Ho Yan, Lam

Outline

Introduction

Opener- “Don’t handicap your children by making their lives easy.”- Robert A. Heinlein.

Parents should not blind their child from the cruel reality of the world in hope for them to have an easier life.

Thesis- In the poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, the poet uses figurative language to convey the theme of a mother telling her son about hardships in life, teaches him not to give up, and that life will never be easy even when he gets older.

Body

Subtopic 1 – Encountering hardships in life

“Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.”

“It’s had tacks in it.”

“And sometimes goin’ in the dark.”

The mother shares her own life experience with her son in hopes that he would have a prior knowledge of the real world before he’s on his own.

Subtopic 2 – Teaches son not to give up

“But all the time I’se been a-climbin’ on.”

“Don’t you set down on the steps.”

The mother attempts to teach her son not to give up in life no matter how hard it gets.

She is probably telling him this because they’re very likely to be African Americans.

Subtopic 3 – Life does not get easier as life goes on

“For I’se still goin’, honey,”

“I’se still climbin’.”

III. Conclusion