Literature 20

read the poem.
write a response to the prompt.
use the races strategy:

restate the prompt
answer the prompt
cite evidence by providing 2 quotes from the text
explain how your textual support relates to your answer
summarize your response

well, son, i’ll tell you:
life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
it’s had tacks in it,
and splinters,
and boards torn up,
and places with no carpet on the floor—
bare.
but all the time
i’se been a-climbin’ on,
and reachin’ landin’s,
and turnin’ corners,
and sometimes goin’ in the dark
where there ain’t been no light.
so boy, don’t you turn back.
don’t you set down on the steps
’cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
don’t you fall now—
for i’se still goin’, honey,
i’se still climbin’,
and life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

identify the poem’s major theme and explain how the author’s use of metaphor to develop that theme. use specific evidence from the poem to explain your answer.