thank you ma'am theme essay

Thank You, Ma'am

By langston hughes, thank you, ma'am themes.

Trust is a major theme in "Thank You Ma'am." Although Roger 's attempt at stealing Mrs. Jones's purse establishes a dynamic between the characters in which there is no trust, by the time Mrs. Jones drags Roger to her home, she has gained enough trust to let him loose to wash his face. In a crucial moment, Roger knows he could run away from her, as he is still uncertain whether she will bring him to the police. However, he does as she instructs and washes his face, disarmed by the trust she has shown him. Gradually, he relaxes in her presence, no longer believing she wants to punish him for his crime. Mrs. Jones even leaves him alone in the main room with the purse he tried to steal. But rather than take advantage of her trust, Roger sits where she can see him from behind the kitchen-divider screen. In that moment, Roger realizes he wants to prove himself worthy of the trust she shows him. With these ironic reversals of expectations, Hughes shows how trust is a mutually exchanged and mutually beneficial virtue.

Expressed primarily through Mrs. Jones's kind and understanding treatment of Roger, generosity is another of the story's major themes. Even though Roger attempts to steal her purse, Mrs. Jones does not resort to punitive action. She may treat Roger sternly and make him worry about what she is going to do to him, but ultimately she brings him to her home in order to learn what circumstances drove him to snatch her purse. Having found out that he comes from an impoverished home and lives with little or no parental supervision, Mrs. Jones generously feeds him and gives him the money he needs to buy suede shoes. Perhaps seeing a younger version of herself in him, Mrs. Jones understands the life-changing impact her generosity could have on Roger, whose life until then has been characterized by a need to fend for himself.

With both of the story's central characters living in low- or no-income circumstances, poverty is one of the dominant themes in "Thank You Ma'am." While Roger's poverty is overt, driving him to attempt to steal Mrs. Jones's purse in order to buy himself a pair of shoes, Hughes shows Mrs. Jones's poverty in more subtle ways, such as with the details concerning the multi-tenant rooming house in which she lives, her meager kitchen setup, and the fact her service-industry job requires her to work late into the evening. Mrs. Jones addresses her poverty most directly when she reveals to Roger she too once wanted things she couldn't afford. Although Mrs. Jones lives comfortably enough that she can afford to give Roger food and money, her once having been as poor as him makes her sympathetic to the desperation that drove him to rob her.

Dignity—a sense of pride in oneself and the state of being worthy of respect—is another dominant theme in "Thank You Ma'am." The theme of dignity first enters the story when Mrs. Jones holds Roger up by the front of his shirt and notices that his face is dirty. Mrs. Jones finds this lack of hygiene undignified, telling Roger that if he were her son, she would "teach him right from wrong." Knowing that he has no parental authority at home, Mrs. Jones takes Roger to her own home and teaches him how to wash his face in order to look more dignified in society. She also tells him to run a comb through his hair so he "will look presentable." After they eat dinner, Mrs. Jones continues to impart lessons on being more dignified, warning Roger not to steal other purses because of the remorse he will feel afterward. Ultimately, Mrs. Jones's wisdom bears authenticity because she was once in a similarly desperate situation in her life—a situation that led her to do undignified things she would rather not tell Roger or God. Having been through her own struggle with poverty and wanting things she couldn't afford, Mrs. Jones can speak credibly about the importance of living with honesty and pride.

Thank You, Ma'am Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Thank You, Ma'am is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Thank You M'am

Mrs. Jones response to Roger's attempt to steal her purse infer that she her main purpose is to make him take responsibility for his actions, in addition to the fact that she likely understands his circumstances.

Thank you Ma’am

I'm sorry, this is a short-answer literature forum designed for text specific questions. We are unable to assist students with speeches or other writing assignments.

