The anonymous mother in the poem may be suggestive of the African American women of predepression America encouraging their sons to strive for success. The poem is written in the form of a dramatic monolgue in black dialect. The idiomatic style of the speech is invoked in the context of the courage, endurance and sense of duty of the African American race. The language also imparts a charged colloquial element to the poem. The theme of the poem is perseverence.
As the poem opens with “Well, son, I’ll tell you”, it is possible that the son has asked or said something before to which she is responding. In the next line, she says that her life “ain’t” been a “crystal stair”. The use of the word “ain’t” indicates that the mother is not a learned person and “crystal stair” is symbolic of smoothness, beauty and luster.