Reality Really Sucks
I think, now, more than ever, reality sucks. Everything seems really hard. Ever since COVID, things have begun changing, and not for the better. I want to look at this in a different way, however. It seems that we have all also grown from the experiences that we have been through in the past few years. I think, somewhere along these lines at least, was what Langston Hughes was trying to convey through his poem ‘Mother to Son’. Hughes utilizes the phrase “crystal stair” to add some emphasis towards how life, for some people, is a simple climb. They walk up the stairs and reach whatever goal they are attempting to. On the other hand, Hughes emphasizes how the narrator’s own staircase “had tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up” to offer the perspective of someone who hasn’t had it as easy. The narrator has been through many hardships throughout her life, which is displayed by how worn down her staircase is. Yet, when she speaks to her son, she mentions that she has “been climbing on” regardless of what she experiences, even if it meant “goin’ in the dark where there ain’t been no light”. The narrator’s goal with this is to show her son that her experiences have shaped the staircase that she climbs, and in turn have shaped her, while also encouraging her son to not “turn back” just because he “finds it’s kinder hard” and rather to keep climbing. Now, more than ever, I think we need to hear this: our experiences shape us. So keep climbing your staircase, even if it isn’t a crystal one, because one day you’ll get there and you’ll realize that those experiences that you gained from your own staircase are worth so much more than you could ever imagine.
I like the conclusion talking about how whatever steps you take are important, regardless of if they’re less than someone else’s. I think it’s a great thing that you mentioned how people gain so much from their OWN experiences, and not someone else’s.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job integrating the quotes into your blog. You also included a lot of evidence while still including much analysis. This was an interesting read, I really enjoyed it!
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