Never Give Up

In the poem Mother to Son there is a lot of metaphors. I think that because down south they compare things a lot. For example the mom says "life hasn't been no crystal stair". I think the metaphors were used because when you compare something to something terrible and painful then it makes it 10 times more terrible. The mood of the mother speaking is sad because of how hard her life has been. But she is trying to be motivational to her son, trying to never ever give up. Always persevere!