Answer:
A metaphor comparing life to a stairway.
Explanation:
A metaphor is the comparison of one thing to another without using "like" or "as". In other words, a metaphor is when a comparison is made between things unrelated but have the same idea or are similar in some hidden way.
In the poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes, the speaker uses figurative language in comparing her life to that of a "staircase". The poem begins with the lines "Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair". Here, the mother is addressing her son to talk about the struggles she's had to endure to survive.
Thus, the correct answer is a metaphor, comparing her life to a stairway.
