Mother To Son And We Real Cool Essay

Although Mother to Son by Langston Hughes and We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks take two opposing views on life, they effectively explain the importance of living life lawfully, ethically, and dedicatedly. The first poem illustrates what happens when caution is used, while the other warns against what happens when it is not used. Lawful living is an integral part of these poems' themes. Petty crimes lead to loss of morality, as in We Real Cool. Without a sense of morality, there is no low to the depths that one can reach. Ethical character is needed, exemplified in the woman of Mother to Son. Character development can drastically change one's path through life, extending from the standards of the pool players to the morals of the mother in Hughes' poem. Heeding caution to over ease is required. Too much ease leads to a quick death, as in We Real Cool. Law and order makes for a successful society. A lack of it, as found in Brooks’ poem We Real Cool,

The African-American culture of storytelling is highlighted in both pieces of poetry. Each speaker in the poems is telling a story or anecdote. The point of Mother to Son is to impart wisdom to her son. In We Real Cool, the point is similar: to disclose the demented wisdom of the pool players. The difference between the two is not the time period, the country of origin, or any other part of culture, but the standard of ethics. If the players in Brooks' poem had mothers like the mother in Mother to Son, those young men would not be at the pool hall in the first place. An ethical parent would make sure that his or her child was raised right, not leaving the child to stalk corners at seedy bars. The pool players' monitor failed them and the society they live in. The players think they can stride up their "crystal stair" and it will not shatter. Their culture of disrespect to rules and ethics is their "crystal stair" - and one day, it will fall on top of