Mother to Son uses the conceit, or extended metaphor, of a staircase to symbolize the hardship of the mothers life. Her metaphorical staircase has made for difficult climbing—it has exposed tacks, splinters, gaps, and places where the carpet is completely worn down.

Beside above, what literary devices are used in mother to son? In the poem, Langston Hughes uses the poetic device of an extended metaphor to emphasize the life of the mother. The extended metaphor is a device in which the author uses one analogy and links it to another by using metaphors. The metaphor compares the life of the mother to a crystal staircase.

Simply so, what is the mothers advice to her son in the poem mother to son?

The advice that she gives her son is to keep going. She tells him never to sit down on the steps, never to fall, and never to turn back. She tells him that the floor is too uncomfortable to sit down on.

What is the central idea of this poem?

The central idea of a poem is the poems theme or what its about if you like. Although many shy away from poems being about something, at the end of the day, the poet had something in mind when it was written, and that something is the central idea, whatever it is or might have been.