Thank You Ma'm

A. "' You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong. Least I can do right now is to wash your face. Are you hungry?'" (Paragraph 16)

Study Guide for Thank You, Ma'am

Thank You, Ma'am study guide contains a biography of Langston Hughes, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Thank You, Ma'am
• Thank You, Ma'am Summary
• Character List

Essays for Thank You, Ma'am

Thank You, Ma'am essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Thank You, Ma'am by Langston Hughes.

• Character Comparison Essay: "The Scarlet Ibis" and "Thank You Ma'am"
• I wonder where Christ's gone”: A Marxist Critique of Organized Religion in Langston Hughes’ “ On The Road”
• Jazz Subculture in Short American Fiction: The Blues I'm Playing and Sonny's Blues
• The Bounds of Society Cripple Those Who Dare to be Different: Comparing "Seven People Dancing" and "A Perfect Day for Bananafish"

Lesson Plan for Thank You, Ma'am

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Thank You, Ma'am
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Thank You, Ma'am Bibliography

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Thank You Ma Am — Literary Analysis of Thank You Ma’am Langston Hughes

Literary Analysis of Thank You Ma’am Langston Hughes

• Categories: Thank You Ma Am

About this sample

Words: 406 |

Published: Jan 31, 2024

Words: 406 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Summary of the short story, literary analysis of the short story, significance and impact of the story, characterization, writing style.

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr Jacklynne

Verified writer

• Expert in: Literature

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

5.5 pages / 2475 words

2 pages / 1012 words

3 pages / 1428 words

2 pages / 944 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Thank You Ma Am

In Langston Hughes' short story "Thank You, Ma'am," the themes of forgiveness, compassion, and redemption are intricately woven into the narrative, offering readers a poignant reflection on the power of human connection and [...]

Langston Hughes’ story about Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones and Roger is a message about kindness, sympathy and trust. Set in the 1950’s, during the incidence between our two characters, Hughes demonstrates forgiveness, [...]

Did an elder ever call you because of your behavior when you were younger? Or did you make a mistake and someone gave you a second chance? ‘Thank you, ma’am’ by Langston Hughes illustrates an encounter between Roger, a [...]

Langston Hughes’ book written in 1958, ‘’Thank you ma’am’’ is set in Harlem New York during a time that New York experienced rapid population growth. It explores the effects of kindness and trust. A young boy snatches a purse [...]

“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right path, the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.” You do not have to steal to get everything you ever wanted. This is shown in the story Thank [...]

Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” is set in Victorian London and tells the story of the transformation of a wicked, miserly Scrooge into a benevolent humanitarian via supernatural intervention. The invited reading persuades readers [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

A Summary and Analysis of Langston Hughes’ ‘Thank You, Ma’am’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Thank You, Ma’am’ is a 1958 short story by the African-American poet, novelist, and short-story writer Langston Hughes (1901-67). In the story, a teenage boy attempts to steal a woman’s purse, but she catches him and takes him back to her home, showing him some kindness and attempting to teach him right from wrong.

Plot summary

The story begins by introducing a ‘large woman’ who carries a ‘large purse’ slung over her shoulder. Late one night, she is walking alone when a boy tries to steal her purse, but because it is so heavy, he ends up falling backwards. She kicks him in the backside before shaking him vigorously and ordering him to retrieve her purse from the ground. She then asks him if he is ashamed of himself for trying to rob her.

The boy, who is dressed in tennis shoes and blue jeans, is around fourteen or fifteen years old and clearly intimidated by the large, imposing older woman. She comments on how dirty his face is and it emerges that the boy is not taken care of at home, so the woman takes him back to her home to wash his face.

The boy just wants her to let him go, but she reminds him that he was the one who imposed himself upon her when she was minding her business. She reveals that her name is Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones. She comments that if the boy were her son, she would teach him right from wrong.

Once she has the boy inside the house she shares with other people, she asks his name, which he reveals to be Roger. She takes him into the kitchenette and finally lets go of him, ordering him to go to the sink and wash his face. Although Roger initially considers making a run for it, he does as he is bid and goes to the sink.

