Langston Hughes characterizes Mrs. Luella Bates Jones in the short story " Thank You Ma'am" as kindhearted. First, Mrs. Jones shows she's kindhearted by cooking food for Roger and having him to wash his face, almost as if he was washing the guilt away with the warm water as a second chance. Second, she shows that she's bossy. When Roger tried to steal Mrs. Jones purse, angrily she kicked him squared in the blue sitter. Also, when Roger was trying to get loose from Mrs. Jones, she put him in a head lock for he wouldn't get away and dragged him the rest of the way to her house. Lastly, Mrs. Jones and Roger have something in common from this short story. Roger and her both have done something bad in their life. Also, they both live alone. No one
The central meaning of Langston Hughes' story is that kindness, empathy, and understanding, have greater impacts on the lives around us than cruelty does. Hughes demonstrates this concept by using Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones interactions with Roger. From the first time they meet, when Roger tries to steal Mrs. Jones purse, to the end when she gives him ten dollars for a new pair of blue suede shoes, she never ridicules or truly punishes him for his actions. Instead, she asks him why he tried to steal and uses kindness to show him that there are other ways to survive, without resorting to stealing. The clear message here is that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover. By not immediately judging
In the short story, Thank You Ma’am, by Longston Hughs a powerful message is communicated. The story begins on an empty street in New York City where Roger attempts to steal Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jone’s purse. Roger has to decide between running away or going with her. At her home she lets him wash his face, eat dinner and she gives him $10s to buy blue suede shoes. All this generosity leaves Roger speechless at the end of the story. He could barely say “Thank you ma’am”. And then Roger never saw her again. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones has every reason to reprisal against Roger, but doesn’t. As readers we are left with the question, why does Mr. Luella Bates Washington Jones take Roger home? I believe that Mrs. Luella took roger home to teach him how to be selfless not selfish. An important lesson we seem to assume Roger lacks.
The author Langston Hughes characterizes Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones in many creative ways throughout the short story "Thank You, Ma'am". The first characteristic that stood out in the short story was Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones' kindness. She not only lets Roger clean up his face, but she lets him eat with her because she knows Rogers family at home probably was not taking good care of Roger. If a brigand came up to anyone else, I am almost positive they would not be so kind to the robber. If I was Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, I would very circumspect towards him. First, when Roger came up to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones and snatches her pocketbook unbridledly,
“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.
n the story “Thank You M’am” and the story “An American Childhood”, it shows the turning points of the main characters. In the story “Thank You M’am”, a boy named Roger tried to steal a purse off of a lady named Mrs. Jones. The storyline is about how Roger learns to be trusted again. Markedly, in the story “An American Childhood”, there was a girl named Annie, who had a big interest in the area of Science. Whenever Annie would accomplish anything, her parents wouldn't really care. The story was mainly about how Annie realized that you can always pursue your own interests, even when nobody else really cares.
Character analysis Mrs jones in “thank you Ma’am” is a but don’t stop her from being caring for roger even when he tried to steal mrs jones purse and she is strong. And roger and Mrs jones are the main characters in the story. Mrs Jones is caring for roger in many ways here some examples of Mrs Jones being Mrs jones feeds roger some food. Mrs jones made roger clean his face before he eats his dinner.
In "Thank you ma'am" by Langston Hughes, he brings Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones to life by characterizing her in many ways. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington jones is very bossy. She shows us this by when she drags Rodger down the down he street. Another way she shows her bossiness is by telling Rodger what to to and when to do it. She is also kind.
Mrs Jones takes on the responsibility to teach him a lesson because clearly his own parents aren’t. She sees a part of herself in him because she said “I have done things too, that i wouldn't tell you nor God if he didn't already know.” This implies that someone helped her get on the right path so she hopes to help Roger and set him on the right foot. Everyone learns from their mistakes and what other people teach them. Helping someone out may seem minor but in the long run it really can change someone’s
Mrs. Luella was a larger women with a large purse (Hughes 1). Little Roger tries to steal Mrs. Luella’s purse, but he does not succeed. Instead, he gets himself a trip to Mrs. Luella’s house, a bath, a home-cooked meal, money, and most importantly a lesson. In the story “Thank You Ma’am” by Langston Hughes, many of Mrs Luella's traits are portrayed. Readers can infer that Mrs. Luella is a compassionate,motherly, and experienced woman.
Have you ever had a decision to make, that could make or break a child? In this story, Mrs. Jones, the main character in, “Thank you M’am.” By Langston Hughes has a tough decision. Should she do the typical thing to do? Or should she take matters into her own hands and do what she feels is right?
How would you act tough in a situation Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones encountered? Would you take your purse and run off to your house after a boy takes your purse? Are you like Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones? She decided to teach this boy a lesson. When Langston Hughes wrote the story “Thank You, Ma’am,” she included a very noticeable trait in Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones.
Characterization Essay As a key character in the story, Thank You M’am, the boy Roger is well written. He is written in the perfect amount of detail and is displayed as a changing and growing individual. Therefore, the character Roger from Langston Hughes’ short fiction story, Thank You M’am has very good characterization. This is true because this character is portrayed well, is a highly developed character, round, and it is extremely evident in the way he changes. To begin with, Roger is not a static character but instead, he is realistically developed and changes into a completely different being by the end of the story.
The short story “Thank you, ma’am” the character Mrs. Jones is portrayed in a very real way. Mrs. Jones is encountered by a boy named Roger who attempts to snatch her pocketbook. In the process her discipline skills show through putting Roger back into a good behavior. Through her disciplinary actions, Mrs. Jones portrays trusting, determined, and giving characteristics. To begin, Mrs. Jones has a very trusting side to her that most people don’t.
“Thank you Ma'am” is a short story by Langston Hughes which talks about a lady named, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones helping a young man, also known as Roger, to change his bad habits to become a better man. In this story Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones takes Roger home and teaches Roger to lead an honest life.
She was more worried about the fact that Roger’s face was dirty rather than him attempting to steal her pocketbook. As the story progresses, we reach the highest point of interest and turning point of the story which is the climax. The climax begins when Roger is sitting in a room while Mrs. Jones is making something for them to eat. She went behind a screen in another corner of the room where her icebox was. She had left the exact same purse Roger tried to steal earlier, on her daybed, not watching whether or not he’ll try to steal it again or if he’ll try to get up and leave.