No one is exactly as they appear on the surface, people always have underlying struggles or issues that define them. People often view how other people act and judge them without understanding why they had done something. In the story of “Thank You Ma'am”, the characters of Roger and Mrs. Jones learn that seeing and understanding why people do what they do is better than judging them with no knowledge of why they did it. If people take a minute to look at other people beyond how they appear, they may come to like and understand them. People need spend time with others so they can understand each other. In the beginning of the story, when Roger meets Mrs. Jones, Roger tries to snatch Mrs. Jones’ purse He then tries to run because he believes Mrs (Hughes). Jones will hurt him or turn him into the police (Hughes). However, Mrs. Jones has the best intentions for him (Hughes). She grips onto Roger and takes him home with her so she can feed as well as get to know him better (Hughes). If Roger had …show more content…
Jones house, Roger can see that Mrs. Jones did not appear to own as much as Roger assumed she had (Hughes). This teaches Roger that appearances are not everything they seem, as well as that other people have struggles too. While talking to each other, Mrs. Jones learns that Roger tried to steal her purse because he wanted to buy some blue shoes (Hughes). Roger could not purchase the shoes because he does not have a family that supports him and is able to care for him (Hughes). When Roger tells Mrs. Jones this, it is embarrassing and difficult for him, because he does not like to talk about his troubles (Hughes). Mrs. Jones connects with Roger’s struggles and decided to share some of her past with him (Hughes). Mrs. Jones tells Roger that she used to be just like Roger was (Hughes). This shocks Roger because he had expected her to say that she never did that as a kid. This part of the story shows that not everyone was how Roger thought they were
In the end, Jones kept Roger at her house, treating him with love and care, made him realize that stealing was wrong. Jones explains that she can relate to him, when she was younger, and that hit home with Roger. Her stories of her childhood, made Roger feel better about what he had done, and knew that he wouldn’t do it again. “‘.....take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. “ Jones said, telling him he didn’t have to steal to get things in life. Roger ran off, saying “Thank you ma’am.” They never saw each other again.
At the beginning of the story Roger just wants to get away from Ms. Jones then she just takes him to her house. When they got to the house she let him go and he wanted run but he didn’t. Then he tried to earn her trust by asking her if she needed someone to run to the store to get some milk. After they ate their dinner she gave him the money he needed to buy the shoes he wanted. He learned manors and to ask and not steal.
n the story “Thank You M’am”, the turning point in the story was both interesting, and unexpected. The turning point in the story occurs because Roger tried to steal Mrs. Jones purse. For instance, in the story, “Thank You M’am”, it states, “It was about eleven o'clock at night, dark, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind
Then, the lady was kind and gave her mamool cookies. In conclusion, “Gate-A-4” and “Thank you Ma'am" have a common theme of Some people just need to be talked to. A message to walk away with is, if you see someone that looks down or sorrowful, just talk to them and they can do so much to help. Also, if you ever need someone to talk to, then just ask and someone will help
There are some challenges of human interactions in Thank You M’am, such as trust issues. “The boy said ‘I didn’t aim to.’” “She said ‘You a lie!’” Hughes shows that Roger is scared of Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones so he decided to lie to her, but Mrs. Jones doesn’t believe him. Trust issues can lead to challenges in human interactions because you should be able to depend on someone without thinking twice. The characters’ interactions change as the story progresses because they start caring for one another and they begin to trust one another. The author proves this by stating that in paragraph 24, “Roger looked at the door then at Mrs. Jones, then at the door, and finally, he went to the sink.” Roger is beginning to trust Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones because in the beginning of the story he would have ran based off of his reaction when Mrs. Jones picked him up. Also, Mrs. Jones is becoming more considerate towards Roger after she starts realizing that he might not have the best home environment. In the story, Mrs. Jones told Roger to go wash his face then she made him dinner. In the beginning, she was hitting and shaking Roger and now she is caring for him and sharing stories with him. These changes allow the characters to be more considerate and caring. For instance, Mrs. Jones gave Roger ten dollars to help him pay for a new pair of blue suede shoes.