As the two of them talk, Mrs Jones learns that Roger attempted to steal her pocketbook because he wants money to buy some blue suede shoes. She tells him he could’ve just asked her for the money: a response which confuses Roger. Again, he thinks of running for it, afraid that she will take him to jail, but instead, when she offers to cook him something to eat, he sits down and behaves himself.

Indeed, he even resists the temptation to steal her purse, which she leaves on the table close to him while she goes behind the screen to prepare the food. He offers to go to the shop to get food for her if she needs it, and when she asks if he wants to get some sweet milk for the cocoa she’s preparing, he says that canned milk will be fine.

As they eat, she tells him about her job in a hotel beauty-shop, and offers him some cake. Then she gives Roger ten dollars and tells him to buy himself the blue suede shoes he wants, but not to try to steal from her or anybody else again, because shoes bought from ill-gotten gains would ‘burn your feet’.

As Roger leaves, he wants to thank her more fulsomely than simply saying ‘Thank you, ma’am’, but finds he is unable to. The third-person narrator of the story tells us that he never saw her again.

In this very short story, Langston Hughes suggests that all teenagers who have fallen into a life of petty crime need is someone to put them back on the straight and narrow, and Mrs Luella Jones is the person who does this for Roger in ‘Thank You, Ma’am’.

The story presents the details of the narrative in generally direct terms, with Langston Hughes’ third-person narrator rarely passing comment or providing extra detail which can help to fill in the gaps to the two central characters’ lives.

This means that the story contains some tantalising lacunae, or missing details. Although ‘Mrs’ Luella Bates Washington Jones must have got married at some point, there is no sign of her husband in the story, and she appears to live in a rented room in a larger house which she shares with other people. Is she divorced? Did her husband die? Or is he in jail, and this explains why she takes such an interest in helping Roger set his life back on the right track: she doesn’t want him to go the same way?

Similarly, she appears not to have any children of her own, although at one point, she tells Roger that he ‘ought to be’ her son because she could give him the moral compass he so badly needs. Is this the yearning of a childless woman who tried to have a son or daughter of her own but never managed to conceive?

Meanwhile, other women are able to have children but are either unable or unwilling to be proper mothers to them (she clearly isn’t impressed with the indifference, or absence, of Roger’s parents: he tells her that nobody is at home even though it is late at night by this stage).

The end of ‘Thank You, Ma’am’ also leaves things open to our interpretation and analysis. Roger is seemingly overwhelmed by the woman’s kindness and clemency: he feared she was going to turn him over to the police, but instead she gave him the money to buy the shoes he wants (curiously, Elvis Presley’s hit song ‘ Blue Suede Shoes ’ had been released just two years before Langston Hughes published his story). This is presumably why he is unable to say more than ‘thank you, ma’am’ to his benefactress as he leaves her home.

At the same time, the narrator tells us that he never saw her again after this chance encounter one night. This leads us to speculate: would Roger listen to her advice and learn from what had happened? Would he, from now on, decide against stealing things because she had been kind to him and he had had a narrow brush with justice?

Of course, we can only speculate on this issue. On the one hand, Mrs Jones provides Roger with both understanding and guidance: she tells him that she had done some things which she is so ashamed of she would never tell him about them, implying that she has been in a similar position in her own life before, but now leads a moral, honest life. Although Hughes never specifies the ethnicities of the two characters, given Hughes’ depictions of African-American life in Harlem, many readers will probably picture them both as black, so this arguably brings the two of them together.

But on the other hand, Mrs Jones will disappear from Roger’s life after this night. His chaotic home life will not. Whilst ‘Thank You, Ma’am’ shows how kindness and understanding may help a youth who has fallen into bad ways recover his moral honesty and integrity, the ending of the story remains ambiguous concerning the long-term fate of its adolescent protagonist.

Discover more from Interesting Literature

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Type your email…

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

• Ask LitCharts AI
• Discussion Question Generator
• Essay Prompt Generator
• Quiz Question Generator

• Literature Guides
• Poetry Guides
• Shakespeare Translations
• Literary Terms

Thank You, M’am

Langston hughes.

