Forgiveness In Thank You, Ma Am, By Langston Hughes

Sometimes, forgiveness is used as an excuse to make the mistakes conducted okay. Eventually, the ones that are forgiven take advantage of the idea of forgiveness. In the memoir, The Glass Castle, the protagonist, Jeannette Walls and her siblings face difficult situations where they're forced to accept and learn from a young age to forgive those who are responsible. Jeannette’s parents struggle with being strong and stable parents for their children, making mistakes that have consequences that affect not only themselves but also the the Walls children. Jeannette chooses to believe that by letting go of the grudges she holds about parent she can avoid a bitter life, even though it is her parents responsible for her pain. Through Jeannette Walls journey she is able to capture the hard reality of forgiveness.

“Seek the good in others and the best you will find.” In the short story, “Thank You, Ma'am” by Langston Hughes, Mrs.Jones lives by this quote. When a raggedy boy runs up behind you and steals your pocketbook you naturally would think,”he is not a good boy.” Well when this happened to Mrs. Jones one night she had a different approach. She sought the good in others by looking past the bad, giving second chances and kindness. She shows this when she took Roger in and taught him a lesson. From this story, we can all learn the important lesson of seeking the good in others.

“Compassionate people are geniuses in the art of living, more necessary to the dignity, security, and joy of humanity than the discoveries of knowledge.” -- Albert Einstein

In "Thank You, M'am" by Langston Hughes, Roger behaved in a rebellious, vulgar, and desperate way while he spent time on the streets until Mrs.Jones’s beliefs in his potential caused him to be obedient and eager to prove his trustworthiness. To demonstrate, "It was about eleven o'clock at night, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse" (Hughes 3-4). This quote displayed Roger’s ignorant actions since he had bad intentions of nearly robbing Ms.Jones’s belongings. However, it is then stated, “ ‘Do you need somebody to go to the store,’ asked the boy, ‘maybe to get some milk or something?’ “ (Hughes 96).

The story Thank You, Ma'am by Langston Hughes uses situational irony in order to convey the message of people to always treat people with Dignity which grants them freedom. Situational irony is created when an author leads the reader to expect a different outcome based on the action within a situation than what actually happens. In this story the boy was tugging on an old woman's purse trying to steal something. However, he was caught and the lady was nice enough to take the boy into her home. She taught him manners, fed him, and told him to wash his face.

When is a risk worth taking? That is the question we ask to figure out the central idea of progress. In the three stories, “Thank You, M’am,” by Langston Hughes, “Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” by Doreen Rappaport, and “NFL is cracking down hard on illegal celebrations” by Mark Maske all show answers to, when is a risk worth taking. They all have different answers but they use the same question to show the progress.

The world can be full of mysterious people, and it’s natural for a person to steal in this world. But when you teach others they will not steal anymore. In” Thank You Ma'am” by Langston Hughes.Roger, learns from his mistakes throughout Mrs Jones's Kindness.So Mrs Jones will help him.

Thousands of lessons are learned and taught throughout a person’s life. Lessons can be learned from making mistakes, watching other people make mistakes, and from being told what is right and wrong. Some social stereotypes imply that the less financially stable a person is, the worse their decisions will be. In the story “Thank You Ma’am” written by Langston Hughes, the protagonists in the story, Roger and Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones, both confirm and deny social stereotypes. Roger, a young teenager living in Harlem, NY during the 1950s, thinks it is more important to fit in, rather than take care of his actual needs.

There are many themes present in the short story “Thank You Ma’am” by Langston Hughes. But I believe that the main theme is forgiveness. I think that the main theme is forgiveness, because it connects with many of the other themes such as empathy and dignity. It is also an important part of human nature. The story starts out with a boy named Roger trying to steal a purse that belongs to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones.

“Call the cops!” is what most people would have said if someone would have stolen their purse, but not Mrs. Jones. She was even nice to the boy, Roger, who stole her bag. She invited him into her house even after he tried to steal her stuff. I think that the theme of the story “Thank You Ma’am” by Langston Hughes is that you should be kind to everyone, even if they aren’t the nicest to you.

In the story “Thank You Ma'am” by Langston Hughes, Roger learned forgiveness and that people can change your outlook on life Roger learned this through, being a thief, being scared and forgiveness. People can change your outlook on life by because Roger was a thief. He tried to take Mrs. Lullea because she caught him trying to steal her purse. But he was very poor so he was trying to get money so he could get some money so he could eat, and get some new shoes and clothes. But even though he tried to rob from her, she very kindly fed him still.

“ Forgiving is not forgetting. It’s letting go of the hurt.” In the short story, Thank You Ma’am by Langston Hughes, Roger, the protagonist, learns that forgiveness and empathy is powerful. My first reason why Roger learns this is because, Mrs. Jones was caring to him. Also, Mrs. Jones understood how he felt (empathy).

Indirect characterization is the most successful method when developing a character because it creates an image in the reader’s mind, in which the author allows the reader to think and create a picture in the readers mind. The author creates a more interesting and vivid picture in the readers mind in which it can help contribute to the development of the theme. For instance, in the short story “Thank You M’am” by Langston Hughes, Hughes presents Mrs.Jones as caring, helpful, courageous, and more. The author shows this by Mrs.Jones actions, speech, thoughts, looks and her effects on others. In this short story it states, “Now here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes.”

One may steal an item from another not expecting any trust or help from the person who they are stealing from. In the short story “Thank You M’am” by Langston Hughes, describes two strangers, Mrs. Jones and Roger, crashing into one another and how they help one another. The story takes place during the Great Depression in the streets of Harlem, New York. Both characters show traits that stand out in the story. In the short story “Thank You M’am” by Langston Hughes, Mrs. Jones is firm, motherly, and wise and teaches Roger to never steal.

Characters in literature respond differently to challenges based on their individual experiences. In the short story “Thank You Ma’am” by Langston Hughes, a boy named Roger attempts to steal the purse of a woman named Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Jones responds to this by performing acts of kindness, which inspires Roger to do the same. This shows that though both Roger and Mrs. Jones have had different individual experiences; they responded in the same way by performing acts of kindness (though at different times and for different reasons).