One of the most clear reasons for why Ms Jones wants to teach Roger not to make the same mistakes that she made when she was his age is that when they are having dinner together, she tells him “I have done thing’s to, which I would tell you, son-neither tell god if he didn't already know” This shows that Ms Jones has done things in the past the she now regrets because she said that she has done things in the past that she was not
In the beginning of the story Roger attempts to steal Mrs. Jones purse. It was too heavy for him to carry so it fell. Mrs. Jones said, “Pick up my pocketbook, boy, and give it here.” This shows that Mrs. Jones expects Roger to already know proper manners towards a women. Mrs. Jones didn’t know the whole situation or the motive behind him wanting to steal her purse. She obviously didn’t care, she wanted the respect of him fixing what he did by handing her, her purse.
Mrs. Jones put a lot on Rogers’s life when she took him in after he tried to steal her purse. When Mrs. Jones showed kindness to roger but deep inside it changed him because when she got him he was rude. He was rude because he would to her like when Mrs. Jones said “why did you try to steal my purse?” He lied and said “I didn’t aim to.” And he did which made it a lie. When she finally took him home and cleaned him up he felt guilty and became more polite. After they got done eating and she gave him money I think she changed him deep inside because he didn’t know manners until that night because when she told him goodnight and went to bed he was too embarrassed to say anything until he finally turned around and said “thank you , ma’am.” That’s
On page 6 line 36-42 Roger tells Mrs. Jones how he has no one at home and is all alone. That is when Mrs. Jones decides to take him home. I think she understands the situation he is in and wants to help. She wants to teach him not to steal without him going to jail. This is proven on page 8 line 81-84 where Roger asks if Mrs. Jones is going to take him to jail and Mrs. Jones says no. I also think Mrs.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It may not seem that way in some cases but in the two informative writings “Thank you,Ma’am”and “A victim treats his mugger right”there were two people that were mugged , Both of the characters treated the muggers with respect and kindness which is weird of course but the theme of the writing is although others may do you wrong never let their wrong doings change your character.The author uses many different words to develop the central idea and theme.
In a short amount of time, Mrs. Jones had a long lasting impact on Roger. The old lady gave him another chance to prove himself to show that he is better than being a thief, but it is up to him to decide if he will learn from his mistake or continue to make them. Mrs. Jones had been his confidante whose guidance had helped him to realize that kindness and respect are the two important traits for human being to prosper in
There are many character traits of Mrs. Jones that affected Roger. First of all, Mrs. Jones was so caring towards Roger. She offered food to Roger and told him to wash his face like he was her own son. The food that she is giving to him might be his first meal of the day. Most people wouldn’t bring someone home who attempted to steal something from you.
Has someone you just met ever changed you? That’s what happened to Roger in Thank You M'am. Thank You M’am was written by Langston Hughes. It is about a poor boy that wanted money for blue sued shoes. He tried stealing Mrs. Jones purse, but she caught him and took him to her house. She made him wash his face, she fed him and told him about herself, and she also told him that she wanted things that she couldn’t get and gave him some money to buy the shoes. She then told him he could leave. Mrs. Jones changed Roger because she didn’t call the cops on him, instead she gave him a second chance.
“The boy wanted to say something other than “‘Thank You, M'am”’ to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, but although his lips moved, he couldn’t even say that as he turned at the foot of the barren stoop and looked at the large woman in the door”(130). Langston Hughes wrote an enduring short story called “Thank You Ma’m” that starts off with an old lady strolling an urban city at about eleven o'clock at night. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington-- otherwise known as “a large old lady” (10) teaches a lesson to Roger-- a thief searching for money to buy blue suede shoes. A central idea of “Thank You, Ma’m” is that believing in someone, despite extraordinary circumstances can change someone for the better.
Just the slightest bit of care and compassion can change a persons whole persona. This is what happens in Langston Hughes short story “Thank You, Ma’am,” when the old Mrs. Jones catches Roger trying to steal her purse.When Mrs. Jones gets ahold of Roger, he asks her if she’s going to take him to jail in which she replies “Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere.” This is the first important theme in the story, sympathy. Later in the story she takes Roger back to her house and she leaves the door open. Figuring that she did this on purpose, Roger decides not to run out the door. This is the second important theme in the story, trust. The themes of sympathy and trust were expressed throughout Hughes story in many ways, and I’m here to talk about them.