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Langston Hughes's Thank You, M’am . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Thank You, M’am: Introduction

Thank you, m’am: plot summary, thank you, m’am: detailed summary & analysis, thank you, m’am: themes, thank you, m’am: quotes, thank you, m’am: characters, thank you, m’am: symbols, thank you, m’am: theme wheel, brief biography of langston hughes.

Historical Context of Thank You, M’am

Other books related to thank you, m’am.

• Full Title: “Thank You, M’am”
• When Written: 1950s
• When Published: 1958
• Literary Period: Harlem Renaissance
• Genre: Short story
• Setting: An unnamed city at night
• Climax: Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones gives Roger ten dollars to buy a pair of shoes before sending him on his way
• Antagonist: Poverty 
• Point of View: Third person

Extra Credit for Thank You, M’am

Age-Old Parental Pressure. Hughes attended two colleges: first Columbia, which he left because of racial discrimination by his fellow students. Several years later, he took up studies at Lincoln College. At both schools, his father insisted he would only pay for his college if he studied engineering.

• Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.

Thank You, M'am

by Langston Hughes

Thank You, M'am Analysis

• H ughes wrote "Thank You, M'am" in dialect. This use of dialect, idioms, and colloquialisms makes the dialogue between the characters more natural and realistic.
• The blue suede shoes Roger wants to buy become a symbol of his desire for a better life. The fact that he tries to steal an elderly woman's purse suggests that he would not be able to afford the shoes otherwise.
• Two important themes in the story are shame and forgiveness. Roger is ashamed when he's reprimanded for trying to steal, but he's later shown forgiveness and taught an important lesson about dignity and respect.

Thank You, M'am Study Tools

Hughes set "Thank You, M'am" in what seems to be a rough, lower-middle class neighborhood in an unnamed city. It's unclear what month or day of the week it is, but the narrator does mention that it's eleven o'clock at night and that Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is walking home alone, turning the corner when Roger tries to snatch her pocketbook. She then drags Roger to her house, which is a large house broken into many small apartments, like a tenement house. Her apartment is very small, and she's forced to cook on a hot plate because she doesn't have a full kitchen. This clearly indicates to the reader that she and Roger live in a poor (most likely African American) neighborhood.

Dialogue and Dialect

"Thank You, M'am" was written in dialect. Hughes used idioms, colloquialisms, and natural dialogue to draw the reader into the story and depict life in a poor Black neighborhood. His narrator opens the story with a play on the idiom "everything but the kitchen sink," describing Mrs. Jones's large bag as having "everything in it but hammer and nails." Hughes's main characters also speak in dialect. They use contractions like "yes'm" and "ain't" and speak in rhythms common to Black urban communities. Mrs. Jones does, however, put great stock in manners. Being "presentable" is very important to her, and Hughes makes that clear through her choice of words.

Most of the conflict in this story is interpersonal, meaning that it takes place between characters. At the beginning of the story, the central conflict is the one between the would-be thief (Roger) and his surprisingly formidable victim (Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones), who quickly gets the better of him. This conflict plays out physically, with Roger attempting to grab her purse and getting a kick in the pants for it. There are also underlying generational and economic conflicts at play here, as Roger (the teenage miscreant) attempts to prey on the older Mrs. Jones (a woman who, though not wealthy, has a steady job and therefore has readier access to money).

As the story progresses, however, the conflict becomes less about theft or money than about the two main characters' vastly different worldviews. When Mrs. Jones first drags Roger into her apartment, he's confused because he doesn't understand her intentions. It takes the rest of the story for Roger to realize that she's teaching him manners and dignity. She tells him to wash his face and to behave himself. These are important lessons to Roger, who has previously stated that there's no one at his house to either feed or care for him. Thanks to Mrs. Jones's kindness, the conflict between them dissipates, and Roger is left to ruminate on what she has taught him.

