Everybody got their own experiences; everybody got their own story. In a poem entitled "Mother to Son" and a short story entitled "Thank you Ma'am " which is both by Longboats Hughes, it it illustrated to the readers that a person's past can greatly influence the person's future. The experiences in the past of both Mrs.
. Jones and the speaker in the poem had given to them that all-too-important insight and allowed them to share the knowledge to the young people.In the poem "Mother to Son," the speaker is telling the boy her story and is warning him about how hard life would be when he will make the same mistakes: "So ay, don't you turn back... 'cause you find it's kinder hard.
" Although her past was not a "crystal stair" she still goes on living her life and is not giving up. The mother is sharing to her son and is urging him to learn from her. While the mother has something to share to her son, Mrs..Jones in the story of "Thank you Ma'am" also has something to share to the youth.
Instead of taking the boy to Jail, Mrs.. Jones has taught him "right from wrong. " She has told the boy about the things she has done in her past and is trying to teach him a lesson while he was still there. When the boy left, Mrs.
. Jones warned him: "do not make the mistake of latching on to another pocket book nor nobody else's - because shoes got by devilish ways will burn your feet. In the short amount of time that the boy spent with her, Mrs..
Jones had taught him a life-changing lesson. Peoples past experiences affects the person's life. The person can choose to keep the lesson to herself or to share it to someone else. The speaker in "Mother to Son" and Mrs..
Jones in "Thank you Ma'am " have chosen to tell their story to others and had given them a bit of wisdom that will serve them for the rest of their lives.