Roger's pair of blue suede shoes is the most potent symbol in "Thank You, M'am." In the context of the story, they symbolize money, desire, and the dream of a better life. For Roger, they symbolize a kind of luxury that he wouldn't be able to afford otherwise, and thus the shoes come to represent the unattainable. It's important to note, however, that Roger doesn't actually buy the shoes in this story. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones gives him the ten dollars he needs to buy the shoes, but at the end of the story, she lets him make his own decision as to what to do with the money.

Alliteration

Hughes frequently uses alliteration to emphasize the story's natural rhythm and dialect. Most often, this alliteration is centered on Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones's pocketbook, as in the lines, "Pick up my pocketbook, boy" and "...but I didn't snatch people's pocketbooks." This refocuses the reader's attention on the pocketbook itself, reminding them of Roger's crime.

Perhaps the most important example of repetition in this story is the sentence, "He could run, run, run, run, run!" Certainly, this is the most dramatic example, with its swift pace urging Roger to flee as fast as he can. However, there are several other examples of repetition, including that of the word "trust" in the sentence, "He did not trust the woman not to trust him." In this example, the repetition adds a layer of meaning rather than emphasis, indicating that young Roger wants Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones to distrust him, because that would make more sense to him given the attempted robbery.

Cite this page as follows:

"Thank You, M'am - Analysis." eNotes Publishing, edited by eNotes Editorial, eNotes.com, Inc., 7 Sep. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/thank-you-mam/in-depth#in-depth-style-and-technique-analysis>

Bibliography

Berry, Faith. Langston Hughes: Before and Beyond Harlem . New York: Wings Books, 1995.

Bloom, Harold, ed. Langston Hughes . New York: Chelsea House, 1989.

Chinitz, David. “Rejuvenation Through Joy: Langston Hughes, Primitivism, and Jazz.” American Literary History 9 (Spring, 1997): 60-78.

Cooper, Floyd. Coming Home: From the Life of Langston Hughes . New York: Philomel Books, 1994.

Harper, Donna Sullivan. Not So Simple: The “Simple” Stories by Langston Hughes . Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1995.

Haskins, James. Always Movin’ On: The Life of Langston Hughes . Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1993.

Hokanson, Robert O’Brien. “Jazzing It Up: The Be-bop Modernism of Langston Hughes.” Mosaic 31 (December, 1998): 61-82.

Leach, Laurie F. Langston Hughes: A Biography . Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004.

Mullen, Edward J., ed. Critical Essays on Langston Hughes . Boston: G. K. Hall, 1986.

Ostrum, Hans A. A Langston Hughes Encyclopedia . Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002.

Rampersad, Arnold. The Life of Langston Hughes . 2 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Tracy, Steven C., ed. A Historical Guide to Langston Hughes . New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

"Thank You, M'am - Bibliography." Comprehensive Guide to Short Stories, Critical Edition, edited by Charles E. May, eNotes.com, Inc., 2004, 7 Sep. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/thank-you-mam/in-depth#in-depth-bibliography-bibliography-1>

Style and Technique

Hughes chose to write in the idiom of Black America and for more than forty years experimented with its cadences and accents. Most of “Thank You, M’am” is written in an urban dialect. This reliance on colloquial dialogue to reveal personality is one characteristic of the traditional African American oral style that Hughes often employs. Other characteristics are a deceptively simple sentence structure and a presentational style of narration. Hughes has the woman and the boy speak directly; they seldom demand or declare but simply ask or say. Hughes also has the narrator speak in a colloquial voice. The narrator tells the reader, “The large woman simply turned around and kicked him right square in his blue jeaned sitter.”

In addition to capturing speech cadences in his works, Hughes experimented with the sound of the blues in his poetry and prose; the blues, which sing of the common person and of survival, are heard in “Thank You, M’am.”

"Thank You, M'am - Style and Technique." , Unknown, 7 Sep. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/thank-you-mam/in-depth#in-depth-style-and-technique-style-technique>

See eNotes Ad-Free

Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.

Already a member? Log in here.